Everything is nothing without peace!

Appeal on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War

1 September, the day on which the Second World War began with the German attack on Poland, reminds us to pause and demand that the guns fall silent in the current war between Russia, Ukraine and NATO. The danger of tumbling into the nuclear abyss is growing from day to day. We do not accept that the lives of tens of thousands more are being sacrificed, even though there is clearly no military solution. Let us show our solidarity with the Ukrainians and the Russians who are being driven into this conflict! Why do we not hear their complaints? Why are only the warlords being listened to?
  Our demand: Lay down your arms! We call on the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, France and the European partners to approach Ukraine and the Russian Federation with concrete initiatives. The aim must be a ceasefire and then peace negotiations without any preconditions. There is no such thing as security against each other – this fatal mistake was one of the causes of the war. Security can only be achieved together! The remembrance of 1 September 1939 strengthens us in our urgent appeal: Everything is nothing without peace!

Professor Dr Peter Brandt, historian; Susanne Brandt, beautician; Reiner Braun, journalist; Professor Dr Michael Brie, philosopher; Marco Bülow, politician; Daniela Dahn, writer; Professor Dr Hajo Funke, political scientist; Dr Peter Gauweiler, lawyer; Dr Frank Havemann, information scientist; Sibylle Havemann, music teacher; Christoph Habermann, former state secretary; Christoph Hein, writer; Cornelia Hildebrandt, political scientist ; Professor Dr Dieter Klein, economist; Dr Hans-Jürgen Misselwitz, scientist; Ruth Misselwitz, pastor; Michael Müller, former state secretary; Dr Alexander Neu, politician; Jürgen Peters, trade unionist; Professor Dr Rainer Mausfeld; Professor Dr Reinhard Merkel, legal scholar; Alexander Rahr, historian of Eastern Europe; Renata Schmidtkunz, journalist; Professor Dr Horst Teltschik, political scientist; Johann Vollmer, editor; Professor Dr Ernst Ullrich von Weizsäcker, environmental scientist; Hans-Eckardt Wenzel, singer-songwriter; Gabriele Zimmer, politician

First published: Berliner Zeitung
of 1 September 2024

(Translation Current Concerns)

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