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Peace

Easter March

In 1960 people in northern Germany set out over Easter for the first time to march against nuclear weapons. Where the idea came from and how the marches have changed since

Key points at a glance

  • The Easter March is a form of protest in which people march and demonstrate for peace and disarmament over the Easter holidays.
  • It began at Easter 1958 in Britain with a march against nuclear weapons between London and the nuclear weapons centre at Aldermaston.
  • In Germany around 1,000 people marched to Bergen-Hohne in 1960. In 1968, according to the broadcaster NDR, 300,000 people took part in rallies.
  • After a break in the 1970s the marches have been held again since 1980, in 2026 in more than 70 towns and cities.
  • They are coordinated by the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative in Bonn and carried by regional peace groups.

In numbers

1958

first march

around 10,000 people in Britain

1,000

people in 1960

at the first march in Germany, according to bpb

150,000

people in 1967

according to bpb

Participants in GermanyFigures as given by the sources, not our own count. Sources: bpb (1960 to 1967), NDR (1968 and 1983)
  • 1960around 1,000
  • 1964100,000
  • 1965130,000
  • 1967around 150,000
  • 1968300,000
  • 1983around 700,000
The marches then and nowSources: bpb, Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, NDR, tagesschau.de

1960 to 1969

Occasion
nuclear armament in East and West
Form
converging marches over several days at Easter
Size
peak in 1968 with 300,000 people
Organisation
Campaign for Disarmament, later for Democracy and Disarmament

since 1980

Occasion
first the NATO Double-Track Decision of 1979, later other concerns
Form
marches, rallies and bike tours in many places
Size
in 2026 marches in more than 70 towns, around 100 by Easter Monday
Organisation
regional groups, coordinated by the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative
Origin
Britain, Easter 1958
First march in Germany
1960, a converging march to Bergen-Hohne
Initiators
Konrad and Helga Tempel
Taken up again
from 1980

What is the Easter March?

The Easter March (Ostermarsch) is a form of protest in which people march and demonstrate together over the Easter holidays. It began as a protest against nuclear weapons; other issues were added later.

In Germany the first Easter March took place in 1960 in northern Germany. After a break in the 1970s, the tradition was taken up again from 1980, and it continues to this day.

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), the Easter March movement is regarded as a root of the Außerparlamentarische Opposition (extra-parliamentary opposition), APO for short. It is therefore part of the history of protest outside parliament in the Federal Republic.

Where does the idea come from?

It began at Easter 1958 with around 10,000 people in Britain. They demonstrated against the use of nuclear weapons with a four-day march.

According to the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative (Peace Cooperative Network), people there marched every year from Good Friday to Easter Monday from 1958 under the name Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The route led from the British nuclear weapons centre at Aldermaston to London, 80 kilometres away.

The march fell on the Easter holidays and lasted several days. Two years later, groups in northern Germany took up this form.

Which sign did the first marches carry?

On the march over the Easter weekend of 1958, a sign appeared for the first time that is known worldwide today. According to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it was designed by the British designer and artist Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector.

Holtom explained that the sign combines the semaphore letters N and D, for Nuclear Disarmament. Five hundred cardboard placards were made for the march.

The first march was organised by the Direct Action Committee and supported by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. You can read more about the history of the sign on the page about the peace sign.

Who were Konrad and Helga Tempel?

Konrad Tempel was a pacifist and Quaker from Hamburg. According to the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, he had taken part in the first Easter March in England and afterwards reported on it with enthusiasm to groups of conscientious objectors in northern Germany.

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, he and Helga Tempel were the main initiators of the German Easter March movement, motivated by Christian pacifism. The two had long been committed to supporting conscientious objectors and to a law on civilian service.

Through their contact with the British peace movement they adopted the idea of an Easter March against nuclear armament in East and West. Both worked as teachers in Hamburg.

How did the first march in Germany go?

Pacifists and groups of conscientious objectors in Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover and Braunschweig decided to march to Bergen-Hohne over Easter for three to four days, converging from several directions. The movement had been initiated above all by Konrad and Helga Tempel.

The destination was the Bergen-Hohne military training area on the Lüneburg Heath, where nuclear weapons carriers were tested. The sources describe the site differently, as a British nuclear weapons base or as a site where the US Army tested missiles as carriers for nuclear weapons.

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, around 1,000 people took part in marches and rallies in 1960. A year later the converging march was already being copied in many other places in the country.

How did the movement develop in the 1960s?

The movement grew quickly. From September 1963 it called itself Kampagne für Abrüstung, Ostermarsch der Atomwaffengegner (Campaign for Disarmament, Easter March of the Opponents of Nuclear Weapons). In 1964, 100,000 people followed its Easter demonstrations, and in 1965 there were 130,000.

In 1967 around 150,000 people took part, now representing a considerably broader range of protest issues. In 1968 the movement changed its name one last time, to Kampagne für Demokratie und Abrüstung (Campaign for Democracy and Disarmament).

With the new issues and the new name, the protest reached beyond nuclear weapons. In the 1970s the marches paused.

Why did the first phase of the movement end?

In 1968, according to NDR, the West German Easter March movement reached its peak, with 300,000 people taking part in rallies. At the same time it fragmented: issues such as the Vietnam War and the emergency laws polarised the different groups.

The Netzwerk Friedenskooperative names another reason: the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact states in 1968 put an extraordinary strain on cooperation between the different parts of the campaign. In 1969 the last joint Easter March finally took place.

The movement still had lasting effects. Because it organised outside parties, churches and trade unions, NDR regards it as one of the roots of the extra-parliamentary opposition.

Do the marches still take place today?

Yes. According to the Federal Agency, the NATO Double-Track Decision of 1979 brought the issue of rearmament back onto the agenda and drew large numbers to the demonstrations. From 1980 the Easter March tradition was taken up again, and it continues to this day. In 1983, according to NDR, around 700,000 people took to the streets across Germany.

The Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, founded in 1989 and based in Bonn, does information and press work for the Easter Marches held every year and helps to coordinate campaigns. The Federal Agency names the network as one of the actors that do networking work in the peace movement.

If you want to work for peace beyond a march, you will find peace missions in your area on W3ltfrieden. You can support an existing mission or start one yourself.

Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, history of the Easter March in Germany, translated

After a break in the 1970s, this Easter March tradition was taken up again from 1980, and it continues to this day.

Sources

What is peace?

Milestones

  1. 1958around 10,000 people march at Easter in Britain against nuclear weapons
  2. 1960first converging march in Germany to Bergen-Hohne, around 1,000 people
  3. 1961the converging march is copied in many other places
  4. 1963new name: Kampagne für Abrüstung, Ostermarsch der Atomwaffengegner (Campaign for Disarmament)
  5. 1964100,000 people at the Easter demonstrations
  6. 1965130,000 people
  7. 1967around 150,000 people, a broader range of issues
  8. 1968last change of name: Kampagne für Demokratie und Abrüstung (Campaign for Democracy and Disarmament)
  9. 1979the NATO Double-Track Decision brings the issue of rearmament back
  10. 1980the Easter March tradition is taken up again
  11. 1989the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative is founded

Frequently asked questions about the Easter March

When does the Easter March take place?

The marches take place over the Easter holidays, traditionally from Good Friday to Easter Monday. According to tagesschau.de, the main day of action every year is Holy Saturday, and some first rallies are held as early as Maundy Thursday.

Only a few events take place on Easter Sunday. Several marches end on Easter Monday; in 2026, according to tagesschau.de, there were around 30 more that day.

Where can I find an Easter March near me?

The Netzwerk Friedenskooperative keeps a calendar on its website of national, regional and local activities of the peace movement, including the Easter Marches.

The marches are organised locally by regional groups, such as the Infostelle Ostermarsch in Frankfurt am Main or the Hamburger Forum für Völkerverständigung und weltweite Abrüstung in Hamburg. The network itself is based in Bonn and has been active since 1989.

How many people take part today?

According to NDR, the Easter Marches have been more of a marginal phenomenon since the end of the Cold War, with larger turnouts in crisis years such as 1991 or 2003. On Holy Saturday 2026, according to the police, around 3,000 people gathered in Stuttgart and about 1,600 in Berlin. NDR reported around 2,000 participants in Hamburg and 750 in Hanover.

In 2025, according to tagesschau.de, thousands of people demonstrated at around 70 Easter Marches on Holy Saturday, and more than 110 demonstrations, rallies and bike tours were planned up to Easter Monday.

Why is it called the Easter March?

Because it takes place over the Easter holidays. According to the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, its British forerunner already marched every year from Good Friday to Easter Monday from the nuclear weapons centre at Aldermaston to London.

At the first march in 1958, Easter also played a part in the design: the placards were black and white on Good Friday and Saturday, and green and white on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Which route did the first march take in 1958?

The first march led from London to the British nuclear weapons centre at Aldermaston, around 80 kilometres away. According to Deutschlandfunk, thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday 1958, and the marchers arrived in Aldermaston on 7 April 1958.

A participant described the arrival there to Deutschlandfunk as disappointing. The following year the organisers reversed the direction and ended in Trafalgar Square, where they drew much more public attention. From then on the march led from Aldermaston to London.

Were there Easter Marches in the GDR?

The movement's songs reached the GDR as well. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, they were well received there, but the GDR leadership appropriated them for its own purposes.

NDR describes how members of the young GDR song movement spread the melodies in 1966. The state leadership adapted the songs to its world view, and soon afterwards they could be heard at May Day demonstrations in East Berlin.

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