Damaged tree in the zoo | Queer commemoration under attack

Crooked, but it's still standing: The memorial tree for the Berlin CSD can probably be saved. Photo: dpa/Annette Riedl Not even mourning and commemoration is safe for queer people. There were two attacks on a memorial site within a few days. On the night of September 1st, the rainbow bench that had been set up in Berlin's Tiergarten after the attack on the CSD was destroyed. On the night of September 6th, unknown people also attacked the tree that was planted at this location to commemorate him.

According to police, the protective grille and parts of the tree were torn from the ground. Colorful rainbow flags and documents were previously attached to the grid. Items that commemorate the victims are also said to have been damaged or destroyed. Police officers discovered this during a patrol on the night of Saturday to Sunday. The state security agency is now investigating property damage.

On July 25, an Islamist drove a car into the crowd on the sidelines of Christopher Street Day, killing a woman and injuring or seriously injuring 31 people. While the police are still investigating whether the attack on the memorial site was anti-queer, the Mitte district office described the incident as “another anti-queer attack.”

The district mayor Stefanie Remlinger (Greens) visited the attacked memorial site on Sunday. "This is not just property damage, it is an act of barbarism," she said. "Who tears a young tree out of the ground and desecrates a memorial site in this way?" Anyone who attacks this place is also attacking "the signal that we want to set there: for diversity, for solidarity and against hate."

The tree has now been restored and watered and may survive. The bench should also be set up again - this will be done "again and again" if necessary, according to the Mitte district office.

The district councilor Christopher Schriner (Greens), on the other hand, wants to address the problem with more emergency services: "We will work with the responsible authorities to examine how the memorial site can be better protected in the future," he said. We are in discussions with the police about this. “Anti-queer hatred has no place in our district,” said Schriner.

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