opinion
Carnival despite the war
“The stupid people of Cologne don’t notice anything again”: The jerks must now give Putin a strong answer
A fool walks across the cathedral square in Cologne on Thursday with a bag that says “Never again war”.
© Oliver Berg / DPA
Carnival is celebrated in Cologne. Despite the war in Ukraine. A right decision? Only if the revelers make their carnival a symbol of peace and freedom.
Can, should and may people celebrate carnival while war breaks out in Europe? The people of Cologne answered yes to this question on Thursday. In the city center around the Heumarkt, thousands of revelers met to sway on Weiberfastnacht. For weeks, the street carnival was on the brink because of Corona, but it was allowed to take place with strict conditions. There were also celebrations in Mainz and Düsseldorf. That night, Putin took the world by surprise with a war in Ukraine, leaving the revelers with a dilemma. Does the carnival have to be cancelled?
For the street carnival on Thursday, a cancellation would probably have come at short notice. Many were already on the streets in the morning hours. But how things will continue in the coming days is questionable. There is war in Europe. While people are dying in Ukraine, the Cologne festival committee has so far stuck to the planned carnival activities. A Rose Monday parade is planned for Monday, which is to take place in the Rheinenergie Stadium due to Corona.
“The fact that such a terrible event hits us this year in addition to the corona pandemic is dramatic,” said Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker on the WDR television station with regard to Russia’s invasion. But then she makes it very easy for herself. All city events have been canceled anyway because of Corona, all other planned events are in the hands of the festival committee or clubs. In doing so, she shifts responsibility. “As part of the carnival, a sign of solidarity can be set,” says Reker, referring to Ukraine. A sentence that can save this carnival.
The carnival must stand up to Putin
“We will not let the limits of happiness be determined by people fighting freedom and peace,” said Björn Braun, a virgin in the Cologne triumvirate, in his speech on Thursday afternoon at Cologne’s Heumarkt. Stephan Brings, band member of the carnival band Brings, told the “Kölner-Stadt-Anzeiger”: “It’s very difficult now. Because all the pictures from Cologne are now being interpreted according to the motto: The stupid people of Cologne don’t notice anything again.”
In the coming days, the Cologne carnival must become a symbol of peace and freedom in Europe. This is the only way to explain pictures of swaying crowds in the Cologne stadium on Shrove Monday. The festival committee will have to think of a way to convey this symbolism in every picture. And be it through Ukraine flags on every float. It’s also getting exhausting for the wagon builders. You have to pick up on current events in the short term in order to remain credible. This also applies to events in other carnival strongholds. Only a strong sign can save this carnival. That goes for all jerks. The carnival must stand up to Putin. Otherwise only the rejection remains.