BERLIN—Anger is simmering in parts of Berlin where an arson attack claimed by a far-left group has caused a blackout that has plunged tens of thousands into icy darkness in mid-winter.
The power cut in the German capital’s leafy southwest—which has also halted local trains and forced the closure of shops, schools and hospitals—has sparked questions about how resilient the country is to sabotage of its critical infrastructure.
Jutta Herter, 77, said she was “simply furious” with those behind the arson attack on high-voltage cables first reported Saturday morning, which left 45,000 households in the snow-covered city in the dark and many without heating.
Herter said she and her husband had lit up the fire in their bedroom —but even this only raised the temperature to a chilly 13C.
Around her at the town hall in Zehlendorf, dozens of other residents were searching for warmth, hot drinks and electricity to charge their mobile phones, laptops and other devices.
Herter said friends had offered to put them up, but the couple wanted to stay near their home, worried about the water pipes freezing if they left the house for too long.
“You wonder what kind of people they are, what kind of feelings they have,” she told AFP about the attackers. “It’s unbelievable, you just can’t comprehend it.”
The arson was claimed online by an extremist group that calls itself Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) and said it was targeting “the fossil fuel economy” driving climate change.
It follows a similar attack claimed by an anarchist group in September, when electricity pylons were set on fire, causing a blackout affecting tens of thousands in southeastern Berlin.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service was checking the authenticity of the Vulkangruppe’s claim of responsibility, officials said.
