Berlin police brace for Halloween youth protests called by 'Gen Z steht auf'
Calls are circulating for youth protests in many German cities on Oct. 31. Berlin police expect a major operation and say they will not let groups exploit the student protests.
Symbolic image · Photo: Lear 21 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin police are preparing for a large-scale operation on Oct. 31, when the initiative "Gen Z steht auf" (Gen Z Rises Up) has called for protests in numerous German cities over education, affordable housing and opposition to military conscription. According to Tagesspiegel, no rally has yet been registered in Berlin; police are monitoring social media, where differing times and meeting points are circulating.
Police spokesman Florian Nath said there were efforts to use the student protests for other interests. "We will not allow that," he said, adding that police would check closely whether the protests were legitimate. Co-initiator Akram Selo told dpa: "We clearly distance ourselves from any kind of violence." Most posts stress peaceful intentions, though some call for unrest like that seen in France.
Stephan Weh, Berlin chairman of the GdP police union, warned that radical groups must not be allowed to hijack the protest, also citing concern over fireworks on Halloween night. In 2024, 132 people were arrested that night. Last Friday, police identified about 50 non-students at a student protest in Friedrichshain; scuffles broke out and a local woman was injured.