Anti-War-Café
Among all the Berlin peculiarities soon to divulged on this site, the COOP Anti-War Café likely takes first place when it comes to quirkiness and eccentricity.
It’s going to be the first place featured for “Rudi’s Berlin” because, well, anything that might stop a war would be welcome round about now.
When I told a friend about my intention to describe interesting places in Berlin, he strongly recommended it to me.
The Anti-War Café also has a particular poignancy for me because I first wrote about it the day after Putin sent his troops into Ukraine (Feb 24, 2022), though of course that wasn’t the first time he did that.
Rochstraße is a prime location – Hackescher Markt and Alexanderplatz are just around the corner, parking zones are monitored 24/7, and the area is filled with chic expensive shops, restaurants, and cafés.
There, flanked by a fancy café on one side and a cookie joint on the other, sits a portal into another world, flanked by a Cuba flag and red flag, both adorned by Che Guevara’s defiant face.
The Anti-War Café feels like a romantic throwback to the plenary room of a 1980s squat – the mist of alternative subculture lingers in the air. Upon entering the open area and climbing a ramp past T-shirts with protest slogans, you find the counter, a well-stocked fridge, and more posters, banners, placards, pennants, and wall decorations – as if an antifa demonstration had stormed the place and nailed all their protest gear to the walls and ceiling. Maybe they did.
The main theme here is peace – peace on Earth and peace with the Soviet people. It is specifically the kind of peace envisioned by the owner and operator of the Anti-War Café, Heinrich Bücker.
Bücker has been running his bastion since 2005 and seen the area around his café become gentrified and overgrown by capital in the years since.
Only his little gem defies the superior forces, much like the legendary Gallic village in Armorica – a sort of leftist Asterix and Obelix rolled into one.
Tourists are welcome and lured by the very cheap beer. The selection is excellent. There’s Berliner, Störtebekker, Rothaus Pils, Spaten, Pilsner Urquell, Sterni and even alcohol-free Sterni for those who want to dodge the hangovers. Orange stickers label the booze “Anti War Beer” – this is where you can drink for peace!
Taking photos is expressly permitted, as the goal is to spread the truth – Bücker’s truth, which aligns closely with the perspective of the current Russian regime.
“Putin didn’t want to invade Ukraine,” he told Abandoned Berlin.
Bücker is happy to talk about his beliefs with anyone, and he’ll respect differing opinions, but you’ll not change his stubborn mind about Putin (whom he believes is simply grossly misunderstood), or Russia, or indeed any of the BRICS countries.
He stresses that he supports “the concept of a multipolar world based on the idea of cooperation instead of confrontation.”
The Anti-War Café houses an anti-war museum in the basement, which is essentially a tribute to the victorious Soviet forces after World War II. The legendary image of the Red Army raising the flag over the burned-out Reichstag appears, and on the other side there’s the German surrender in Karlshorst on May 8, 1945. A Soviet flag hangs on the back wall. The message is enforced that the friendly Russian people brought peace to the Germans.
There’s also a framed picture of Capitaine Ibrahim Traoré, the president of Burkina Faso, where his military junta dissolved all the political parties in January.
It’s easier to drink than to argue. Conversations are welcomed and debates encouraged at the Anti-War Café, fueled by “Anti-War Beer” to a roots reggae soundtrack. It’s here that plans for the world revolution are made.
And on Friday nights, there’s live music sessions in the basement!
I smile inwardly at the thought of such a café being opened today in Moscow in the spirit of peace and brotherhood with Trump’s USA. Its half-life would likely be short.
Nevertheless, Bücker’s institution is a colorful splash of freedom of expression in Berlin and in our country.
However, this freedom has its limits. Bücker found himself in court after a June 2022 speech marking the 81st anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, in which he defended Putin’s current actions and denounced German involvement in any wars against Russia. His views clearly clash with the modern zeitgeist, though he avoided punishment after the case moved through several instances of the court system.
Ultimately, Bücker’s freedom of expression faces a greater threat from the overwhelming market forces bearing down on his little holdout. He only recently secured a five-year extension on the lease, but the next battle is never far away.
Peace ✌️
📍 The COOP Anti-War Café, Rochstraße 3, 10178 Berlin.
Open every day from 6 p.m. except Sundays and Mondays.
