The approach taken by Sahra Wagenknecht (Die Linke) and Alice Schwarzer for a pro-peace campaign across party boundaries has been viciously attacked by the pro-war cabal including most of the mainstream media—but it resonates with the views of a substantial part of the population. This undoubtedly explains the huge turnout of the Feb. 25 Berlin rally with 50,000 protesters (this being a figure confirmed by Berliner Zeitung which spoke to security officials in Berlin), but it is also visible in many cases where the BüSo and Schiller Institute spoke to protesters at other rallies in cities such as Bonn and Cologne: the sectarian approach by traditional leftists and peacenik groups will not change anything, whereas the Wagenknecht-Schwarzer approach will, people said.
As for the “hysterical yelling” coming from the media and established party politicians, Sahra Wagenknecht said in her Berlin rally speech that it is driven by fears that the movement against war will grow, and that the hysteria is even a compliment for those that go with this rally. The rally is only the prelude to a return of the mass peace movement, she announced, because the people are not backing the policy of this government—particularly Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who acts like an “elephant in the China shop” and all of a sudden declares war on Russia.
