We’ve seen lots of this sort of thing in the UK and a bit here in the US. Basically the idea behind these stunts is to block traffic as a way to raise the profile of climate change as an issue. Various environmental groups have tried other stunts. We’ve seen people gluing themselves to famous paintings and even setting themselves on fire. In Germany a group of activists glued themselves to the floor of a VW factory only to quickly realize this would make it difficult to use the bathroom. Aren’t these people supposed to be forward thinkers?

As Beege pointed out earlier this month, German activists tried another stunt in which two of them glued themselves to a railing in the midst of a live concert. Unfortunately, the didn’t seem to know that the railing was removable and they were quickly led off stage. Perhaps they learned a lesson from that one because a German activist group called Last Generation seems to be returning to the tried and true protest tactic of blocking traffic and making people angry.

It’s rush hour on a cold, snowy morning in Berlin. Commuter traffic has come to a standstill at a highway exit on the western edge of the city, as a dozen climate activists sit down on a pedestrian crossing in front of four lanes of cars and trucks…

Some of the drivers rev their engines out of frustration. Others get out of their cars and shout in anger…

One driver, 48-year-old Jenni Pröller, says she’s also anxious about the planet’s future but this is not the place to discuss it. “I have nothing against protests, but this is something else! The gall of these people!” Pröller shouts. “I’m trying to get my daughter to an exam. She’s a law student and sitting the bar this morning.”

NPR reports that activists are particularly upset because Germany has been turning to coal to make up for missing energy it would normally have purchased from Russia. But the group’s extreme actions have turned the public, the media and the authorities against them.

The mass-market daily Bild has called the traffic-stopping protesters “climate hacks” and has published unflattering portrayals of individual participants. In some states the legal system has gone into overdrive: Bavaria locked up more than a dozen Last Generation members preventively for days, and elsewhere state prosecutors raided the activists’ homes and confiscated personal electronics while investigating whether the group constitutes a “criminal gang.”

The investigation earlier this month had to do with a protest at an oil refinery that took place in April.

German prosecutors said on Wednesday police carried out searches across seven states on Tuesday in their investigation of climate activists from the Last Generation group, suspecting possible criminal acts and the formation of a “criminal organisation”.

The investigation was connected to possible criminal acts in connection to activities around the Schwedt oil refinery, a statement said. A spokesperson for Last Generation had dismissed the searches on Tuesday as an attempt at intimidation.

The activists’ PR campaign really took a nosedive after they were blamed for a death.

The activists gained a new level of infamy in November when a cyclist in Berlin died after being pinned by a cement mixer during one of the group’s traffic jams.

Early reports suggested the woman could have survived if a specialized emergency vehicle could have made it through the backup. Reaction was swift, with many condemning the activist group. It later turned out that a doctor on site had already decided on a different course of action that did not require the traffic-bound emergency vehicle…
Polls taken just after the accident found that 80 percent of Germans were critical of the group’s action and 86 percent thought the actions ended up hurting the cause of fighting climate change.

But as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity and the result of all the attention is that more people have joined the group. Their Twitter account shows lots of people gluing themselves to streets. This one was in Berlin.

In #Berlin sind Blockaden nahe der Beusselstr.. Auf der #A100-Zufahrt kleben wir uns auf den kalten Asphalt und sorgen für Verkehrsstop.

Wir machen das nicht leichtfertig. Störung für die Menschen tun uns leid. Wir wissen keine anderen effektiven Mittel, um uns alle zu retten. pic.twitter.com/AT5cURkpAq

— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) December 20, 2022

This was in Freiburg:

++ Blockade in #Freiburg ++

Wir sind die #LetzteGeneration vor den Kipppunkten.

Überall in Deutschland setzt sich die Erkenntnis durch, dass friedlicher Widerstand angesichts der drohenden Katastrophe notwendig ist.
Jetzt können wir alle gemeinsam das Ruder noch rumreißen! pic.twitter.com/br17vAP9iU

— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) December 19, 2022

Not sure but I think this protest was in Munich.

Mehrere der Protestierenden wurden erst am Samstag aus der JVA Stadelheim entlassen.

Dabei ist auch Judith (42, 2x Mutter). Sie saß bereits mehrfach für Wochen ohne Prozess in Haft. Sie geht die Gefahr ein, Weihnachten in einer Zelle statt mit ihrer Familie zu verbringen. pic.twitter.com/uNwe3IvG2e

— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) December 21, 2022

Another protest in Berlin.

Bei der Blockade am Spandauer Damm in #Berlin kamen mehrere Bürger:innen als Unterstützung oder aus reinem Interesse dazu. Es macht Mut und Hoffnung zu sehen, wie viel Zuspruch wir bekommen.

Die Bundesregierung muss endlich handeln, um die Lebensgrundlagen #FürAlle zu erhalten. pic.twitter.com/P5rTHqGrC0

— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) December 17, 2022

They’ve even done this at airports.

🚨 Runways at Munich Airport closed because climate conspiracy theorists glued themselves on the tarmac.#MunichAirport #Germany #ClimateScam pic.twitter.com/YA5UusD5XP

— Salty Irish☘Girl 🇺🇲 (@IrishAmerican27) December 8, 2022

Here they are cutting the top off a public Christmas tree in Berlin.

Mehr Infos zum Absägen der Baumspitze am Brandenburger Tor hier in der Pressemitteilung!https://t.co/mHxr5pt8F1

— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) December 21, 2022

I could go on but you get the idea. This group is trying to ramp up its activism in 2023. We’ll have to wait and see how much move of this the German public is willing to tolerate.