Brokdorf is a municipality in the district of

Steinburg Steinburg () is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, administered from Itzehoe. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Dithmarschen, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Segeberg and Pinneberg, and by the Elbe River (and the dist ...

, in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is located on the bank of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

river, approx. 20 km east before the river flows into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. As of December 2019, the total population of Brokdorf was 965 residents.

History

Nuclear reactor project

The planning for a light-water

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

reactor at Brokdorf, 45 miles northwest of Hamburg, began in the late 1960s, and concerns about the

Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant (German: Kernkraftwerk Brokdorf, or KBR) is a Power Plant close to the municipality of Brokdorf in Steinburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany that shut down on New Year's Eve 2021. It started in October 1986 by a first-o ...

proposal became a public issue in November 1973, when several nuclear power reactors were already operating in Germany. During construction in the 1970s and 1980s there were violent protests about Brokdorf by opponents. The largest onsite demonstrations were in November 1976, February 1977, January 1981 and June 1986. In November 1976, more than 30,000 people demonstrated against the Brokdorf project. These protests led to a construction stop in October 1977, which was formally justified by the lack of a disposal strategy for spent fuel. Brokdorf had become a powerful symbol of the German

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

. February 1977, 6,500

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

and 2,000

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Gua ...

officers were mobilized from across the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. Altogether, over 1,000 vehicles, including

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

s, armored cars and other, were used by the authorities in Brokdorf. Roadblocks were erected throughout Germany, and people entering through the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and

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border were questioned in regards to their intentions.Gegen den Bau des AKW in Brokdorf
accessed 8 November 2008 When construction was about to resume in February 1981, about 100,000 people demonstrated against the project, confronting a police contingent of more than 10,000. At the time, this was the biggest police operation in West German history. More confrontations and political wrangling followed, but the Brokdorf nuclear power reactor eventually started operation in October 1986.

References

{{Authority control Municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein Anti–nuclear power movement Anti-nuclear movement in Germany Steinburg

History

Nuclear reactor project

See also

References