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Online seit:
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Sun Nov 24 19:18:10 1996
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This page wants to give information about one of the larger projects there:
The Hafenstrasse (Harbour Street) is described as an 'alternative living project'. More than 100 people live in the 13 houses. There is as well a Soup Kitchen, a breakfast cafe, 2 pubs and a concert room organised by the residents. There used to be a library as well.
1981 In the autumn of 1981 the empty houses of the Hafenstrasse are quietly occupied. The Council-owned houses are badly run down. In the previous months there have been many houses squatted in the area, all of which are evicted within Z4 hours due to police actions.
1982 Feb./Mar.: The squatted houses are publically announced.
Eviction is immediately attempted but the houses remain firm.
A public letter is sent to the Council with the demands: no evietion,
negotiations over "self administration and utilisation".
June: 18 days before the local elections the houses receive a
Status Quo Promise from the Mayor: first of all no eviction, but
also examination of the buildings by experts and a report of repair
costs. The results of the report are made public in July the cost
of rennovation is way below the cost of the new building draft
(the city planned to build an extensive office-block development).
September: the first raid by police, entering the houses under the pretext of looking for explosives. First Hafenstrasse-Deno with a loudspeaker in a shopping trolley. Agreements with Couneil over building repairs and rennovations. In the end of the year the Soup Kitchen opens, supplying regular meals.
1983: Quarrelling over rennovation payments begin. A festival
is held locally to raise money. Following this there is a huge
police build-up, house searches follow with arrests.
Through the summer negotiations with the Council continue over
the future of the houses. During one spontaneous demo the police
encircle and effectively lock-in the people. They are held there
for hours powerless to leave. 154 are arrested. It became known
as the 1st Hamburg lock-in.
With the possibility of eviction an ever present threat, the
occupants decide to look towards a contract agreement with
the Council in order for them to secure the houses. Towards the
end of the year a compromise is found.
1984: With the help of money from the 'Green Party'
scaffolding erected in order to paint a wall mural. 'A Colourful
Picture Full of Horror" (Hamburg Daily Rag).
After Molotov attacks and raids by Fascist groups night watch
groups are organised. On 4th Dec., political prisoners
of the RAF (The Red Army Faction, a German armed resistance group)
and others begin an indefinite hungerstrike. They are demanding
to get grouped together in one prison (rather than being dispersed
all over the country), and to have Contact with each other. On
New Year s Eve there is a Germany-wide Day of Resistance at the
Hafenstrasse followed with a solidarity-desonstration to a local
prison.
1985: To show solidarity with the political prisoners and
to inerease publicity of the hungerstrike, barricades are built
around the houses of the Hafenstrasse.
With more financial help from the Green Pary the Störtebeker
Centre (as an antifascist centre) is developed in one of the houses.
March: Another forced inspection under huge police presence, whereby
scaffolding is disassembled and stolen, doors and stairs demolished,
electricity meters removed and one flat evicted. Next month electricity
is cut off in one of the houses. Through the summer, occupants
of the houses organize open days, public diskussions and film
exhibitions.
September: Barricades were erected in protest to the battering
received by an anti-faseist deso in Frankfurt in which one demonstrator
was killed by police. In October a campaign against the Hafenstrasse
is started by the media, whereby they claim that members of the
RAF are living there.
l986 In August the police try to storm one of the houses,
again under the pretense of looking for a supposed criminal. Some
houses are evicted, parts are demolished and some windows and
doors are bricked up. Also another load of scaffolding is seized
(stolen). After this pressure is put on scaffolding firms of Hamburg
not to rent out equipment to the Hafenstrasse any more. In October
police pressure escalates, as 500 special-police occupy the area
of the houses. For the whole day the houses are under siege and
close combat troops storm in and try to destroy everything which
isn t brick: six flats are evicted, household goods are thrown
out of the windows, doors and toilets and electrical goods are
destroyed, and CS-gas sprayed on cups and beds. On this evening
a spontaneous deno is called. 2,000 people turn up and try to
make their way to the Hafenstrasse. They aren't able to get through
because the police have cordoned off the entire area around the
Hafenstrasse. The Council have declared this area a prohibited
zone. In the following days and nights many protests and actions
are made around Hamburg. Further solidarity actions take place
all over Germany. and also in Holland and Denmark. On
the 1st Nov another 2,000 strong demo is attacked by the police.
Two weeks later more evictions are attempted. By December
barricades are burning again. On 20 Dec. a 12,000 strong solidarity
demo marches through Hamburg calling for an end to the police
terror
1987: The fact that the Hafenstrasse is still in existance
in the beginning of this yearns is considered the first political
success. It is recognised that this is largely due to the wide
level o. international solidarity.
Local initiatives develop the concept of 'Day X'. With an explosive
day of many sided, decentralized and imaginative actions against
the Council, they could emphasize the demands of the occupants
of the Hafenstrasse and politically prepare for the reoccupation
of the lost houses.
In April 'day X' takes place, the police are completely surprised.
In many parts of the eity at a co-ordinated time, many groups
from wide ranging political spheres demonstrate against the destructive
policies of the Council. In Hamburg more than 30 attions took
place, also in other cities in Germany, and further in Holland
and Denmark. The next day the newspapers write: "Terror in
Hamburg".
In July the empty houses are squatted again, and a public letter
sent to the Council demanding an end to the State terror of the
previous months and years. Thousands of people come to support
the Hafenstrasse and spontaneous demos march off to the prison
and to another new squat. An outside cinema is set up to keep
the supporters entertained.
The Council recognizes that the support for the houses is more
than a match. They call councillors back from their holidays
for 'Crisis sessions'. Negotiations start between the Council
and the occupants' lawyers. It is decided the squatting actions
are illegal. The solidarity for the houses of the Hafenstrasse
is growing more and more. A huge demo is called for in October
with over 40 groups/institutions being involved. Also the
newly established "Radio Hafenstrasse" is on the air
at all times and is an important organiser, informing the
listeners of police movement at crucial times
The summer months are full of legal battles between the Occupants
and the Council to find a contract which suits them both.
Although it is politically a compromise, the signing
of a contract means that for the moment the houses can remain
secure. The police are not able to instantly eviet but now have
to look towards the courts and legal channels. Thus allowing the
occupants room to breathe and to keep developing other political
activities coming from the houses.
Through demonstrations and wide public support the Council is
under intense pressure and anxious to find a solution to the uncomfortable
issue of the Hafenstrasse.
In November the Council draws up a contract which tsuits' the
occupants but with the condition that all barricades are to be
removed within one day. The contract is finally signed. The same
day the Hafenstrasse releases a statement: "The Hafenstrasse
is officially secured. We recognize that the struggle continues
and that this is only one part. our real ains are not fulfilled
through the contract. We continue working towards self-determined,
autonomous lives and Continue building resistance against oppression."
1988: It is demanded by the Council to paint over
the 'Boycott Israel' mural which is complied with. From now on
the Council are looking towards ways to cancel the contrast by
trying to make court actions against occupants, for both real
and alleged incidents.
1989: In May the Council demands that the caravans which
are situtated between the houses are removed within two days.
This is complied with, except for three which are immobile.
The same day 2,500 police, 20 water cannons and 10 armoured cars
arrive, under the pretext of looking for an illegal radio station.
With the use of the water cannons and by brutally attacking the
people they aain entry. Many people are injured and houses badly
damaged. This is even though the people react peacefully because
they know in this case that if they try to defend the houses,
the police will have the excuse to eviet the whole block. Further
provocations include the police shooting into the air near by
two occupants and between the legs of a third who comes
to assist.
In September it is demanded that a new mural is painted over and
scaffolding then removed. This is enforced by a heavy police
presence. Again many people are injured as well as getting pushed
off scaffolding.
In the same month a pipe bomb explodes in front of one of the
houses, giving damage up to the 3rd floor. Shortly before 40 hooligans
had been chased away.
In December the director of The German Bank is killed by the RAF.
This sees the revival of a media smear campaign attempting to
link this 'illegal terrorist group' with the Hafenstrasse.
1990: In May there is a further massive raid, due to
warrants out on two residents. Again the area around the
Hafenstrasse is declared a prohibited zone with everyone in the
entire area having to show ID. This is enforced by 3,000 police.
Vanfuls of alleged evidenceare taken away (including a computer,
a copy machine, and street maps of Hamburg). The next day the
contract is cancelled because of alleged criminal activity. This
cancellation is not yet legally binding.
In Sept two articles appear in STERN, a widely eireulated German
magazine, linking the RAF group with the Hafenstrasse. Even the
German Parliament are debating these issues. A few days later
the RAF releases a statement denying any connections to the Hafenstrasse.
1991: In Jan. the court approves the cancelling of the
contract. The bailiff who is responsible for the eviction doesn't
accept the court ruling. The court then agrees with this. The
development is (and it's still continuing) that each occupant
must be taken to court seperately. This is a real legal headache
for the courts as they have to find out the names of all the individual
occupants first (Ed. At the time of writing) these legal proceedings
look like they will continue for some years).
1992: This is the year in which the Capitalist states are celebrating 500 years of imperialism. Indigenous people supported by solidarity groups all around the world are demonstrating and producing counter-information against this imperialist bullshit. The people of the Hafenstrasse meet with indigenous people of South America. They decide together to design and paint a wall mural on this theme. They assemble the scaffolding and proceed with the foundation. One morning at 5 a.m. the police arrives with a troup of construction workers to renove the scaffolding. As they proceed to do this, one of the occupants takes a bucket of 2year-old rotten fish up on to the roof and throws it down over them. The smell is so bad it stays for a week (the rag press reports "Hafenstrasse, What Kind of Dirty Pigs Are You?"). After this incident the Hafenstrasse calls for a 'Painting Weekend'. They organize another scaffolding, food and music is supplied. More than 500 people turn up as support, and the wall nural is now completed.