Culture rallies for Ukraine in Berlin

After a minute of silence, Ukraine's national anthem sounded on Sunday morning at the Berlin State Opera in the city center.

The event was part of a "Concert for Peace" intended to raise humanitarian aid for Ukraine, supported by donations from the European Central Bank and the German central bank.

Conductor Daniel Barenboim stepped up to the podium and gave a personal and moving speech in front of attendees including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank.

The conductor recalled that his Ukrainian grandfather and his grandmother, from what is now Belarus, had fled to Argentina to escape the Soviet pogroms of World War II.

"This region has already seen so much suffering," he said. He never dreamed that such a "conflict would break out again in Europe."

Russian culture boycott could turn 'witch hunt'

At the same time, Barenboim, who is married to Russian pianist Yelena Bashkirova, warned not to mix Russian culture and politics, and against generalizing about Russian people.

He said cultural boycotts would only end in a "witch hunt" against Russian artists, adding that banning literary works such as those by Dostoevsky or Russian classical music was not the best way to find a resolution. Diplomacy — "talk, don't shoot" —  was the only way forward, he said.

After performing the Ukraine national anthem, "Shche ne wmerla Ukrajina" ("Ukraine has not yet died"), the Berlin State Orchestra also played works by Schubert and Beethoven.

Daily solidarity actions

Such cultural events supporting Ukraine have become daily occurrences in Germany since the war began on February 24. There was another Sunday morning classical concert at the Staatsschauspiel in Dresden, with the proceeds from the peace concerts both there and in Berlin donated directly to the people of Ukraine via the UN's Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

Meanwhile, the International Literature Festival Berlin staged a solidarity event on Sunday afternoon at Bebelplatz, the site of the 1933 Nazi book burnings in the heart of Berlin — which is also the forecourt of the State Opera.

"Putin's attack on Ukraine is the attack on a country that is historically, linguistically and culturally a Europe in miniature," said the organizers of the "Call for solidarity with Ukraine!" event.

"Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv and Kharkiv are European metropolises that have survived all the catastrophes of the 20th century, first that of Stalinism, then that of German rule. Now war and terror have returned to Ukraine."

A long list of renowned writers including influential Ukrainian poet and novelist Yuri Andrukhovych, Belarusian journalist, author and Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Polish public intellectual Olga Tokarczuk, author and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa and the German-Iranian author Navid Kermani, winner of the German Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, spoke at the event. Berlin-based Ukrainian musician Yuriy Gurzhy, of band RotFront, and the Volny Choir from Belarus were among the performers.

'We must not remain silent'

The organizers expressed hope that a change in thinking will carry into Russia. "Despite censorship and propaganda, the truth about this war will also reach Russia," said a statement of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. "The images of the bombings in the center of Kharkiv, of the clouds of smoke over the residential districts of Kyiv, of the dead and of the millions on the run. Be it in Warsaw, Paris, Sarajevo or Berlin: we must not remain silent."

"The least we can do for the people of Ukraine at this moment is to help those under physical threat wherever we can, glory to Ukraine," said German historian Karl Schlögel, a Russian specialist who broke down as he spoke on stage at the event.

"Dear Ukrainian brothers and sisters, you should know it not us who shoot at you, not the Belarusians, it is Putin who shoots," said Alexievich, referring to the fact that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has committed to fighting with Russia. "A majority of Belarusians are on the side of light, are on the side of good."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke via video call. He called for a minute's silence, both for the soldiers and service personnel "who have given up their lives" for Ukraine, and for the "citizens and civilian population" who "have sacrificed their lives for the independence of their country."

He also called on the people of Europe "not to be silent, to support our effort."

"If Ukraine will fall, Europe will fall," he added. "This will the victory of the whole democratic world, this will be the victory of freedom."

The slogan "Glory to Ukraine" was chanted by Ukrainian activists on stage. "Today we, tomorrow you," they said. "We must protect Europe, not just Ukraine."

One protester at Bebelplatz named Nikitia Batalov held up a blue and white flag. "This is a Russian flag without a red stripe, without a red bloody stripe of Russia, without Putin," she told DW, explaining that half her family live in Ukraine and half in Russia.

Part of this article was originally published in German