Sabotage warmongering and rearmament! “Whatever the cost.”
On the night of August 7-8, 2025, we sabotaged a freight railway line in the port of Hamburg, south of Wilhelmsburg. We deliberately chose this section because we did not want to impact rail passengers, who are already struggling, but rather the arms industry and warmongers.
The port of Hamburg is an important transshipment hub for military equipment. Tons of weapons, ammunition, military equipment, and components leave there every day.
Much of this military equipment is produced in Hamburg. Various Hamburg-based companies manufacture weapons themselves or knowingly supply specific components, whether optical, electronic, or mechanical. Those who profit from war supply both the Bundeswehr [German army] and the armed forces of other countries.
Nuclear transports also regularly pass through the port of Hamburg, despite Germany’s exit from nuclear power. Ships belonging to the shipping companies MACS, OOCL, and Hapag-Lloyd are particularly involved in these operations. In 2024, 154 nuclear transports were recorded.
We are currently witnessing a rearmament and expansion of the arms industry on a European scale. Germany, too, is preparing for war on all levels. There is a real frenzy of war preparations.
The Bundeswehr’s next exercise in Hamburg in September is part of this trend. An exercise called “Red Storm Alpha” had already taken place in the port of Hamburg in 2024. Its main objective at the time was to secure the port facilities. In addition to around 100 soldiers, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and HHLA also participated.
This year, in the hypothetical scenario of a Russian war of aggression, the exercise involves moving troops and equipment from the port through the city to the NATO border in the Baltic states. From September 25 to 29, around 500 soldiers will train for “Red Storm Bravo” alongside the police, fire department, Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), HPA, HHLA, authorities such as the Federal Employment Agency, and companies such as Airbus and Blohm & Voss [a Hamburg shipbuilding company], day and night, throughout the city.
Emergency medical care, evacuation of the wounded, and crowd control will also be practiced.
Such military maneuvers also serve to establish the army’s image in the city. The population must become accustomed to this, as well as to the involvement of many “civilian” companies. Because, according to the state command, defense and resilience are a mission for society as a whole.
“We must prepare for war. We must be able to defend ourselves. And prepare the Bundeswehr and society for this,” demanded German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in a speech delivered on October 29, 2023. His goal is to transform the Bundeswehr into a combat-ready army by 2029. This statement is based on the premise of an imminent Russian attack from that date onwards.
Although experts and Pistorius himself confirm that there is no evidence of a Russian attack on a NATO partner, the constant repetition of an imminent attack is fueling fears among the population. Because “the Russians are at our doorstep” (Jens Spahn), the current warmongering can be presented as a necessary defensive measure and imposed against critical voices. By reassuring the population.
With its Green Paper 4.0, the think tank “Zukunftsforum Öffentliche Sicherheit eV” (Future Forum for Public Security) presents a veritable call to war and advocates the introduction of legal restrictions and measures of manipulation against the civilian population.
The appropriate bill to implement military preparedness as quickly as possible and remove existing obstacles is already in place. It provides for simplified procurement systems, relaxation of environmental standards, and even the elimination of tenders for contracts worth less than €440,000, as well as exemptions from occupational health and safety regulations and minimum wage standards in the defense industry.
It also includes measures in the civilian sphere, such as the establishment of Veterans’ Day, conscription education in schools, and the removal of civilian clauses.
As early as 2022, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the healthcare system to be “prepared for combat.” The German healthcare system, threatened by budget cuts and privatization, should focus primarily on supporting the armed forces. As Pistorius repeatedly stated: “This country cannot be defended with social welfare and education.”
The target of 5% of gross domestic product (by 2035, according to NATO targets) allocated to military, armament, and defense spending cannot be covered sustainably by the relaxed “special fund.” As a result, budget cuts will be made in other areas.
The pressure on the social system has been intensifying for a long time. More and more people are feeling the effects. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch are already reporting a significant increase in poverty in Germany.
It is high time to (re)activate an anti-militarist movement.
War starts here. Cut off arms manufacturers.
Sabotage warmongering and rearmament! “Whatever the cost.”
Never fit for war! Not today, not in 2029, never again!
via:sansnom translated by Act for freedom now!