Protest | Student protest: reduce armaments

Military service is not fun, it is scary. Imaginative protest at the Brandenburg Gate Photo: Imago/Stefan Zeitz The state apparatus was already warming up in advance: panic briefings about alleged “violent tourists” and a large contingent of around 1,500 police officers shaped the picture in the capital. But what happened on Saturday afternoon at the Brandenburg Gate under the motto “Gen Z regulates” refuted the imagined state of emergency. Thousands of young people and supporters gathered for a loud but peaceful demonstration against social cuts and rearmament.

The “Gen Z regulates” initiative had meticulously pushed for a non-violent process in advance. This reflects the fine line on which youth protests are currently walking: they formulate radical criticism of the situation, but operate within a narrow legal framework in order to prevent repression. While Berlin politicians conducted hysterical security debates in advance, the demonstrators focused on concrete social needs: dilapidated schools, skyrocketing costs of living and the threatened reintroduction of compulsory military service, which was suspended in Germany in 2011.

"We are here because we see that the lives of young people are constantly being attacked by politics - through social cuts, rearmament and the threat of conscription."

»We are here because we see that the lives of young people are constantly being attacked by politicians - through social cuts, rearmament and the threat of conscription. That's why we're protesting on the streets today following the example from France," said Momo from the DIDF youth. The DIDF is the Federation of Democratic Workers' Associations.

In conversations with the participants, it became clear that this was not just a flash in the pan on the Internet. The anger is directed against political priorities that consistently shift the burden of the crisis downwards and onto the younger generation. The protest is by no means limited to young people. Older generations also joined the procession in solidarity. "I'm here today with my grandson and my daughter to show that young people have a future that doesn't mean war or conscription," explained Lucia.

In addition to the substantive demands, organizational demarcations also shaped the event: the main alliance clearly distanced itself from parallel actions in districts such as Wedding or Mitte, while the authorities and bourgeois media had tried in advance to discredit the entire protest across the board. On the street, however, a different picture of togetherness and solidarity emerged.

“I actually come from North Rhine-Westphalia and am currently on vacation in Berlin,” said Can-Yüksel. "The demo is very peaceful, everyone is nice and everyone who is in Berlin should be here today." Can-Yüksel definitely wanted to support this protest and said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had to go.

Whether “Gen Z regulates” has what it takes to become a lasting movement remains to be seen in the coming weeks. However, the afternoon in Berlin proved that the story of apolitical or politically dissatisfied youth has long been ineffective. Young people want a future without war and crises.

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