Thousands join Germany’s March for Life as activists attack pro-life stand

Thousands of pro-life demonstrators took to the streets of Berlin and Cologne on Saturday, Sept. 19, for Germany’s annual March for Life, which for the fourth time was held in both cities at once. Organizers put the combined turnout at about 6,000.

At the start of the Cologne rally on the Neumarkt square, counterdemonstrators threw paint at an information stand.

The Cologne rally, organized by Mona Schwaderlapp, a 27-year-old occupational therapist and mother of three, opened at 1 p.m. under the motto “The Right to Life Is a Human Right.” The route passed the Basilica of the Holy Apostles and ran along Zeughausstrasse through the city center before returning to the Neumarkt, where the march ended around 4 p.m.

Paint, smoke, and blockades in Cologne The paint was thrown by two counterdemonstrators who had obtained the green vests worn by the pro-life marchers and moved unnoticed to the stand of the pro-life foundation Stiftung Ja zum Leben, according to the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost. CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, observed on the scene in Cologne that the attackers also set off purple smoke bombs.

During the stage program, several…