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What are Germany's Easter marches and how did they begin?

While others look forward to a barbecue with friends or an Easter egg hunt with the children, many in Germany will be painting banners in the run-up to Easter weekend. Over the decades, Easter marches - known as Ostermärsche in German - have become a well-worn tradition in the country, infusing the religious holiday with a political edge. Dealing with themes such as peace and disarmament, the marches today stay true to their roots in the peace protests of the 1960s. Over the years, however, they have also dealt with the most pressing contemporary issues, from the Vietnam War to the threat of climate change. For many Germans, hearing protest chants and seeing a sea of colourful banners is nothing unusual over Easter weekend. Newcomers, meanwhile, may wonder how this springtime festival of hope and renewal came to be associated with war and political resistance. So how did the Ostermarsch become such a long-standing Easter tradition, and why have these marches found such resonance in Germany? The answer dates back to the middle of the last century, when the country was still reeling from horrors of the Nazis and the Second World War. Pledging to never again repeat history, the authors immortalised a pledge in the constitution: "Never again war, never again German soldiers (fighting) in a conflict." This spirit of pacificism was behind the first ever Ostermarsch in Germany, and remains part of the movement to the present day. Advertisement What was Germany's first Easter march about? On Friday, April 15th, 1960, small groups of protesters left their homes in Braunschweig, Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover to embark on an unusual pilgrimage. Their destination wasn't a holy site or a memorial to a fallen saint, but rather the NATO training facility in the south of Lüneberger Heide. Instead of prayers, they brought with them songs and chants in protest at nuclear weapons. Just months earlier, the military alliance had stationed Honest John missiles at the base. These were set to carry nuclear warheads in the future, intended as a "deterrent" in the escalating Cold War. Responding to the move, demonstrators in Germany took inspiration from the UK, where the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament had organised a three-day march two years prior. Anti-nuclear protestors take part in the first ever Easter march from Hamburg to Bergen-Hohne in April 1960. Photo: Konrad Tempel / Wiki Comons "It was a terrible day, with slush and cold," recalled political scientist Andreas Buro, who took part in the first-ever Easter march in Germany. "We stood between the pillars of the church in Braunschweig with a group of just over 20 people, the priest gave us some good words and then we had to leave." It took a total of three days for the demonstrators to reach the Bergen-Hohne base in Lower Saxony. Along the way, they slept on friend's sofas, at youth hostels, and in barns. By the time they reached their destination, however, the crowd had grown to 1,000 people. By 1963, the protest movement had officially branded itself the Campaign for Disarmament, marching for peace, the renunciation of weapons and peaceful relations between different countries. READ ALSO: 10 things you never knew about German reunification How have the marches changed? In the decades since, there have been many different iterations of the Easter marches, each latching on to the most controversial conflicts and topics of the day. In the early sixties, in a divided Germany, the marchers sought to spread a message of peaceful unity on either side of the Iron Curtain. "Are we marching against the East? No! Are we marching against the West? No! We are marching for the world that no longer believes in weapons," demonstrators at the marches sung in tandem. In the middle of the decade, the Ostermarsch tradition even spilled over the border into the GDR. However, songs of dissent were quickly co-opted by the regime in order to spread an explicitly socialist message. Advertisement After a lull in the 1970s, the Easter marches once again gained relevance in the early 80s as NATO weighed the deployment of cruise missiles in Germany. In the context of the Cold War, as the United States faced off against the Soviet Union, the messages were often non-partisan, criticising both superpowers. Nevertheless, the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the USSR led to something of an identity crisis in the German peace movement. Throughout the 1990s, the feverish militarisation of Europe seemed to have briefly come to an end. READ ALSO: How a June 1953 uprising continues to shape the German mentality The respite didn't last long however, and by 2003, thousands were once again taking to the streets to protest the Iraq War and other international conflicts. More recently, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has sparked a renewed interest in the Ostermärsche, while Fridays for Future has also joined in the tradition to highlight the ongoing climate crisis. Advertisement Has there been criticism of the Easter marches? Yes. Since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine in February 2022, there have been concerns that the Easter marches have adopted a pro-Russian narrative akin to propaganda. With its ingrained scepticism of NATO and opposition to weapons deliveries, critics have accused the peace movement of playing into Vladimir Putin's hands. In 2023, for example, Tagesschau reported that Easter march in Berlin was attended by protesters from the right-wing extremist scene, as well as conspiracy theorists from Germany's Querdenker (lateral thinker) movement. Indeed, many of the original members of the peace movement have distanced themselves from the marches in recent years , citing a one-sided and largely pro-Russian message. One of the march's original slogans was "Frieden schaffen ohne Waffen" (achieve piece without weapons). As Ukraine tries to defend itself from its Russian aggressors, some have questioned whether this slogan is too naïve. "Achieve peace with weapons" is written on a sign at an Easter march demonstration in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow What Easter marches are happening this year? This year, the Peace Cooperative network has announced that around 100 events will take place under the Ostermärsche moniker, spanning from Maundy Thursday on the 17th to Easter Monday on the 21st. As well as traditional marches, there will be bike rides, rallies and a range of other protest events. READ ALSO: What's on over the Easter holidays in Germany in 2025 On Saturday, a series of marches will take place in Berlin, Stuttgart, Mainz, Hanover, Braunschweig, Munich and Cologne. Further events will then follow on Easter Sunday in Essen, Halle, Frankfurt/Oder, and elsewhere. Advertisement Though the marches are diverse, the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine are once again in the spotlight this year, with protests calling for peace initiatives to end these brutal conflicts. For a full list of Easter marches happening around the country this year, you can check out the Peace Cooperative website here .