But weeks passed and locals couldn’t just stand by and watch such a public tragedy. Influencers jumped on the ‘rescue Timmy’ bandwagon and nationwide appeals plus wealthy entrepreneurs raised the money to transport Timmy on a barge for release in the North Sea. The Mecklenburg Vorpommern government went along with the popular movement and approved the process, prioritising votes before science.

The rescue didn’t go well, particularly when a drone video of the barge showed Timmy banging itself against the walls. But the money was there, the job was done, and the release, off the shores of Denmark on May 2, seemed hopeful.

Within a couple of weeks Timmy was found dead, and the recriminations started. An agonised nation that had been divided from the beginning, needed to find someone to blame.