An estimated 13,000 (cop figures so eyes-roll) to 50,000 people attended the event calling for peace talks. Tens of thousands of Germans braved stormy weather and dropping temperatures to attend the Uprising for Peace, a massive rally organized by Die Linke (Left Party) politician Sahra Wagenknecht and author Alice Schwarzer on Saturday. 

The demonstrators massed at the Brandenburg Gate, calling for peace talks to end the conflict in Ukraine and demanding Berlin cease supplying Kiev with weapons. 

Wagenknecht slammed the German government for trying to ruin Russia, urging leaders to make Moscow an offer so that peace talks could begin. The rally, she said, represented the start of a citizen’s initiative and the launch of a new, strong peace movement in Germany.

The rally welcomed protesters from across the political spectrum, declaring anyone who wanted peace with an honest heart was welcome. The organizers counted some 50,000 participants, while predictably the police and pro-government Press gave a lowball figure of 13,000. 

Wagenknecht and Schwarzer earlier this month published a Manifest for Peace urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to stop the escalation in weapons deliveries.

It has since been signed by over half a million people, including well-known public intellectuals and political figures. Scholz has repeatedly declared peace talks to be outside the realm of possibility, insisting that it is Russia that is unwilling to come to the table, despite Moscow’s many attempts since the start of the conflict to resolve things peacefully.  VIDEO You can share this story on social media.