Thạc Sĩ Contested space squatting in divided Berlin C. 1970 – C. 1990

ii
 

 
In
 Erwägung,
 daß
 da
 Häuser
 stehen
 
während
 ihr
 uns
 ohne
 Bleibe
 laßt
 
haben
 wir
 beschlossen,
 
jetzt
 dort
 einzuziehen
 
weil
 es
 uns
 in
 uns'ren
 Löchern
 nicht
 mehr
 paßt.
 

 
-­‐
 Bertolt
 Brecht,
 Resolution
 der
 Kommunarden
  (1934)
 

 

 

 

 

 
Wir
 brauchen
 keine
 Hausbesitzer,
 
 
denn
 die
 Häuser
 gehören
 uns.
 
 
Wir
 brauchen
 keine
 Fabrikbesitzer,
 
 
die
 Fabriken
 gehören
 uns.
 

 
-­‐
 Ton
 Steine
 Scherben,
 Die
 letzte
 Schlacht
 gewinnen
 wir
 (1972)
 

 
 iii
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
for
 my
 mother
 and
 father
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I
 declare
 that
 this
 thesis
 is
 entirely
 my
 own
 work
 and
 that
 no
 part
 of
 
it
  has
  previously
  been
  submitted
  for
  any
 other
 degree
 or
 
professional
 qualification,
 nor
 has
 it
 been
 published
 in
 any
 form.
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  6
 April
 2015
 

 
 iv
 
ABSTRACT
 
This
  thesis
  examines
  the
  history
  of
  urban
  squatting
 in
 East
 and
 West
 Berlin
 
from
 c.
 1970
 to
 c.1990.
 
 In
 doing
 so,
 it
 explores
 the
 relationship
 between
 urban
 
space,
 opposition
 and
 conformity,
 mainstream
 and
 alternative
 cultures,
 as
 well
 
as
  questio ns
  of
  identity
  and
  belonging
  in
  both
  halves
 of
 the
 formerly
 divided
 
city.
 
 During
 Berlin’s
 history
 of
 division,
 illegal
 squatting
 was
 undertaken
 by
 a
 
diverse
 range
 of
 actors
 from
 across
 the
 period’s
 political
 and
 Cold
 War
 divides.
 
 
The
  practice
  emerged
 in
 both
  East
  and
  West
  Berlin
  during
 the
 early
 1970s,
 
continuing
 and
 intensifying
 during
 the
 following
 decade,
 before
 the
 traditions
 of
 
squatting
 on
 both
 sides
 of
 the
 Berlin
 Wall
 converged
 in
 1989 -­‐90,
 as
 the
 city’s
 –
 
and
 Germany’s
 –
 physical
 division
 was
 overc ome.
 
 Squatting,
 this
 thesis
 argues,
 
provides
  an
  important
  yet
  little
  studied
  chapter
 in
 Berlin’s
  –
 and
  indeed
 
Germany’s
 –
 post-­‐war
 history.
 What
 is
 more,
 it
 provides
 an
 example
 of
 the
 ways
 
in
  which,
  during
  the
  period
  of
  Cold
  War
  division,
 Berlin’s
 and
 Ger many’s
 
symbolic
  meaning
  was
  not
  only
  contested
 between
 East
  and
  West,
 but
 was,
 
within
 the
 respective
 societies,
 also
 re -­‐interpreted
 from
 below.
 
 

  Drawing
 on
 a
 broad
 range
 of
 archival
 sources,
 this
 thesis
 compares
 and
 
contrasts
 the
 experience
 of
 squatters
 o n
 both
 sides
 of
 the
 Berlin
 Wall,
 and
 the
 
ways
 in
 which
 the
 respective
 polities
 responded
 to
 this
 phenomenon.
 
 Broadly
 
similar
  paradigms
  of
  urban
  renewal,
  this
  thesis
  argues,
 account
 for
 not
 only
 
parallels
 in
 the
 temporality
 but
 also
 the
 geography
 of
 squatt ing
 in
 East
 and
 West
 
Berlin.
 
 In
 both
 Berlins,
 this
 thesis
 demonstrates,
 the
 history
 of
 squatting
 was
 
interconnected
  with
  that
  of
  domestic
  opposition
  and
  political
 dissidence.
 
 
Moreover,
  squatting
  contributed
  to
  the
  emergence
  of
 alternative
 urban
 
lifestyles,
 which
 sustained
 comparable
 urban
 sub -­‐cultures
 on
 both
 sides
 of
 the
 
Cold
  War
  divide.
 
 Perhaps
  counter-­‐intuitively,
  this
  thesis
  argues
 that,
 East
 
Germany’s
  apparatus
  of
  control
  notwithstanding,
  the
  relationship
 between
 
squatters
 and
 the
 authorities
 in
 the
 GDR
 was
 generally
 more
 consensual
 than
 it
 
was
 between
 their
 counterparts
 in
 West
 Germany
 and
 West
 Berlin.
 
 The
 thesis
 
not
  only
  points
  to
  the
  limits
  of
  the
  totalitarian
  model
 of
 interpretation
 when
 
applied
  to
  late
  Socialist
  society
  in
  the
 GDR,
 but
 also
 questions
  the
 dominant
 
historiographical
  trend
  of
  studying
  the
  two
  Germanys
  in
 isolation
 from
 one
 
another.
 
 Taking
 its
 cue
 from
 a
 number
 of
 influential
 scholars,
 this
 thesis
 asserts
 
the
  importance
  of
  incorporating
  the
  experiences
  of
 both
 East
 and
 West
 
Germany
 into
 a
 narrative
 of
 the
 nation’s
 divided
 past.
 
 Through
 identifying
 and
 
analysing
 the
 overarching
 variable
 of
 urban
 squatting,
 
 this
 thesis
 attempts
 to
 
develops
  a
  perspective
  that
  regards
 the
 post -­‐war
  history
  of
  East
 and
 West
 
Germany
 as
 part
 of
 a
 wider
 whole.
 

 
 v
 
TABLE
 OF
 CONTENTS
 

 

 
INTRODUCTION
 
 1
 
CHAPTER
 1:
 BERLIN’S
 CONTESTED
 LANDSCAPE
  .
 28
 
CHAPTER
 2:
 ‘THIS
 IS
 OUR
 HOUSE!’
 THE
 STRUGGLE
 OVER
 THE
 ‘ RAUCH-­‐HAUS’
 
 59
 
CHAPTER
 3:
 SQUATTING
 ‘BEHIND’
 THE
 BERLIN
 WALL
 
 91
 
CHAPTER
 4:
 ‘REHAB
 SQUATTING’
 
 133
 
CHAPTER
 5:
 COMMUNITY
 AND
 VIOLENCE
  .
 172
 
CHAPTER
 6:
 THE
 RISE
 AND
 FALL
 OF
 THE
 WEST
 BERLIN
 SQUATTERS’
 
 
MOVEMENT
  .
 199
 
CHAPTER
 7:
 SQUATTING
 AN D
 THE
 SED -­‐STATE
  .
 243
 
CHAPTER
 8:
 ANARCHY
 IN
 THE
 EAST
 
 276
 
CONCLUSION
 
 316
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
 325
 

 vi
 
ABBREVIATIONS
 
APO
  Außerparlamentarische
 Oppos ition
 (Extra-­‐Parliamentary
 
Opposition)
 
APOusB
  Archiv
 ‘APO
 und
 soziale
 Bewegungen’,
 Fachbereich
 Politische
 
Wissenschaft
 der
 Freien
 Universität
 Berlin
 (Archive
 ‘APO
 and
 
Social
 Movements’,
 Faculty
 of
 Political
 Science
 at
 the
 Free
 
University
 of
 Berlin)
 
BAB
  Bundesarchiv
 Berlin
 (Federal
 Archive,
 Berlin)
 
BStU
  Bundesbeauftragten
 für
 die
 Unterlagen
 des
 
Staatssicherheitsdienstes
 der
 ehemaligen
 Deutschen
 
Demokratischen
 Republik
 (The
 Federal
 Commissioner
 for
 the
 
Records
 of
 the
 State
 Security
 Service
 of
 the
 former
 German
 
Democratic
 Republic)
 
CDU
  Christian-­‐Democratic
 Union
 
FDJ
  Freie
 Deutsche
 Jugend
  (Free
 German
 Youth)
 
FRG
  Federal
 Republic
 of
 Germany
 
FFBIZ
  Frauenforschungs-­‐,
  -­‐bildungs-­‐
 und
  -­‐informationszentrum
 e.V.
 
(Woman’s
 research,
 education
 and
 information
 centre
 e.V.)
 
GDR
  German
 Democratic
 Republic
 
GSG9
  Grenzschutz
 Gruppe
 9
  (Border
 Security
 Group
 9)
 
HAV
  Robert
 Havemann
 Gesellschaft
 e.V.
 Archiv
 der
 DDR
 Opposition
 
IBP
  Instandbesetzer
 Post
 
KPD
  Kommunistische
 Partei
 Deutschlands
 (Communist
 Party
 of
 
Germany)
 
KPD/ML
  Die
 Kommunistische
 Partei
 Deutschlands/Marxisten -­‐Leninisten
 
(The
 Communist
 Party
 of
 Germany/Marxist -­‐Leninist)
 
KWB
  Kommunistischer
 Bund
 Westdeutschland
 (Communist
 League
 of
 
West
 Germany)
 
LAB
  Landesarchiv
 Berlin
 (Berlin
 State
 Archive)
 
MfS
  Ministerium
 für
 Staatssicherheit
 (Ministry
 for
 State
 Security)
 

  Papiertiger
 Archiv
 und
 Bibliothek
 der
 sozialen
 Bewegungen
 vii
 
PA
  (Papertiger
 Archive
 and
 Library
 of
 Social
 Movements)
 
RAF
  Rote
 Armee
 Fraktion
 (Red
 Army
 Faction)
 
RTB
  Runder
 Tisch
 Berlin
 (Berlin
 Round
 Table)
 
SAPMO
  Stiftung
 Archiv
 der
 Parteien
 und
 Massenorganisationen
 der
 DDR
 
im
 Bundesarchiv
 (Archive
 Foundation
 of
 Parties
 and
 Mass
 
Organizations
 of
 the
 GDR)
 
SDS
  Sozialistische
 Deutsche
 Studentenbund
  (Socialist
 German
 Student
 
Federation)
 
SED
  Sozialistische
 Einheitspartei
 Deutschlands
 (Socialist
 Unity
 Party
 of
 
Germany)
 
SEW
  Sozialistische
 Einheitspartei
 Westberlins
 (Socialist
 Unity
 Party
 of
 
West
 Berlin)
 
SPD
  Sozialdemokratische
 Partei
 Deutschlands
 (Social
 Democratic
 Party
 
of
 Germany)
 
taz
  die
 tageszeitung
 
VfS
 
 
 Verfassungsschutz
 (Office
 for
 the
 Protection
 oft
 the
 Constitution)

 
 
 viii
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
 
This
 research
 would
 not
 have
 been
 possible
 without
 the
  assistance
 of
 doctoral
 
funding
 from
 the
 Arts
 and
 Humanities
 Research
 Council
 of
 the
 United
 Kingdom,
 
in
 addition
 to
 generous
 financial
 assistance
 from
 the
 School
 of
 History,
 Classics
 
and
 Archeology
 at
 the
 University
 of
 Edinburgh.
 

  This
  research
  was
 greatly
  assisted
  by
  the
  staff
  in
  various
 libraries
 and
 
archives
 in
 Berlin.
 Irena
 Kukutz
 and
 Petra
 Söllner
 of
 Havemann-­‐Archiv
 der
 DDR
 
Opposition,
  Dagmar
  Nöldge
 of
 the
  Frauenforschungs-­‐
 bildungs-­‐
 und
 -­‐
informationszentrum
  e.
 V.,
  as
  well
  Monika
  Schmidt
 of
 Berlin’s
 Landesarchiv,
 
Astrid
  Rose
  of
  the
  BStU,
  and
  all
  those
 who
 assisted
 me
 at
 the
  Bundesarchiv-­‐
Berlin,
  deserve
  mention.
 
  I
  thank
  them
  not
  only
  for
 their
 professionalism
 but
 
also
 for
 their
 patience.
 
 The
 staff
 at
 the
  Staatsbibliohtek
 zu
 Berlin ,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 
Pablo-­‐Neruda-­‐Bibliothek,
  where
  much
  of
  the
  final
  draft
 of
 this
 thesis
 was
 
written,
  also
  deserve
  mention.
 
  I
  am
  also
  greatly
 indebted
 to
 ‘Punx’,
 the
 
indefatigable
  archivist
  of
 the
 Papiertiger
 –
 Archiv
  für
  sozialen
  Bewegungen
 
Berlin.
 
 

  I
 owe
 a
 debt
 of
 gratitude
 to
 all
 those
 who
 offered
 assistance
 and
 advice
 
over
  the
  course
  of
  this
  research.
 
  My
  thanks
  go
 out
 to
 Mark
 McLean,
 Louise
 
Settle,
  Malcolm
  Craig,
  Marc
  Heise,
  Francis
  Houghton
 and
 all
 those
 who
 
contributed
  to
  the
  excellent
  working
  environment
 in
 the
 School
 of
 History,
 
Classics
  and
  Archeology’s
  postgraduate
  study
  office.
 
  I
 would
 like
 to
 thank
 
Patrick
 Gilner
 and
 Jackob
 Warnecke,
  who
 proved
 excellent
 companions
 during
 
my
 time
 spent
 researching
 in
 the
 archives
 in
 Berlin.
 
 I
 reserv e
 a
 special
 mention
 
for
 my
 flatmates
 in
 Edinburgh
 and
 Berlin,
 Koosha
 Eghbal
 and
 Michele
 Giugni,
 
both
 of
 whom
 have
 demonstrated
 to
 me
 that
 philosophy
 is
 not
 only
 an
 academic
 
discipline
 but
 a
 way
 of
 life.
 
 
 

  Principally,
 I
 would
 like
 to
 thank
 my
 dissertation
 supervisors,
 Dr.
 Pertti
 
Ahonen
 an d
  Professor
  Jill
  Stevenson,
  without
  whose
  assistance
 this
 project
 
would
 have
 been
 a
 failure.
 
 I
 thank
 them
 not
 only
 for
 showing
 faith
 in
 me
 and
 
my
 research,
 but
 also
 for
 their
 suggestions,
 their
 feedback
 and
 comments,
 and
 
their
 advice
 throughout
 the
 durati on
 of
 my
 PhD.
 
 The
 administrative
 staff
 at
 the
 
University
  of
  Edinburgh
  deserve
  special
  mention,
  in
  particular
 Nico
 Ovenden
 
and
 Lindsay
 Scott.
 
  I
 would
 like
 to
 express
 my
 gratitude
 to
 Esther
 Dräger
 who
 
assisted
 me
 with
 formatting
 the
 thesis.
 
  Lastly,
 to
 Friederike
 Mehl,
 I
 thank
 you
 
with
 all
 my
 heart.
 
 This
 thesis
 is
 dedicated
 to
 my
 parents.
 

 1
 
INTRODUCTION
 
I.
 SETTING
 
‘Without
 Schnapps
 you’d
 freeze
 your
 arse
 off
 here’,
 said
 Johnny,
 a
 squatter
 in
 
one
 of
 Berlin’s
 run-­‐down,
 inner -­‐city
 districts.
 
 Sporting
 a
 beard,
 shoulder -­‐long
 
hair,
 and
 dressed
 in
 jeans
 and
 a
 Parka,
 Johnny
 had
 recently
 left
 his
 family
 home
 
in
  the
  province s
  and
  moved
  to
  the
  metropolis
  on
  the
 Spree.
 
 After
 two
 days
 
searching,
  he
  found
  an
  empty
 apartment
 in
 a
  Hinterhaus
 (back
  house)
 of
 a
 
dilapidated
  tenement
  building.
 
  The
  flat
  Johnny
  occupied
 consisted
 of
 a
 room
 
and
 kitchen,
 heated
 by
 an
 old-­‐fashioned,
 coal -­‐burning
 oven.
 
 A
 communal
 toilet,
 
shared
 between
 four
 apartments,
 was
 located
 on
 the
 half-­‐landing
 above.
 
 The
 
courtyard
 below
 smelled
 of
 rubbish
 and
 damp.
 
 In
 the
 stairwell,
 the
 lighting
 was
 
out
 of
 order
 in
 all
 but
 one
 floor. 1
 

  It
  was
  the
  winter
 of
 1980 -­‐81,
  and
  in
  West
 Berlin
 the
 Instandbesetzer
 
(rehab
 squatter)
 movement
 was
 reaching
 its
 climax.
 
 Thousands
 were
 taking
 to
 
the
  streets
  in
  regular
  demonstrations
  against
  the
  Senate’s
 housing
 policy
 and
 
buildings
  were
  being
  occupied
  on
  an
  almost
 daily
 basis.
 
 The
 general
 
atmosphere
 was
 tense
 and
 polarised.
 Police
 raids
 and
 baton
 charges
 were
 being
 
met
 with
 barricades
 and
 militant
 resistance.
 
 Those
 arrested
 were
 being
 tried
 in
 
special
 courts,
 originally
 designed
 for
 holding
 terrorists,
 while
 the
 judiciary
 was
 
passing
 out
 harsh
 sentences,
 in
 an
 attempt
 to
 break
 the
 squatters’
 resolve.
 
 In
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 See
 Dieter
 Bub,
 ‘
 “Stern”
 Be richt’,
 reproduced
 in
  Instandbesetzer
 Post ,
 Nr.
 15,
 19.
  June
 1981.
 2
 
the
  City
  Hall,
 new
 anti -­‐squatting
  legislation
  was
  being
  drafted,
 while
 the
 
mainstream
 press
 was
 calling
 for
 the
 occupied
 houses
 to
 be
 cleared
 by
 force.
 

  None
 of
 this
 was
 bothering
  Johnny,
 however,
 for
 he
 had
 squatted
 in
 the
 
district
 of
 Prenzlauer
 Berg,
 in
 East
 Berlin.
 
 The
 events
 in
 the
 western
 half
 of
 the
 
city,
 while
 taking
 place
 only
 a
 couple
 of
 kilometres
 from
 his
 doorstep,
 belonged
 
to
 those
 of
 a
 different
 world.
 
 His
 was
 one
 of
  several
 thousand
 apartments
 that
 
had
  been
  illegally
  occupied
  in
  the
  eastern
  half
  of
  the
 city,
 and
 although
 West
 
Berlin
  was
  home
  to
  one
  of
  the
  largest
  squatter
 movements
 in
 Europe,
 it
 is
 
possible
 that
 there
 were
 just
 as
 many
 illegal
 tenants
 in
 the
 East
 Germ an
 capital
 
at
 this
 time.
 
 Indeed,
 squatting
 in
 East
 Berlin
 seems
 to
 have
 been
 a
 remarkably
 
straightforward
 enterprise.
 
 As
 one
 contemporary
 put
 it:
 ‘In
 an
 afternoon,
 you
 
[could]
 find
 a
 dozen
 empty
 buildings
 in
 Prenzlauer
 Berg
 [alone]’.
 
 And
 despite
 
the
 fac t
 that
 Johnny
 had
 moved
 into
 his
 apartment
 illegally,
 without
 the
 prior
 
knowledge
  or
  permission
  of
  officials
  in
  the
  local
  housing
 organs,
 he
 did
 not
 
seem
  particularly
  concerned
  about
  being
 forced
 out.
 
 ‘Biste
  erst
  mal
 drin’,
 he
 
explained,
 ‘bleibste
  auch
 drin’. 2
 
 Still,
  the
  history
 of
 squatting
  is
  largely
 
overlooked
 in
 the
 major
 biographies
 of
 the
 city:
 
 t he
 subject
 is
 not
 addressed
 at
 
all
 in
 Alexandra
 Richie’s
 thousand
 page
 tome,
 Faust’s
 Metropolis,
 while
 in
 David
 
Clay
  Large’s
  study
  of
  the
  city
 between
 Germ an
  unification
  in
 1871
 and
 
reunification
 in
 1990,
 the
 history
 of
 squatting
 in
 West
 Berlin
 receives
 but
 the
 
briefest
 of
 mentions,
 and
 that
 in
 East
 Berlin,
 none
 at
 all. 3
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2
  ‘Once
 you’re
 in,
 you're
 in.’
  See
 Dieter
 Bub,
 ‘
 “Stern”
 Bericht’,
 reproduced
 in
 Instandbesetzer
 
Post,
 Nr.
 15,
 19.
  June
 1981.
 
3
 Alexander
 Richie,
 Faust’s
 Metropolis:
 A
 History
 of
 Berlin
  (New
 York:
 Carol
 &
 Graff,
 1998);
 David
 
Clay
 Large,
 Berlin
 
  (New
 York:
 Basic
 Books,
 2000).
 There
 is
 a
 brief
 overview
 of
 the
 history
 of
 

 3
 

 
II.
 OUTLINE
 AND
 CURRENT
 HISTORIOGRAPHY
 
This
 thesis
 provides
 a
 comprehensive
 study
 of
  the
 history
 of
 urban
 squatting
 in
 
post-­‐war
 Berlin.
 
 It
 offers
 an
 analysis
 of
 the
 parallel
 emergence
 of
 the
  practice
 of
 
illegal
 squatting
 in
 both
 halves
 of
 the
 city
 during
 the
 1970s
 and
 80s
 before
 going
 
on
  to
  examine
  the
  continuation
  and
  intensification
 of
  this
  phenomenon
 once
 
Berlin’s
  physical
  division
  had
  been
 overcome.
 
 The
  thesis
  demonstrates
 that,
 
with
 the
 possible
 exception
 of
 Amsterdam,
  no
 other
 continental
 European
 city
 
was
 home
 to
 such
 large
 squatter
 milieus
 or
 witnessed
 such
 sustained
 squatter
 
movements
 in
 the
 post-­‐war
 era
 as
 did
 Berlin;
 and ,
 given
 the
 city’s
 unique
 post -­‐
war
 division,
 even
 Amsterdam’s
 history
 of
 squatting
 cannot
 claim
 a
 comparable
 
complexity
 with
 that
 of
 Berlin’s.
 
 Squatting
 in
 Berlin
 was
 intertwined
 with
 the
 
city’s
 history
 of
 oppos ition
 to
 post -­‐war
 urban
 planning,
 it
 played
 an
 important
 
role
 in
 the
 evolution
 of
 Berlin’s
 post -­‐sixties
 protest
 culture,
 and
 it
 constitutes
 an
 
important
 chapter
 in
 the
 city’s
 longer -­‐term
 history
 as
 centre
 for
 counterculture
 
and
 alternative
 lifestyles.
 
 The
 history
 of
 squatting
 also
 provides
 an
 example
 of
 
the
  ways
  in
  which
  East
  and
  West
  Berlin’s
  symbolic
 meaning
 was
 not
 only
 
contested
  between
  East
  and
  West
 but
 was
 also
 re -­‐interpreted
  from
 below
 
during
 the
 last
 two
 decades
 of
 the
 Cold
 War.
 
 
 Indeed,
 s tudying
 the
 phenomenon
 
of
  squatting
  enables
  us
  to
  analyse
  a
  facet
  of
  Berlin’s
 turbulent
 history
 from
 a
 
unique
 street -­‐level
 perspective.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
squatting
 in
 West
 Berlin
 in
 Wilfried
 Rott,
 Die
 Insel:
 Eine
 Geschichte
 West -­‐Berlins
 1948 -­‐1990
 
 
(Munich:
 C.
 H.
 Beck,
 2009).
 4
 

  Squatting,
  as
  defined
  by
  Hans
  Pruijt,
  is
  the
  occupation
 of
 a
 particular
 
property
 –
 such
 as
 a
 residential
 apartment,
 a
 disused
 industrial
 building,
 or
 a
 
vacant
 piece
 of
 urban
 land
 –
 ‘without
 the
 consent
 of
 the
 owner’,
 or,
 we
 might
 
add,
 the
 relevant
 administrative
 or
 political
 authority. 4
 
  Illegality
 is
 implicit
 in
 
this
  definition.
 
  According
  to
  the
  Oxford
  English
 Dictionary,
 to
 s quat
  is
 ‘to
 
unlawfully
 occupy
  an
  uninhabited
  building
  or
  settle
  on
 a
 piece
 of
 land.’ 5
 
 
Reflecting
  the
  particular
  history
  of
  squatting
  in
  (West)
 Germany,
 Switzerland
 
and
  Austria,
  the
  German
  language
  definition
  differs
  slightly.
 
 Duden
 defines
 
‘Hausbesetzung’
  as:
  ‘illegally
  moving
  in
  as
  a
  group
  to
 an
 empty
 building
 or
 a
 
building
  scheduled
  for
  demolition’. 6
 
  In
  addition,
  squatters
  in
  both
 Germanys
 
supplied
  their
  own
  terms,
  adding
  new
  layers
  of
  meaning
 to
 describe
 this
 
particular
 practice.
 
  In
  West
 Berlin,
 squatters
  often
  referred
  to
  themselves
 as
 
‘Instandbesetzer’
 (rehab
  squatters),
  and
 the
 practice
 as
 ‘instandbesetzen’
 –
 a
 
neologism
 of
 the
 verbs
 ‘instandsetzen’
 (to
 renovate)
 and
 ‘besetzen’
 (to
 occupy).
 
 
During
 the
 early
 1970s
 in
 Frankfurt,
 and
 again
 in
 West
 Berlin
 in
 the
 early
 1980s,
 
a
 number
 of
 activists
 framed
 the
 squatter
 movement
 as
 the
 ‘Häuserkampf’
 –
 a
 
term
 which
 evoked
 the
 often
 violent
 struggle
 between
 squatters
 and
 the
 state
 
authorities
  that
  was
  a
  significant
  feature
  of
  the
 history
 of
 squatting
 in
  West
 
Germany.
 
  Indicative
 of
 the
 more
 covert
 and
 less
 openly
 antagonistic
 nature
 of
 
squatting
 in
 the
 GDR,
 its
 practitioners
 here
 were
 more
 inclined
 to
 use
 the
 term
 
‘schwarzwohnen’
 –
 one
  that
  does
  not
  lead
  readily
  to
  translation,
 but
 which
 is
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
 See
 Hans
 Pruijt,
 ‘The
 Logic
 of
 Urban
 Squatting’,
  International
 Journal
 of
 Urban
 and
 Regional
 
Research
 37,
 no.
 1
 (2013),
 p.
 19.
 
 
5
 Oxford
 Dictionary
 of
  English,
 s.v.
 ‘squat’.
 Emphasis
 added.
 
6
 Duden
 –
 Deutsches
 Universalwörterbuch,
 7 th
 ed.,
 s.
 v.
 ‘Hausbesetz ung’.
 5
 
redolent
  of
 ‘schwarzfahren’
 (fare
  dodging)
 or
 ‘Schwarzmarkt’
  (the
 black
 
market).
 
  Not
  all
  GDR
  squatters
  were
  happy
  with
 this
 expression
 and
 its
 
apolitical
 connotations,
 however. 7
 
  Indeed,
 in
 East
 Berlin,
 the
 term
 most
 often
 
used
 was
 ‘wohnungsbesetzen’
 (apartment
 occupying),
 reflecting
 the
 fact
 that
 it
 
was
  most
  common
  to
  occupy
  individual
  apartments,
 rather
 than
 complete
 
buildings,
 as
 was
 the
 case
 in
 West
 Berlin. 8
 
  Occasionally,
 East
 German
 squatters
 
borrowed
 from
 the
 West
 German
 movements,
 referring
 to
 themselves,
 too,
 a s
 
‘rehab
 squatters’.
 
 For
 the
 purpose
 of
 this
 dissertation,
 the
 terms
 ‘squatting’
 and
 
‘occupation’
 will
 be
 used
 interchangeably
 to
 encompass
 the
  practice
 in
 both
 the
 
FRG
 and
 GDR.
 
 

  There
  has
  been
  a
  long
  history
  and
  tradition
 of
 squatting
 in
 post-­‐war
 
Europe. 9
 
 The
 practice
 was
  already
  widespread
  in
  England
 by
 the
 1960s,
 
particularly
  in
  London,
  while
  on
  the
  Continent,
  a
 number
 of
 countries
  –
 
including
  the
  Netherlands,
  Switzerland,
  France,
  Italy,
 Denmark
 and
 Austria
 –
 
witnessed
 the
 emergence
 of
 large
 and
 often
 militant
 squatter
 movements
 in
 the
 
1970s
  and
 1980s. 10
 
 West
  Germany’s
  tradition
  of
  squatting
 dates
 back
 to
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7
 See
 Udo
 Grashoff,
  Schwarzwohnen:
 Die
 Unterwanderung
 der
 staatlichen
 Wohnraumlenkung
 in
 
der
 DDR
 (Göttingen:
 V&R
 Unipress,
 2011),
 pp.
 11 -­‐12.
 
8
 Unpublished
 interview:
 Moldt,
 Dirk.
 Interview
 by
  Peter
 Mitchell .
 Berlin,
 2 nd
 September
 2013 .
 
9
 For
 general
 overviews
 see
  Squatting
 Europe
 Kollective,
 ed.
 Squatting
 in
 Europe:
 Radical
 Spaces,
 
Urban
 Struggles
 (New
 York:
 Autonomedia,
 2013);
 Anders
 Corr,
 No
 Trespassing!:
 Squatting,
 Rent
 
Strikes,
 and
 Land
 Struggles
 Worldwide
 
  (Cambridge,
 MA:
 South
 End
 Press,
 1999).
 Hans
 Pruijt,
 
‘Okupar
 en
 Europa,’
 in
  ¿Dónde
 están
 las
 llaves?
 El
 movimiento
 okupa:
 prácticas
 y
 contextos
 
sociales
 (Madrid:
 La
 Catarata,
 2004).
 
  See
 also
 Jan-­‐Henrik
 Friedrichs
 and
 Hanno
 Balz,
 eds.,
 ‘All
 
We
 Ever
 Wanted ’:
 Eine
 Kulturgeschichte
 europäischer
 Protestbewegungen
 der
 1980er
 Jahre
 
(Berlin:
 Karl
 Dietz
 Verlag,
 2012).
 
10
 For
 the
 Dutch
 squatters,
 especiall y
 those
 in
 Amsterdam,
 see
 Lynn
 Owens,
 Cracking
 Under
 
Pressure:
 Narrating
 the
 Decline
 of
 the
 Amsterdam
 Squatters'
 Movement
 
  (Amsterdam:
 Amsterdam
 
University
 Press,
 2009).
 
  For
 the
 Danish
 context
 see
 Flemming
 Mikkelsen
 and
 Rene
 
Karpantscho,
 ‘Youth
 as
 a
 Political
 Movement:
 Development
 of
 the
 Squatters'
 and
 Autonomous
 
Movement
 in
 Copenhagen’,
 International
 Journal
 of
 Urban
 and
 Regional
 Research
 25,
 no.
 3
 
(2002).
 
  For
 a
 comparative
 study
 of
 the
 Federal
 Republic
 of
 Germany,
 Austria
 and
 Switzerland
 

 6
 
September
 1970,
 with
 Frankfurt,
 which
 had
 been
 one
 of
 the
 nodes
 of
 the
 West
 
German
  ‘1968’,
  witnessing
  the
  first
  case
  of
  overt
 squatting
 in
 the
 
Bundesrepublik.
 
 
 Buildings
 were
 occupied
 in
 other
 cities,
 such
 as
 Cologne
 and
 
Hamburg,
 but
 the
 stronghold
 of
 the
 ‘ Häuserkampf’,
  as
  the
  Frankfurt
 squatters
 
called
 it,
 remained
 the
 Hessian
 city.
 
 By
 1973,
 Frankfurt
 was
 home
 to
 around
 ten
 
openly
  squatted
  tenement
  buildings,
  most
  of
  which
  were
  concentrated
 in
 the
 
city’s
  West
 End. 11
 
  At
  the
  same
  time,
  however,
  numerous
  disused
 industrial
 
complexes
 were
 taken
 over
 across
 the
 FRG,
 in
 large
 cities
 and
 in
 the
 provinces,
 
in
 a
 loosely
 coordinated
 Youth
 Centre
 Movement
 that
  reached
 its
 high -­‐point
 in
 
the
 middle
 of
 the
 decade. 12
 
 
 Following
 a
 lull
 during
 the
 second
 half
 of
 the
 1970s,
 
a
 much
 larger
 wave
 of
 squatting
 again
 swept
 across
 the
 FRG
 during
 the
 early
 
1980s.
 
 Over
 the
 course
 of
 1981,
 the
 year
 in
 which
 the
 number
 of
 occupa tions
 
peaked,
 the
 Federal
 Criminal
 Police
 Office
 counted
 some
 595
 occupations
 in
 153
 
towns
  and
  cities
  undertaken
  by
  around
  12,900
  squatters.
 
 This
 time,
 West
 
Berlin
 served
 as
 the
 squatters’
 stronghold,
 while
 regional
 centres
 of
 the
 squatter
 
movement
  also
 included
  Frankfurt,
  Munich,
  Hamburg,
  Cologne,
 Dusseldorf,
 
Gottingen,
  Freiburg
  and
  Nuremberg. 13
 
  However,
  it
  was
  not
  only
 cities
 to
 the
 
west
 of
 the
 ‘Iron
 Curtain’
 that
 witnessed
 urban
 squatting
 during
 these
 decades.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
see
 Andreas
 Suttner,
  ‘Beton
 Brennt’:
 Hausbesetzer
 und
 Selbstverwaltung
 im
 Berlin,
 Wien
 und
 
Zürich
 der
 80er
 
  (Vienna
 and
 Berlin:
 Lit-­‐Verlag,
 2011).
 
11
 For
 the
 Frankfurt
 ‘Häuserkampf’
 see
 Wolfgang
 Kraushaar,
 ‘Die
 Frankfurter
 Sponti -­‐Szene:
 Eine
 
Subkultur
 als
 politische
 Versuchungsordnung’,
  Archiv
 für
 Sozialgeschichte
 44(2004).
 
  See
 also
 
Sven
 Reichardt,
 Authentizität
 und
 Gemeinschaft:
 linksalternatives
 Leben
 in
 den
 siebziger
 und
 
frühen
 achtziger
 Jahren
 
  (Berlin:
 Suhrkamp,
 2014),
 pp.
 506-­‐16.
 
12
 For
 an
 overview
 see
 Detlev
 Siegfried,
 ‘Einstürzende
 Neubauten:
 Wohngemeinschaften,
 
Jugendzentren
 und
 private
 Präferenzen
 kommunistischer
 “Kader”
 als
 Formen
 jugendlicher
 
Subkultur’,
 Archiv
 für
 Sozialgeschichte
 44(2004).
 
13
 Reichardt,
 Authentizität
 und
 Gemeinschaft:
 linksalternatives
 Leben
 in
 den
 sie bziger
 und
 frühen
 
achtziger
 Jahren ,
 p.
 502.
 It
  was,
  as
  this
  thesis
 shows,
  increasingly
 practised
  in
  the
  German
 Democratic
 
Republic
 (GDR)
 during
 the
 1970s
 and
 1980s ,
 while
 anecdotal
 evidence
 suggests
 
that
 squatting
 was
 undertaken
 in
 a
 number
 of
 other
 Eastern
 European
 countries
 
at
  some
  time
  or
  another
 during
 the
 post -­‐war
  era.
 
  In
  1972
  in
 Yugoslavia,
 for
 
instance,
 over
 one
 million
 citizens
 were
 living
 on
 illegally
 squatted
 land.
 
 In
 fact,
 
according
 to
 one
 study,
 ‘illegal
 buildings
 constituted
 half
 of
 all
 private
 housing
 
constructions’
 in
 Tito’s
 republic
 by
 the
 early
 1970s. 14
 
  In
  May
  1981,
 the
 West
 
German
 Tageszeitung
 reported
  cases
  of
  squatting,
  evictions
 and
 subsequent
 
protests
 in
 the
 Polish
 capital
 Warsaw
 and
 the
 industrial
 city
 Kattowitz. 15
 
 The
 
history
 of
 squatting
 in
  the
 Soviet
 Union
 and
 the
 countries
 of
 the
 Eastern
 bloc
 lies
 
beyond
 the
 scope
 of
 this
 thesis,
 though
 it
 provides
 a
 potentially
 fruitful
 area
 for
 
future
 research.
 

  The
  historical
  literature
  on
  squatting
  in
  Berlin
  and
 indeed
 in
 Germany
 
and
 in
 Europe
 more
 gene rally
 is
 still
 in
 its
 infancy. 16
 
  ‘Mainstream
 research’,
  as
 
Margit
  Mayer
 argues,
 ‘has
  paid
  scarce
  attention
  to
  the
  unfolding
 of
 squatting
 
movements,
 their
 dynamics,
 their
 differences
 [and]
 their
 transformations’. 17
 
  To
 
be
 sure,
 the
 political
 scientists
 Ruud
 Koopmanns
 and
 Roger
 Karapin
 have
 drawn
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14
 Boris
 Pleskovic,
 ‘Squatter
 Housing
 in
 Yugoslavia,’
 in
 Spontaneous
 Shelter:
 International
 
Perspectives
 and
 Prospects ,
 ed.
 Carl
 V.
 Patton
 (Philadelphia:
 Temple
 University
 Press,
 1988).
 
15
  'Hausbesetzen
 als
 Menschenrecht',
 taz,
 15.5.1981.
 
16
 The
 most
 detailed
 study
 of
 squatting
 in
 West
 Berlin
 to
 date
 is
 provided
 by
 Andreas
 Suttner .
 
 
Drawing
 on
 his
 doctoral
 dissertation
 at
 the
 University
 of
 Vienna,
 Suttner
 seeks
 to
 analyse
 the
 
history
 of
 squatting
 and
 youth
 movements
 in
 West
 Berlin,
 Vienna
 and
 Zürich
 in
 the
 1980 s
 in
 
comparative
 perspective.
 
 Suttner
 seeks
 to
 connect
 the
 youth
 revolts
 in
 these
 three
 cities
 
through
 reference
 to
 Michel
 Foucault’s
 theories
 of
 heterotopias. Suttner,
  ‘Beton
 Brennt’:
 
Hausbesetzer
 und
 Selbstverwaltung
 im
 Berlin,
 Wien
 und
 Zürich
 der
 80er .
 
  As
 a
 work
 of
 reference,
 
Suttner
 has
 made
 an
 important
 contribution,
 not
 only
 to
 the
 history
 of
 squatting
 in
 West
 Berlin
 
but
 also
 in
 Vienna
 and
 Zürich.
 
 However,
 as
 one
 reviewer
 pointedly
 puts
 it,
 ‘[a]s
 a
 critical
 
historical
 analysis
 the
 book
 utterly
 fails’.
 
 For
 a
  critical
 review
 see
  Joachim
 C.
 Häberlen,
 ‘review
 
of
 “Beton
 Brennt”:
 Hausbesetzer
 und
 Selbstverwaltung
 im
 Berlin,
 Wien
 und
 Zürich
 der
 80er.
 By
 
Andreas
 Suttner.’,
  German
 History
 30,
 no.
 2
 (2012).
 
17
 Kollective,
 Squatting
 in
 Europe:
 Radical
 Spaces,
 Urban
 Struggles ,
 p.
 7.