As of: September 15, 2023 7:22 p.m
According to the police in Hamburg, 15,000 people took part in the “Fridays for Future” (FFF) climate strike. At Jungfernstieg, the demonstrators received prominent support from Herbert Grönemeyer and Silbermond. There were also protests in many other northern German cities.
FFF even spoke of 22,000 participants in Hamburg. It was the movement’s 13th “Global Climate Strike”. The many demonstrators held placards such as “We should keep our planet livable for our grandchildren” or “You must act!” upwards.
“Fridays for Future” in Hamburg satisfied
“We are definitely experiencing a great response, the mood is really good, and it is very impressive how many people are now taking to the streets together again, even though many things are just very tiring right now,” said Annika Rittmann, spokeswoman from FFF.
Many more climate demos in other cities in the north
There were also rallies in other northern German towns. A total of 32 demos were registered in Lower Saxony. According to police information, around 3,300 people took part in Hanover, around 2,000 in Oldenburg and 1,000 in Braunschweig. In Schleswig-Holstein, the largest protest event took place in Kiel – around 1,200 people demonstrated there. There were further demos in Lübeck, Flensburg, Pinneberg, Elmshorn, Eutin and Rendsburg. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there were protests in Schwerin, Rostock, Wismar and Neustrelitz. 300 participants were registered for what was probably the largest demo in MV, in Greifswald.
Herbert Grönemeyer appeals to politics
During his appearance in Hamburg, musician Herbert Grönemeyer addressed the country’s politicians directly: “Dear politicians, forget about staying in office. Come out of your conscious shortsightedness, out of your vanity and don’t talk, but finally get things going. Don’t in the future, that is too late. Now and radically – now.” With this request, Grönemeyer spoke from the hearts of many participants. He also thanked the demonstrators for their commitment.
VIDEO: Grönemeyer: “We have slept through the last 15 years” (2 min)
“Training for Democracy”
Grönemeyer said in advance in an interview with NDR about the FFF protests: “I believe this is training for democracy. In times when populists are becoming ever stronger, we all have to train what resistance means. Now comes a new generation doing this.” People have missed out on climate protection for the last 15 years. “We all felt very comfortable and that was dramatic,” said Grönemeyer. The musician supported the climate movement with an appearance on the Jungfernstieg stage.
Silbermond and other musicians were also there in Hamburg
Demonstrators from “Fridays for Future” march through downtown Hamburg.
In addition to Grönemeyer, the punk rock band Team Scheisse and the group Silbermond also performed. Their singer Stefanie Kloß said: “How nice it is to see that there are so many of us today.”
According to estimates by the movement in Germany, a total of more than 220,000 people took part in the previous climate action day on March 3, 2023. According to the organizers, around 12,000 people were there in Hamburg at the time. This time there were significantly more participants.
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