Will there soon be a destroyed tank from the war against Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in the center of Berlin? The administrative court in the capital received a ban on the planned action by the Mitte district office this Tuesday after an urgent application. The “Tagesspiegel” reported first.
According to the information, those responsible for the “Berlin Story Bunker” museum had applied to the administration in June to exhibit a wrecked Russian tank or a tank howitzer for two weeks on the central promenade of Unter den Linden – as a memorial against Putin’s war of aggression.
The district office did not approve this protest and, according to the administrative court, put forward several arguments: The exhibition of a tank was inappropriate because “people probably died” in the wreck. The action also affects the foreign policy interests of the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal government should have been involved. In addition, pedestrian and vehicle traffic as well as the appearance of the Berlin boulevard could be hindered, according to the Mitte district office. In any case, the planned exhibition is not about art.
The museum operators Enno Lenze and Wieland Giebel naturally saw things differently and appealed to the Berlin administrative court – with success. The chamber ignored the concerns of the district office. Although the tank may not be parked on Unter den Linden for reasons of statics, it can be parked on the outgoing Schadowstrasse, in the immediate vicinity of the Embassy of the Russian Federation. Since this is currently closed anyway, no traffic delays are to be expected. The court also stated: “Reasonableness and the foreign policy interests of the Federal Republic of Germany are ultimately not relevant to road law.” It is irrelevant whether the action is art – after all, it serves the constitutionally protected freedom of expression.
Similar tank exhibitions have already taken place in Prague and Warsaw in the past, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense was also involved in organizing them. The T-72 tank shown was destroyed by Ukraine near Kyiv at the end of March.
When and whether there will be a tank wreck in the heart of the German capital in the Russian capital is still open, even after the decision of the administrative court. “Good news, but still a lot to do,” wrote one of the initiators on Twitter after the judges’ decision. The district office can still appeal the decision to the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court.
Sources: Berlin Administrative Court, “Tagesspiegel”, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Enno Lenze on Twitter, AFP news agency
