At the Frankfurt Hauptwache S-Bahn station on Saturday afternoon, you will come across people with Ukrainian flags and hand-made signs.
Everyone is going in the same direction, towards Goetheplatz and Roßmarkt, to the rally in solidarity with Ukraine.
One of them is David Court, an American who has lived in Frankfurt for 40 years.
His sign reads, in German and in English: "Vladimir Putin's legacy - I am a war criminal and a liar".
He demonstrated against Trump in front of the American embassy three years ago and found it no problem to find strong words.
"When I found out about the invasion of Ukraine, I knew I couldn't accept it like that.
So I unpacked my old sign and redecorated it a bit.”
At half past twelve the Goetheplatz is still quite empty.
At the edge stands Mrs. Blochwitz from Langgöns.
"I have so many friends in Ukraine, it's so terrible." She received an email shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.
In it, a friend reports that she is not worried, that she is continuing to build her house, that everything is going according to plan.
Now Ms. Blochwitz no longer gets an answer.
Another friend is standing at the Polish border, she is planning to come to Germany.
Mrs. Blochwitz keeps her house free for them.
“We want help – including military help”
More and more people are pouring into the square.
At 1 p.m., the official start of the rally, the square is packed.
The crowd stretches as far as Goetheplatz.
There is a depressed mood.
Which isn't due to the weather: the sun keeps peeking out from behind the clouds, bathing the blue-and-yellow crowd in bright light.
People hung Ukrainian flags around their shoulders.
They painted the Ukrainian flag on their foreheads and on their masks.
They are old people, young people, families.
There are also onlookers among them, but most have come together today to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
To demonstrate against the war.
Or to shake up German politics.
Including Anna and her husband.
Anna is originally from Ukraine.
“My whole family lives in Ukraine.
They suffer.
They had to leave their house because the city was being bombed.
We want help – including military help.” Her husband adds: “Honestly, I'm ashamed of German politics.
Such a strong country that gives off such a weak image internationally.
We do not dare to impose harsh sanctions.
That's just sad."
The Frankfurt parties (Greens, FDP, Volt, SPD, CDU, Die Linke), the German-Ukrainian Society, the Europa Union Frankfurt, the Council of Religions and many other organizations organized a rally on Saturday under the hashtag #StandWithUkraine.
A peace demonstration.
They expected at least 1000 people - according to the dpa there are far more, between six and seven thousand participants.
There is sometimes no getting through on the square.
After all, almost everyone wears masks.
If you turn around your own axis, you only see a sea of signs.
Some carry messages of peace: "Save Ukraine", "Stop the War".
A child carries a self-painted sign that reads "No war" in scrawled letters.
Even the little ones understand. Some signs have inscriptions like "Putin,
go home" and "Putin is a murderer".
Others are calling for measures like “Close the sky” and “Ban Russia from SWIFT”.
Then the speeches begin.
Consul General of Ukraine Vadym Kostiuk also addresses the crowd.
He reminds of the cohesion in Europe and in Ukraine.
“We showed how much Europe is in Ukraine.
Show us how much European Ukraine is in you.
Because in the current situation, pathological pacifism is deadly,” says Kostiuk.
A few people with Ukrainian roots speak up spontaneously, including a young girl, Ruth - she is singing a song in Ukrainian.
People cheer and raise their fists in the air.
A strong sense of community can be felt among those attending the rally.
Again and again the call sounds: "Slava Ukrajini", i.e. "Honour of Ukraine" or "Long live Ukraine".
The Ukrainian national anthem is sung.
After the rally, the crowd slowly disperses.
In the afternoon, some participants marched in a protest march to the Russian Consulate General.