The current war between Russia and Ukraine, and the helplessness of the EU, NATO and, indeed, of all citizens of the world in the face of this act of aggression have prompted these three boys to make this situation the focal point of their entry for this year’s u19 competition.

As the subject of outer space is also of great interest for the group, they came up with an idea: Putin should be stuffed into a rocket and shipped off into space, never to be seen again. But the moral principle of adults that violence should not be met with violence is very difficult for the kids to understand. Simple solutions would be just that: simple, but what would the consequences of these simple solutions be? In any case, we are not allowed to blast Putin out into space—this would have to be left up to people in his own country. Putin’s compatriots would have to confuse him to the point that he—like in the tale of the emperor with no clothes—is blinded by jubilation and praise from his own people and would board the rocket in order to travel out into outer space, which in his mind belongs to him. And just as the Pied Piper of Hamelin led the rats astray, the Russian people lure Putin to embark on this space journey by incessantly praising him and showering him with flattery. With fanfares and timpani, Putin is ushered across a white carpet into the Mir space station. The military staff from the Kremlin is his escort; bells ring and volume of the timpani is ramped up to 650 decibels. Putin is satisfied. Like the Pied Piper, he marches into the Mir space station, accompanied by tanks, rockets, and sirens, and like in the story of the emperor’s new clothes, he only has eyes for his escort and the splendor of the Mir. Putin is inside! 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and take-off! The war is over!