Status: 03/03/2023 10:59 p.m
Two years in a row, the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall was canceled due to Corona. On Friday evening, 400 guests were again invited. The focus this time was the Ukraine war.
Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) gave a speech at the beginning of the banquet, in which he reaffirmed the support of the Hanseatic city and Germany for Ukraine. In a recent speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that Russia’s attacks were continuing, Tschentscher explained, adding: “As long as this is the case, Germany, our partners in Europe and NATO will also support Ukraine, you to exercise the right of self-defence legitimized by Article 51 of the UN Charter.”
Guests of honor from the OSCE and NATO
Hamburg’s Mayor Tschentscher welcomed OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid and NATO Commander-in-Chief in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli.
The motto of the Matthiae meal this year was “For security in the turning point”. Tschentscher had previously welcomed the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Helga Maria Schmid, and the Commander-in-Chief of NATO in Europe, General Christoper Cavoli, as guests of honor in the town hall.
NATO supreme commander: The scale of the war is unbelievable
The scale of the war in Ukraine is unbelievable, Cavoli said in his speech. Russia has so far lost more than 2,000 large battle tanks. More than 200,000 Russian soldiers and over 1,800 officers were killed or wounded. On average, the Russian army fires more than 23,000 artillery shells per day. When the going gets tough for NATO, “hard power” must be an argument. “If the other comes with a tank, you should also have a tank,” said Cavoli. One lesson learned from the Cold War, however, is that weapon precision is what counts. In addition, the production capacity of the defense industry is important. A war is won by those who can produce the fastest.
OSCE Secretary General: Banquet in the tradition of the Hanseatic League
In her speech, Schmid said that the OSCE stands ready to support peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. She recalled that the banquet was in the tradition of the Hanseatic League. And the city alliance recognized centuries ago that trade relations, prosperity, stability and security go hand in hand, said the German diplomat. The idea of the Matthiae meal is to sit together with “friendly powers”, to talk and create trust. This is similar to the founding idea of the OSCE. “However, our work differs fundamentally in one central point, because we don’t just sit down at one table with friendly powers,” emphasized the Secretary General.
Senate: World’s oldest feast still celebrated
According to the Senate, the Matthiae meal is the world‘s oldest feast that is still celebrated. It has been historically documented since 1365. However, starting in 1724, there was no Matthiae meal for more than 200 years. The reasons for this are unknown.
In the past two years, the banquet did not take place due to the corona pandemic. In 2021, the guests of honor, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and the then Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD), gave their speeches online. In 2022, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and the Secretary General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, were the virtual guests of honor.
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