A speech by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius at a public tribute marking Veterans Day was disrupted by anti-war protesters on Sunday, as the country's rearmament continues to stoke a deep-seated post-war scepticism of the military in parts of the population.
Witnesses at the event said police removed around 12 demonstrators, dressed in what looked like blood-stained T-shirts, after they interrupted the ceremony at the Reichstag building in Berlin, chanting slogans like "Never again conscription" and holding up a banner reading: "For a future without war."
Pistorius responded to the protest by saying: "One of the Bundeswehr's mottos is: We also fight so that you can be against us." His remarks were met with applause from those attending the event.
The demonstrators have so far not been linked to any political group, a police spokeswoman told dpa upon request. She said they have been ordered to leave the premises and complaints over trespassing have been filed.
Germany’s push to expand and rearm the Bundeswehr is politically sensitive because of the lasting public wariness of anything resembling militarization at home after the country’s 20th‑century experience with militarism and dictatorship.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he wants Germany to have the strongest army in the European Union and has introduced a new voluntary military service model, citing hybrid threats facing Germany such as sabotage, cyberattacks, drone flights and disinformation.
