“APPEAL BY THE 38: One Minute to Midnight—Prevent a mMajor European War!” reads the headline of an online petition circulated by 38 prominent figures from in Germany’s political, economic and cultural life, urging for immediate action to avert a nuclear World War III. Some passages from their appeal:
“U.S. President Biden’s last-minute decision to authorize attacks on Russia with U.S.-supplied missiles has ushered in a new stage of escalation. In the meantime, Great Britain and France have followed suit. This increases the risk for all of Europe. Germany could become the new battleground.
“Instead of doing everything they can to defuse the highly dangerous situation, the CDU, FDP and Greens now want to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles. This would enable Zelenskyy to attack targets deep in Russia with pinpoint accuracy. Since these missiles have to be programmed by Bundeswehr soldiers, the delivery of the Taurus would almost be tantamount to a declaration of war by Germany against the nuclear power Russia. It would almost certainly provoke a military response from Russia.
“We are in perhaps the most dangerous phase of this war. Our primary duty should be to avoid a catastrophe for our country and all people in Europe. Although Germany currently has no government capable of acting, it does at least have a parliament capable of acting. We appeal to all political actors: Let us forget our differences and act together to prevent the worst!
“It is high time that German politicians worked hard for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire, followed by peace negotiations. This is, for example, provided for in the peace plan of Brazil and China, which is supported by Switzerland, among others.
“No side can and will win the war in Ukraine. If the weapons do not fall silent soon, we run the risk of losing everything altogether. Never since the end of World War II has the danger of a nuclear war in Europe been as great as it is now. We must avert it before it is too late.”
The 38 initial signers include:
Dr. Sahra Wagenknecht, Party Chairwoman BSW
Alice Schwarzer, author and publisher of EMMA magazine, which published the appeal
Oskar Lafontaine, former Minister President of Saarland
Günter Verheugen, former Vice-President of the European Commission
Dr. Peter Gauweiler, lawyer and former Bavarian State Minister (CSU)
Prof. Dr. Hajo Funke, political scientist
Wolfgang Grupp, TRIGEMA company (textiles)
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, publicist of many books on Russia
Dr. Hans Misselwitz, Member of the SPD’s Basic Values Commission
Michael von der Schulenburg, Member of the EU Parliament (BSW) and former Assistant Secretary General of the UN
The signers further remark that the “Manifesto for Peace” of February 10, 2023, an appeal by Wagenknecht and Schwarzer, now has 918,630 signatures. “We want to reach 1 million before the elections” on Feb. 23 in Germany. The new appeal may also mount another mass rally as the 2023 appeal did, in which more than 50,000 protesters gathered in Berlin on Feb. 25, 2023.
