Memorial tree and rainbow bench at CSD attack site in Berlin destroyed again
A memorial tree for victims of the CSD attack was torn from the ground in Berlin's Tiergarten. Previously, a rainbow bench at the same location had been damaged.
Memorial site in Tiergarten attacked twice within days
Unknown individuals tore a maple tree from the ground overnight in Berlin's Tiergarten that was intended to commemorate the attack on Christopher Street Day on 25 July. According to zeit.de, police discovered the destruction at around 1.20 am. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg had first reported the incident.
The Berlin-Mitte district had only planted the tree in early August at the exact location of the attack. A few days earlier, several wooden slats of the rainbow bench placed nearby had been broken off "with considerable physical force", as police reported. Both acts prompted shock across all parties.
Berlin's Green Party faction leader Werner Graf responded with strong words. "I am full of anger and dismay, but also defiant," he declared. He assured all queer people in the city: "You are not alone." At the same time, he announced that the tree would be planted again — "as many times as necessary".
During the attack on 25 July, a 21-year-old drove a delivery van into a crowd at the edge of the CSD event and subsequently attacked further victims with a machete. A woman from Poland was killed, and 31 other people were injured. The district had established the damaged tree and rainbow bench as a memorial and as a symbol of diversity, respect and self-determined life.
Following the damage to the bench, the district filed a criminal report against unknown persons and announced reconstruction. The police state security department of the Berlin State Criminal Office is investigating both cases for property damage.
Source: Google News LU DE