World War II commemoration in Berlin
Court lifts ban on Ukrainian flags
5/6/2023 2:04 am
To commemorate World War II, the Berlin police banned the display of Russian and Ukrainian flags at the capital’s Soviet memorials. Now the administrative court overturns the ban on Ukrainian flags.
According to a media report, the Berlin Administrative Court lifted the ban on Ukrainian flags around the Soviet memorials during World War II commemoration in the capital in the evening, according to a media report. As the “Tagesspiegel” reports, the court specifically lifted the ban on showing “flags and flags with a Ukrainian connection and portraits of the Ukrainian head of state as well as playing and singing Ukrainian marching or military songs”.
As the newspaper writes, the Berlin police can still appeal against the court’s decision at the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court. In 2022, the administrative court initially accepted the flag ban, but the next instance followed the arguments of the police.
In the morning, the Berlin police announced that they would ban Russian and Ukrainian flags around the Soviet memorials for May 8 and 9. The two days mark the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Also forbidden Z symbol
In order to ensure the “dignified commemoration of the fallen soldiers of the then Soviet Army”, the playing of marching and military songs around the three memorials is also prohibited, the police said. It is also forbidden to “make exclamations that, due to the current situation, are suitable for approving, glorifying or glorifying the war in Ukraine”.
The police requirements also include that uniforms or parts of uniforms – even in modified forms – as well as marching or military songs are prohibited in the immediate vicinity of the memorials. Also prohibited is the Z symbol, which in Russia symbolizes the attack on Ukraine and signals support for the invasion.
According to the Berlin Senate, the conditions are intended to prevent the World War II commemoration from being overshadowed by possible conflicts in connection with the current war in Ukraine. The police argue in their communication similarly: “The act of remembrance and respect for these memorials and memorials must also be preserved against the background of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This war must not be allowed to take place in Berlin, especially in view of the symbolic date, beyond the democratic discourse break new ground in conflicts or disputes,” it says.
After the end of the Second World War were in Berlin three memorials built in Tiergarten, Treptow and the Schönholzer Heide. They symbolize the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, but are also huge military cemeteries for more than 22,000 Soviet soldiers who fell in the battle for Berlin.