Climate activists claimed on Wednesday that they decapitated the top of the Christmas tree erected in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate.
The group Letzte Generation (Last generation), at the origin of many punch actions to raise awareness of global warming, wants to show that Germany has so far only seen the “tip” of the current climate catastrophe, have they explained in a statement.
Two activists from the group climbed in the early morning to the top of the 15-meter tree, installed in the heart of the capital, using a lifting platform. Equipped with a saw, they cut “two meters” from the top of the tree, said the group, with supporting images.
A banner was also hung bearing the message: “It’s only the tip of the Christmas tree”.
Letzte Generation has once again called on the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to do more to combat global warming.
The group has drawn attention in recent months through numerous actions of civil disobedience, including blocking major highways and spraying various substances on museum boards.
German politicians had expressed their disapproval, Olaf Scholz calling on activists to show “a little creativity” instead.
Their initiatives could have legal consequences with the recent opening, by a regional prosecutor’s office, of an investigation against activists “suspected of forming or supporting a criminal organization”.
This qualification, and the searches carried out as part of this investigation, have also sparked a lively debate in a country where environmentalists are members of the government coalition.