Berlin police to monitor schools after student protests

The police department stated it is in close contact with the Senate Department for Education and schools, and is prepared to deploy quickly if needed. “We are set up to be able to be at a school very, very quickly,” a police spokesperson said. They added that schools and parents are being made increasingly aware of the situation.

Police districts are maintaining contact with individual schools. The spokesperson emphasized that the goal is not to prevent demonstrations, but to prevent the blocking of entrances.

Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) stated that a line has been crossed when “external individuals instrumentalize the concerns of students for their own purposes, block access to the school, and thereby disrupt teaching and the school climate.” She acknowledged the importance of critical engagement with political and social developments in a democracy, but stressed the need to respect the limits of acceptable protest forms, ensuring other students can access the school and participate in classes.

Currently, Berlin police have not received information indicating an increase in calls for blockades or protests at schools. However, they are carefully observing and analyzing the current developments, including student protests in France.

Prior to the autumn break, students protested and blocked entrances to a Berlin-Friedrichshain high school on Friday. According to the “School Strike against Compulsory Military Service” initiative, the protest focused on demands for increased funding for education and opposition to a military draft. Police identified a group of approximately 50 people who were not students. While the student protest itself was peaceful, clashes occurred between the other group and the police.

Police President Barbara Slowik Meisel assessed the intervention, which occurred on October 16 and was coordinated with the school administration, as a model for similar operations. The police are concerned that student protests could be exploited by radical groups, a situation also observed during nationwide youth protests by “Gen Z regelt” on Saturday. The movement is advocating for increased funding for schools, measures against rising living costs, social justice, and more climate protection.

To educate students about their right to freedom of assembly, the police are offering information events where young people are playfully introduced to the topic, for example, by preparing their own demonstration.