Since the beginning of the Ukrainian war, pacifism seems obsolete. Activist Jürgen Grässlin announces a network “for positive news”.
Jürgen Grässlin (r) with Konstantin Wecker (left) Photo: Thomas Kunz
At the end, the room sings a song by Hannes Wader under the direction of Konstantin Wecker: “And then they lied to us as they do today…” A pacifist evening in Freiburg, shortly before the Easter marches begin again. Long-time friends Jürgen Grässlin and composer Konstantin Wecker invited guests to a charity event for the Armament Information Office, which Jürgen Grässlin founded years ago. In a short time, 900 free tickets were distributed and a few hundred more would have been sold, says the organizer.
Jürgen Grässlin is one of the most important figures of German pacifism. He has exposed the tricks of the German arms industry in 18 books and has taken on arms companies such as SIG Sauer and Heckler & Koch. 30 lawsuits were filed against him and he won them all, he says. And all this in addition to his daily work as a secondary school teacher at a school in Freiburg. When someone like him and Konstantin Wecker appear here against the war, the public comes, most of whom are already past military age.
Here and there you can see peace buttons and signs of solidarity with Julian Assange and also a Palestinian scarf. Jürgen Grässlin wears a rainbow-colored shirt under his jacket. During the middle of the evening he talks on stage about his eventful life as an activist: how he got Daimler to divest itself of its arms business and how he was the first to get Heckler & Koch convicted of illegal arms trafficking. weapons. That he traveled to Somalia and Kurdistan to give a voice to the victims of German G3 assault rifles.
Great successes, no doubt, but there is also quite a bit of self-admiration in these heroic tales. And there is very little that can help at a time when the largest war in Europe since World War II is in full swing and the aggressors are trying to reorder the world.
In Grässlin's view, all wars are fought for one reason: because people make money from weapons.
Since the attack on Ukraine, Grässlin has spoken across the country at Easter marches and demonstrations. She denounces this war of aggression, calling it a crime, without a doubt. But for him it is just one more in a series of terrible wars that he has been watching for 40 years. Wars that, in his opinion, are all fought for one reason: because there are weapons for them and people who make money from them.
He spoke out in favor of peace negotiations with Russia, but distanced himself from supporting the peace movement of Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht just at the moment when it became clear that right-wingers were also involved. During the two years of war, he became increasingly cautious about giving advice to Ukrainians. But he maintains that he would have liked to see more civil disobedience there: people dressed in white, for example, opposing unarmed tanks. That would cost fewer victims and cause less destruction, he says. Grässlin refers to studies by American political scientist Erica Chenoweth, who found that nonviolent resistance has been more successful over the past 100 years. However, she also says her success has declined over the past 30 years.
The world fits in a hutch tonight
But all these questions only appear in passing this afternoon. That night, the world in Freiburg seems to fit into a rabbit hole. The motto: Peace is possible if everyone wants it. Grässlin presents his new projects: a global network of songs for peace, of which Konstantin Wecker is a sponsor, and VibeWe, a network currently being created for “positive news, beautiful thoughts and relaxing evenings.” Because he is writing a book of encouragement with Konstantin Wecker, he barely attends any appointments and does not attend the Easter marches.
Everything is strangely apolitical, strangely removed from the world. Grässlin does not have any current investigations to present, such as embargo violations by German defense companies to Russia. He did not invite Russian anti-war activists in exile to report on what it is like to resist in Putin's state, where neither politicians nor defense contractors can be brought to justice. There is no one from Ukraine on stage who can sympathize with his ideas on civil conflict resolution or engage in critical dialogue about them with the peace activist. Grässlin, Wecker and the 900 righteous people in the Paulus Hall are self-sufficient.
Jürgen Grässlin admits that he no longer watches the news because he is fed up with images of houses exploding in Gaza and comments about how Hamas fighters have been “rendered harmless” while civilian casualties remain unmentioned. After all, he clearly labels Hamas as a terrorist organization to which a response must be found.
An artist like Konstantin Wecker can be forgiven for fleeing into illusions and utopia and looking back on his life's work, especially at 75 years old. But when one of the most effective peace activists of recent decades steps away from the world at a time like this, you wonder: is the situation that desperate? Or should Jürgen Grässlin admit that his pacifist approach has come to an end?