Feb. 25, 2023 (EIRNS)—Of course, besides the official co-organizers of the Berlin rally today, Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht, the answer to the question, “who organized it?” is a very interesting matter of a mass dynamic set into motion. The success of this rally was a proof of principle to the same effect, in a different form, of cooperating and unifying different forces in society, the Washington, D.C. “Rage Against the War Machine” demonstration. This is so, even if for the moment, “officially” in this case, the LaRouche movement has been left out of the picture, concerning the rally as such. But we see a similar process of unity and coming together of a population, which has had enough, and of some leaders who took responsibility to make this event happen, despite incredible attacks and hysteria. That, for Germany, is a breakthrough in itself.
Also, without the resistance to the CCD attacks and to the overall war policy, which Helga Zepp-LaRouche and the international Schiller Institute pulled together and turned into a counterpunch, people in the establishment would have never thought of going full steam against it. They would not have mustered the courage, and created an opposition to this war onslaught. (Schwarzer by the way is also still on the CCD list).
The demonstration was built up through the publication of the manifesto first on Feb. 10, then leading into the announcement of the demonstration. The Manifesto for Peace quickly gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, and now it has more than 600,000 signers. (https://www.change.org/p/manifest-f%C3%BCr-frieden) It grew very rapidly. And that laid the basis for the demonstration today. People obviously felt greatly encouraged by the fact that this initiative grew so quickly and that they were many and not few, as the media try to suggest.
Of course, also the first 69 signers who are listed have significant networks themselves.
Then, the attacks on talk shows and in press articles were very heavy, leading to a backlash that stimulated more interest and support in reality, rather than diminishing it.
At the rally today, it was obvious that people came from many places across Germany, but very many from East Germany, where the uproar and demonstrations had exploded in the last year against the sanctions, Nord Stream sabotage, and destruction of industry and small firms.
Wagenknecht said in her closing, when thanking all the organizers of the event, that she herself of course had participated in many demos before, but that she never organized one herself, like this one. General Vad said this was his first demo ever.
(Of course, Schwarzer’s EMMA is an established feminist magazine in Germany. The organizers were able to raise enough money to pay for a very professional set up for the rally at Brandenburger Tor with everything that was needed. Also small advertisements on the underground TV screens in the mass transit were put up.)
But the main thing is really the unleashing of the potential in society as a whole, with more than half of the people of Germany opposed to the present course, through connecting the various networks which have grown in the last years and especially the last period.
So together with the international motion, within Germany it leaves a wide open situation to organize for our solutions and vision in the next period and to force a shift in official policies, especially now with the Nord Stream revelations.
For that, Jeffrey Sachs’ speech was quite important; also that he stressed that the war had been going on for nine years, and not one. (https://rumble.com/v2awy8s-jeffrey-sachs-brief-address-aof-peace-demo-in-berlin.html)
Lastly, it was interesting to see that people when looking at the headline of the leaflet “Age of Reason or Annihilation of Mankind?” were several times heard to say, “Age of Reason? Oh yes!”
There were rallies in many other cities in Germany, and Schiller Institute organizers were in Bonn, Cologne, Stuttgart, and likely elsewhere. On Sunday there will be more rallies, including at Ramstein, where the U.S. has headquartered the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
There were rallies elsewhere throughout Europe today, including in Paris, and with more on Sunday, and planned for the coming days.
In London, peace demonstrators successfully outfoxed authorities trying to prevent them from securing any rally venue. Days ago, a church that had agreed to host the rally pulled out under pressure. The next venue, a public hall, likewise cancelled after fierce coercion to make it do so. So the rally organizers, after securing a third venue, kept the location secret until Friday, Feb. 24, the eve of the demonstration, allowing a huge crowd to show up today. Rally organizers had to stage the speakers’ program three different times, in order to space out and accommodate all the attendees. This is life in Britain, the monarchical paragon of “democracy” against autocracy!
