G7 protest in Mittenwald: more reporters than demonstrators

Created: 06/28/2022, 16:00

By: Christof Schnürer

Camera rolling: Dr.

Stephan Stracke, the organizer of a mini-demo, can at least not complain about a lack of media interest in Mittenwald.

© Kathrin Ebenhoch

There were around 500 demonstrators at left-wing protests against the mountain troops - it was a long time ago.

On Monday, not even a handful of like-minded people followed Stephan Stracke's call to take part in a rally in Mittenwald as part of the G7 actions.

But all the more police and press moved in.

Mittenwald

– In the morning at 10 a.m. at the Mittenwald train station.

It's muggy and already very hot.

In the course of the G7 protests, a rally was actually supposed to start at the Mittenwald train station.

But far and wide no demonstrators - but all the more police and press.

Suddenly Dr.

Stephan Stracke up.

"We're still waiting," the organizer told a ZDF television crew.

Meanwhile, a voice from the canned music reciting from the book "Hinterwald" is heard, in which accounts are settled with an Upper Bavarian mountain infantry garrison.

In the meantime, around ten reporters from radio and television are bustling around the protagonist.

A police squadron of bicycles dressed in yellow and blue prefers to remain in the shadowy background.

There shouldn't be a lack of symbolism: the memorandum that Stephan Stracke and his companion put up will not be hanging at the entrance gate of the Luttensee barracks for a long time.

© Kathrin Ebenhoch

Then finally, three quarters of an hour late, the pedelec tour sets off in the direction of Kranzberg.

In front a policeman, behind Stracke and a fellow campaigner.

Before that, the historian from Wuppertal, who has been drumming up campaigns in Mittenwald on behalf of the Offensive Traditions Working Group since 2002, shares some of the police's requirements: no glass bottles, no alcohol.

"We are also not allowed to commit any crimes at the shame." By this, of course, Stracke means the mountain infantry memorial, which he hates so much.

The area on the Hoher Brendten is declared a taboo zone anyway - at the request of the group of comrades of the mountain troops and at the behest of the district office.

Stracke and his companion, along with the police bike squad, toured up to the Luttensee barracks - via the Hochstraße, the Gries and the Gröblweg.

Many media representatives are no longer interested, they left the train station.

Arriving at the entrance to the Luttensee barracks after a relatively short 15-minute drive, Stracke and his companion lay flowers and a memorandum for twelve Georgian soldiers.

They were trained there for fighting behind the Soviet front, but were sentenced to death by a German court-martial in 1942 before they were deployed as deserters (we reported).

The policemen in black listen to Stracke's history lesson without moving.

The spark doesn't seem to have jumped over to them either.