Hardly a week goes by without last-generation climate activists appearing in the German media. That’s exactly what it’s about: drawing attention to his actions, which are increasingly being questioned by citizens and even environmental politicians, in order to make society aware of the climate crisis. The group, best known for blocking roads and clinging to asphalt, has appeared again in Berlin. This Thursday, police arrested two of their activists red-handed while again defacing the iconic Brandenburg Gate with orange paint.
Their goal was not only to be seen in one of the capital’s most visited monuments, but also to send a message: they will continue to do what they do and face the consequences. It is the second time they have painted the Brandenburg Gate, where two months ago several of their activists managed to cover much of the six columns of the eastern facade, which faces the Unter den Linden boulevard, in a striking orange. The damage caused to the iconic monument’s sandstone was initially estimated at 35,000 euros, but a detailed inspection later increased the city’s bill to 115,000 euros. The delicate cleaning process is still underway; In fact, the eastern facade is still covered with scaffolding. That’s why this time the activists went to the opposite one, with a view of the zoo.
Berlin police reported two arrests, finding the two people in full action, applying brushes and buckets of orange paint to the 18th century columns. There were 14 detainees in the September protests and their methods were much more professional. They used fire extinguishers converted into sprayers to be able to spray the paint faster and at greater heights.
A police officer tries to grab the hands of two Last Generation activists during a protest in Berlin on April 25. JOHN MACDOUGALL (AFP)
“The Brandenburg Gate is colored orange again. “The national monument, now also a monument to the failure in the climate catastrophe,” is the title of the activists in the statement reporting on their action. The organization came to prominence shortly before the last federal election in September 2021, when several of its activists went on hunger strike and camped in front of the Bundestag to demand meetings with MPs.
In recent months, the group has staged dozens of protests at museums and airports. Also on the streets of cities like Berlin, where traffic has been paralyzed for several days in the early hours of the morning by sticking to the asphalt on the entrance and exit roads to the capital. The protests were generally peaceful, with activists passively resisting the police, but violent episodes were also recorded. Some drivers got out of their vehicles and moved them off the road very aggressively.
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The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is covered by scaffolding this week. FILIP SINGER (EFE)
With its conspicuous actions, Última Generación has become the best-known climate activist group in Germany, defended by some and hated by others. Their proposals range from long-term proposals that would require the federal government to legislate a complete abandonment of fossil fuels by 2030, to more immediate proposals that would consist of introducing a general speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on highways in order to achieve a rapid reduction Emissions. Germany is one of the few countries without speed limits on motorways, a controversial topic that repeatedly creeps into public debate. The Liberals, together with the Greens in the government of the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, are against an end to the last freedom of driving for Germans.
The last generation of protests have already left a trail of legal convictions and heavy fines. The last case was announced this Thursday. Christian Bläul, 41, a physicist by profession, was given a seven-month suspended sentence for taking part in four road blockades, the group reports. Bläul has been with the organization for more than a year and a half and has already spent 16 days in prison in Sweden for another protest. “To draw attention to the disaster, I am willing to go to prison,” said statements collected by the group.
A Munich court also recently fined three activists for causing property damage by holding on to the gilded frame of a Rubens painting in the Alte Pinakothek in the Bavarian city. A few months ago, three other activists were sentenced to prison terms of between three and five months for blocking a federal highway in Heilbronn. It was his second conviction. In May, the Bavarian public prosecutor’s office ordered a raid against several activists who they believed were suspected of belonging to a criminal organization.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the last generation campaigns as “complete madness” and stated that he considered their methods to be “counterproductive”. Even prominent Green politicians such as Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck have criticized the group. “Protests make people angry, they divide society, and in this respect I don’t think they are a meaningful contribution to climate protection,” he said a few months ago when the organization announced a massive road blockade campaign.