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Climate activists scale Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate

The Local (news@thelocal.com)
The Local ([email protected])
Climate activists scale Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate
Climate activists with the "Last Generation" scale Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to hang a protest sign. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

Activists from the “Last Generation” group climbed one of Germany’s most famous landmarks Wednesday morning.

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Berliners - and the city’s many tourists - woke up to a sign hung conspicuously over the Brandenburg Gate, perhaps the capital’s most famous landmark.

“Letzte Generation” or “Last Generation” activists scaled the gate to unravel the message, which read “we wish for survival for all.”

The group then tweeted out a video, saying “it is all our decision: do we want to live or die together?”

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The word "together" is also deliberate, with activists having specifically chosen the anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall to campaign for support.

READ ALSO: Why November 9th is a fateful day in German history

Police arrived on scene a short time later.

Meanwhile, the group is demanding negotiations with senior members of the German government tomorrow on climate measures such as a speed limit on the German Autobahn and a nationwide €9 public transport ticket.

It says it will continue to protest if politicians don’t meet to negotiate.

Recently, Last Generation have courted controversy after activists threw potatoes on a Monet painting in Potsdam’s Barberini Museum and have repeatedly blocked important streets.

In one case, a protest caused a traffic jam that held up an ambulance responding to an accident where a cyclist later died.

Vocabulary

Climate activists – (die) Klimaaktivisten

Climate emergency – (der) Klimanotstand

Blockade (noun) or to blockade (verb) – (die) Blockade/blockaden

To climb - klettern

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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