Status: 03/03/2022 4:42 p.m
In Germany and other countries, people showed solidarity with Ukraine: Churches and cathedrals rang their bells for several minutes – tens of thousands of people took to the streets.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators, as well as cathedrals and churches, took a stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Across Germany, the bells of many places of worship rang for seven minutes at noon in solidarity with the Ukrainians. The Cologne Cathedral, the Cathedral in Münster and the Cathedral in Essen participated, as the respective dioceses said on request.
Bells could also be heard longer than usual in Berlin and other federal states. The European Association of Cathedral Master Builders had called for the bells to ring “every minute for one day of this senseless war” from 12 noon.
Especially young people demonstrated
Tens of thousands of mostly young people also followed a nationwide and global protest call by the climate protection initiative Fridays for Future. In Hamburg, a large crowd gathered at Spielbudenplatz and the Reeperbahn. “Hamburg came together today to show solidarity,” said Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future in a speech.
“Nothing and nobody will stop us from getting up now, from getting loud and showing solidarity, from showing such a clear stance as autocrats hate it: Putin fuck off, we’re here,” continued Neubauer. The police initially reported 20,000 participants. According to the organizers, 120,000 people came together in the Hanseatic city.
Protests also in Berlin
Several thousand schoolchildren also protested against Russia’s war in Berlin’s government district. They gathered with banners and signs in front of the Reichstag building. These read, for example, “Every life counts” and “Stop War”, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was also sharply criticized. Some wore clothes in blue and yellow, the national colors of Ukraine. The police estimated the number of participants at around 5,000, Fridays for Future spoke of 11,000.