Palestine flag in front of the Bundestag: activist replaces Germany flag

On Sunday afternoon, a man with professional climbing equipment climbed the flagpole in front of the Bundestag. According to eyewitnesses, he appeared to have climbing experience. When he reached the top of the approximately 30-meter-high pole, he swapped the German flag for a Palestine flag and stretched it out to blow in the wind.

Police and fire departments were quickly on site with a ladder truck. They initially accompanied the climber in the car on his independent descent. Police took him into custody on the ground. He raised his hand and some of the now more than a hundred passers-by who had gathered near the Reichstag and watched him applauded him.

On the ground, a firefighter who happened to be there as a tourist explained that such a turntable ladder has a maximum extension height of 30 meters, which means it just reaches the top of the flagpole. Meanwhile, the fire brigade took off with the turntable ladder towards the top of the flag and removed the Palestine flag. The emergency services also received applause from the crowd of passers-by. “They shouldn’t just applaud their colleagues, they should donate money to them,” said the firefighter, who was in Berlin as a tourist, on the ground.

So far there is no indication that the promotion has been announced. The police have identified the personal details of two men, one of whom was wearing a black and white Pali cloth. They are said to have helped the climber with the climb. At around 12:30 p.m. the mast in front of the Reichstag building was flagless.

As the police announced in the afternoon, a 22-year-old climbed the flagpole around 11:30 a.m. He and his two supporters are now being investigated by the State Police of the State Criminal Police Office on suspicion of denigrating the state and its symbols, suspicion of damaging property that is harmful to the community, violation of the Berlin Freedom of Assembly Act and suspicion of trespassing.

The initiative Peacefully Against Genocide, a Germany-wide group that said it wanted to draw attention to “the genocide in Gaza” through non-violent actions, declared Daniel Goepel from the initiative, who was there, committed to the action. The police took the personal details of both him and another man because they had held the ladder for the climber.

According to Goepel, a German flag was hanging on the pole until midday, which the climber had replaced. He was a professional and knew what he was doing. The German flag was secured on the ground by the police.

Germany was an accomplice in a genocide, Goepel said afterwards. The Chancellor should be brought to justice because people were being murdered with German weapons, he said. The group did a similar campaign almost exactly a year ago. At that time, not only a Palestine flag was hung at the Brandenburg Gate, but a protest banner.

“We must not shirk our responsibility to stop crimes against humanity,” climber Aaron said, according to a statement sent out by Peacefully Against Genocide that afternoon. The action group opposes German participation in the genocide in Palestine with non-violent civil resistance, it goes on to say. From November 15th to November 22nd, the group announces protests against the Rheinmetall weapons factory in Berlin-Wedding.

Editor's note: The text was updated several times throughout the day.