On Tuesday, August 19, in Kassel (Hesse region), at around 3 a.m., flames engulfed four civilian vehicles belonging to the German army (Bundeswehr) fleet, parked on the site of the former Lüttich barracks in the Marbachshöhe district. All four vehicles (one Iveco, two Mercedes Vitos, and one Volkswagen station wagon) were completely destroyed in the attack, with damages estimated at €150,000 by the police. The following is a translation of the communiqué published the next day on de.indymedia and signed by “anarchists”…]
Never ready for war! Fire to the Bundeswehr vehicle depot in Kassel
It’s war, and Germany is preparing for it. A military, political, and economic frenzy has broken out, and everyone is expected to rally behind it. “Operation Germany” is supposed to get the country ready for war within five years, and camouflage is popping up everywhere: Rheinmetall, KNDS, and others are snapping up sites one after another, the civilian clause is crumbling in universities, Volkswagen’s management is openly considering getting into the arms business, hospitals and supply structures are being prepared for war, and the Bundeswehr (German army) is promoting military service in schools, on social media, and on billboards through carefully polished marketing campaigns. Investment in armaments is becoming a principle of sustainability.
Alongside material and ideological rearmament, there is an authoritarian shift within the country, as evidenced by the crackdown on solidarity with Palestine and the anti-militarist movement. This historic repressive turn is also in full swing.
Even Friedrich Merz [the German Chancellor] knows that capitalism is going through a serious global crisis, which is also affecting the German model of “world export champion”: “It was mainly the Americans who ensured peace and our freedom, we focused on the economy—and it worked wonderfully. Global markets, cheap intermediate goods mainly from China, cheap energy mainly from Russia, processing in Germany, then exporting all over the world—that was the German economic model. All of that is now being called into question.”
So difficult times lie ahead, dear citizens. But if German capital wants to continue exploiting the world, enriching the rich, and producing strong men capable of defending the nation, then we have to go through this. And we must do it all together. This mindset is not confined to Blackrock. It resonates throughout the Republic: prepare for war if you want to preserve your prosperity and freedom. For the struggle for power in the 21st century is far from over; it is entering a new phase.
The fact that we are now being asked to prepare for a third world war, here too, reminds us of the reality of the world. During all the years when we could tell ourselves stories of peace and prosperity, the guns were firing elsewhere. For years, war has been wreaking havoc wherever there is still something to take: in Iraq, Yemen, Gaza; it is destroying societies in Mexico, Kurdistan, and Brazil; and it is violating populations in Ukraine, Congo, and the Sahara.
But those who rely solely on war are incapable of achieving true peace. The fight against war is a fight against capitalism, which needs every crisis to generate new profits, just as it is a fight against patriarchy, which has been hammering home for millennia that there will always be rulers and ruled in this world. In this logic, there is no place for humanity, community, and dignity. This war will never be ours. It is a war of the dominant, steeped in destructive masculinity, megalomania, and exploitation. Neither Trump, nor Putin, nor Xi Jinping, nor Netanyahu are fighting for human values.
We will not allow ourselves to be distracted by their petty games. A better life can only be achieved when people, across national borders, fight for a world that is not for sale and in which human lives are not used cheaply. What we need is a combative peace movement that once again lives up to its name. We need a multitude of initiatives, networks, actions, and resistance to counter the threat of widespread outbreak of war. Our action is part of this, and we welcome all those who come together, organize, resist, and seek solutions.
Never alone, always together, always international! Yes, war and fascism are already at our doorstep, but with all our friends fighting around the world, this could be the turning point of our time. Because General Bodemann is right about one thing when he says: “The most important thing is that, in the end, every citizen counts in this war.” Mr. Bodemann, we agree with you on that.
So: do what really matters!
Never be ready for war—not today, not in 2029, not ever again!
Solidarity greetings to the Rheinmetall disarmament camp, which will take place from August 26 to 31 in Cologne!
VIDEO
https://kolektiva.media/w/t6A7TcbcTS2f41GJ23Ma4f
source: https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2025/10/02/kassel-germany-fire-at-army-vehicle-depot/