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Participant in an Easter march in Berlin
Photo: CONSTANTIN ZINN / EPA
Several thousand people joined the peace movement's Easter marches in German cities on Saturday.
Demonstrators with flags and posters gathered in Hanover, Munich, Duisburg, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Berlin, among others.
In many places, the topic of the rallies was the Russian war in Ukraine and the planned billions in expenditure for the German armed forces.
The events had caused controversy beforehand.
Critics say that the motto "Make peace without weapons" is inappropriate given the situation in Ukraine.
SPD politician Wolfgang Thierse said that pacifism at the expense of others is "cynical".
Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens demanded a clear commitment against the Russian war of aggression.
The rallies are organized by the Peace Cooperative Network.
That considers his demands for peace and disarmament to be "more topical than ever," as Managing Director Kristian Golla put it.
According to Golla, around 80 protests had been announced for Saturday, including in smaller towns.
According to police estimates, around 1,200 people came together in Bremen and Berlin and more than 500 demonstrators in Hanover.
Hundreds of people also took part in kick-off events for the three-day Rhine-Ruhr Easter March in Duisburg and Cologne.
»Alternative Easter March« in Berlin
A second demonstration took place in Berlin parallel to the traditional Easter march.
On Bebelplatz, Ukrainian flags were used to demonstrate against the Russian war of aggression.
The organizers called the campaign an "alternative Easter march".
They, too, criticized the fact that the peace movement's call for the traditional Easter march made no mention of Russian aggression and Ukraine's right to self-defense.
The first Easter marches had already taken place on Thursday and Friday.
More demonstrations are planned.
For example, the peace movement is calling for a rally in front of the Büchel Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate on Easter Monday.
fla/dpa