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The greatest human catastrophe of the Thirty Years’ War was not the deaths on the battlefields, but the deaths in looting, pillaging and rape among the civilian population, by soldiers. If at all, this population, especially in the rural areas, could only defend themselves with everyday objects, not least pitchforks. Pitchforks as used in agriculture. That they become weapons happens only in the direst of circumstances. But it is still the same today as it was then: hunger is also used as a weapon. The war in Ukraine has worsened hunger in the poorest countries on Earth to such an extent that there are now more deaths from lack of food than from fighting on the battlefield. At the same time, there is a war on the climate, which has been massively damaged by the richest countries on earth….
Most of the people who die from this crime, die in the poorest countries.

Until today, the pitchfork is often the only means in these countries to resist the greed of those in power – if resistance is possible at all… We in Europe have a duty to help these people. The pitchforks, painted white, with a 400-year-old piece of wood above their tines, have been stripped of their direct defensive capability. As a symbol of the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia, placed over the part of the Town Hall where the Hall of Peace is located, they link together to form a network of peace. And this on the 125th anniversary of the birth of Erich Maria Remarque, the militant pacifist. We need a vigilant pacifist democracy to face the current crises and catastrophes.