In Berlin’s Tiergarten, the memorial tree planted for the victims of the Islamist attack on Christopher Street Day (CSD) has been uprooted. According to the police’s incident desk, a patrol found the severely damaged maple during a drive‑by in the early hours of Sunday, around 1:20 a.m. “The tree was pulled from the ground,” a police spokesperson told the Tagesspiegel. The rbb reported that the tree’s roots were exposed. Other items in the surrounding area were damaged or partially destroyed. The investigation has been taken over by the State Security unit.
The maple had only been planted about a month earlier—as a replacement for a tree that had to be felled after the attack at the end of July (TheColu.mn reported). Earlier in the week, the rainbow bench beside it was also heavily damaged (TheColu.mn reported). The Mitte district office subsequently removed the bench entirely; it is to be repaired. Both memorial sites were set up by the district office roughly two weeks after the incident.
Greens: “We will plant this tree again. As often as necessary”
The Greens’ floor leader in the Berlin House of Representatives, Werner Graf, said he was shaken by the act. “I am full of anger and bewilderment, but also defiant,” the gay politician said in a press release. “We, the queer community in Berlin, we will not give up, we will not be quiet, we will not hide. (…) I say to all queer people in this city: You are not alone. We will plant this tree again. As often as necessary.” He also said he expects the Interior Senator to now increase pressure on pursuing those responsible. The protection of the queer community and its spaces must be moved higher on the priority list. “Especially on this day, as elections are underway in Saxony-Anhalt and forces at record levels are advancing that aim to erase this freedom,” the Greens said. “Anyone who thinks Berlin, as a city of freedom, will simply sustain itself is mistaken. Freedom is not a state; it is a decision.”
During the attack on July 25, an Islamist attacker drove a car into a crowd and crashed into a tree. He then attacked several people with a machete before fleeing. A woman was killed, and 31 people were injured, some seriously. A day after the incident, police shot the attacker. (mize)
