Police break up school blockades at two Berlin high schools

Berlin police intervened on 17 October 2026 at two Gymnasien (high schools) where pupils had blocked the entrances in protest against education budget cuts and military recruitment visits, the Tagesspiegel and taz reported. Pupils linked arms and sat in front of the gates; teachers and officers eventually cleared the entrances so lessons could resume. The city's education senator sharply criticised what she called the instrumentalisation of children for political aims, while Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner appealed to the Left party not to support school blockades. Organisers from the Linksjugend defended the protest as a legitimate reaction to planned cuts and to Bundeswehr information events in schools. There were no reported injuries, but the incidents will trigger discussion in the city parliament on how schools, parties and police should handle political actions on school grounds.