Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival
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The Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival was a series of political rock concerts which took place in Germany during the 1980s. Its purpose was to support protests against the planned
nuclear reprocessing plant Wackersdorf The Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant (german: Wiederaufbereitungsanlage Wackersdorf, abbreviated WAA Wackersdorf) is a reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf in Bavaria, Germany. Because of protests the plant was never completed. Today it is an ...
(German: Wiederaufbereitungsanlage
Wackersdorf Wackersdorf is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria, Germany. It is famous for playing host to rounds of the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship. See also * Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant *Anti-nuclear movement in Germ ...
, abbreviated WAA Wackersdorf) in
Wackersdorf Wackersdorf is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria, Germany. It is famous for playing host to rounds of the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship. See also * Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant *Anti-nuclear movement in Germ ...
. In 1986, the fifth festival marked the peak of the protest movement against the plant. With over 100,000 people attending on 26 and 27 July, it was the largest rock concert in the history of Germany. The line-up included some of Germany's most popular
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
acts of the time such as
BAP BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...
,
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...
,
Udo Lindenberg Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer. Career Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...
,
Rio Reiser Ralph Christian Möbius (9 January 1950 – 20 August 1996), known professionally as Rio Reiser, was a German musician and the singer of rock group Ton Steine Scherben. He supported squatting in the early 1970s and later the green political part ...
,
Herbert Grönemeyer Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born 12 April 1956) is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Grönemeyer starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Pete ...
. The festival remained completely peaceful, contrary to government expectations. As a result of the overwhelming protests, the festivals resulted in unexpected media coverage for the
anti-nuclear movement in Germany The anti-nuclear movement in Germany has a long history dating back to the early 1970s when large demonstrations prevented the construction of a nuclear plant at Wyhl. The Wyhl protests were an example of a local community challenging the nucl ...
.


Beginnings

The first Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival took place in 1982 at the Lanzenanger venue in
Burglengenfeld Burglengenfeld is a town in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Naab, 22 km north of Regensburg. Climate Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfal ...
. Primary responsibility for the event was held by the local autonomous youth centre, where many such festivals had taken place before. Between 2,000 and 4,000 people visit the concerts each year. Since many members of the youth centre had actively been participating in the resistance against the recycling plant, the management decided to change the original festival into the Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival. The main purpose of the events was to attract public attention to the problems related to the WAA and the protests. From their engagement in culture-related work, the youth centre very quickly managed to come into contact with many Bavarian musicians like
Haindling Haindling is a German band founded in 1983 by Hans-Jürgen Buchner. The band specializes in Bavarian world music, a mixture of different musical styles such as pop, rock, folk, ambient, jazz and classical music. Most of the songs are written ...
or Biermösl Blosn; who also argued against the building of the recycling plant. While these festivals got more and more positive feedback from the public, the idea began to emerge of encouraging big-name performers, like BAP,
Udo Lindenberg Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer. Career Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...
, or
Herbert Grönemeyer Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born 12 April 1956) is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Grönemeyer starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Pete ...
, to take part. Finally, because of the good relations with the management of BAP, the record label
EMI Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Company ...
was able to convince their - mostly left-leaning - artists to participate in the festival. In that same year, a live recording of the festival was released as a double LP by this record label. The proceeds of this album were used to support a citizens' initiative against the WAA. Originally, the organizers intended the Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival to take place in the immediate vicinity of the planned FRP. After excessive protests at
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
and
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
the position of both parties got more radical, especially influenced by the catastrophe of
Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...
. As a result, the Bavarian government set up inviolable precincts up to 120 square kilometers around the construction area. Ultimately, the organizers opted for a field near
Burglengenfeld Burglengenfeld is a town in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Naab, 22 km north of Regensburg. Climate Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfal ...
as the venue for the festival. Even before preparation for the festival took place, some city councillors of the
CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...
(Christian Social Union) and the mayor of Burglengenfeld, Stefan Bawidamann, had already voiced their concern about riots on the fringes of the festival. Although the Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival had been officially authorised by the town, the
Bavarian Ministry of the Interior ) is the interior ministry of Bavaria. It is headquartered in Munich, and was established on November 21, 1806 as the ''Departement des Innern''. The first Minister of the Interior was Count Maximilian von Montgelas (until 1817). Since October 16, ...
and the local government of
Oberpfalz The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
voiced intentions to prohibit the event. An extraordinary meeting of the city council that was scheduled for the 15 July, again voted in favour of the realization of the festival. However, the town's major Bawidamann repealed the ballot, referring to article 19 of the penal law. He considered this necessary in order to prevent danger being brought to the general public, their health, and material goods and to save them from heavy disturbances. The decision about the authorisation of the festival was thereby passed to the subsequent regulating authority, the district office of
Schwandorf Schwandorf is a town on the river Naab in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany, which is the seat of the Schwandorf district. Sights * Catholic parish church of St. Jakob * Kreuzberg Church: Catholic parish, monastic and pilgrimage church of ...
. Hans Schuierer, the district administrator, validated the decision of the city council and assigned the local government of Oberpfalz to check the legal force of Bawidamann's decision again. The
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Kuhle Wampe took charge of security and entrance. Excrement had to be removed almost every hour. Fields within a radius of several kilometers were rented by the festival's management for parking. In part, the fields had to be harvested directly before the beginning of the festival although the grain was not ripe yet. The number of visitors exceeded expectations and more fields had to be marked as parking spaces on short notice. At one of those rented fields, in particular on the stubble field in the vicinity of Greinhof, a hot catalyzer set off a large-scale fire. A local farmer used a plough to create a
firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
, preventing major damages.


The festival

Burglengenfeld Burglengenfeld is a town in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Naab, 22 km north of Regensburg. Climate Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfal ...
, a city with about 10,000 inhabitants, was not prepared for the stampede of visitors. Already on the eve of the festival, the supermarkets sold out of all staple food and alcoholic drinks. Several shops closed their doors and did not open them on the following Sunday either. Not having any mobile phones yet, written notes were pinned on all church doors, informing when to meet whom and where. The visitors sought places to sleep in bare brickwork. The inhabitants feared theft, property damage, or even riots, however, these did not transpire. Accounts about the number of participating visitors at the festival vary. The number is supposed to be over 100,000, which, considering the area, is not entirely unlikely. Musically the
Open Air Open air, open-air or openair may refer to: *''Open Air'', a BBC television program *Open-air cinema or outdoor cinema *Open-air concert, a concert taking place outside *Open-air museum, a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of- ...
can be revisited on double LP as well as on film.


Impact of the festival

Although the 5th Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival (26–27 July 1986), a protest against the nuclear reprocessing plant, proceeded peacefully and without any violence, the state continued fighting it with undiminished rigidity. The opposition to the WAA ended abruptly with the sudden death of Bavaria's minister-president
Franz Josef Strauss Franz Josef Strauss ( ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions between ...
on 3 October 1988. The operating company DWK (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Wiederaufarbeitung von Kernbrennstoffen'' = German Corporation for Nuclear Reprocessing) and the politicians in the
CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...
then had diminishing hopes that the WAA project could be realised successfully. On 30 April 1989, Dr. Rudolf von Bennigsen-Foerder, former chairman of the board of
VEBA VEBA AG (originally from ''Vereinigte Elektrizitäts und Bergwerks Aktiengesellschaft'' or "United Electricity and Mining Corporation") was a German state owned energy company. VEBA was founded in 1929 as a holding company owned by the state of ...
, announced that German energy companies would retreat from reprocessing technology. This came completely unexpected and filled the CSU with bitterness. On 31 May 1989, the DWK specifically froze the construction of the reprocessing plant and had the iron main gate closed symbolically. After the sudden ending for the WAA, the population's resistance diminished as well. Only a few might remember the matchlessness of the Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival. It was matchless not only because of the 100,000 visitors and all-time greatest spectrum of top musicians, who performed coherently for one special purpose – the building freeze of the WAA. The festival also showed that there is an opportunity for a counter-public. There's a chance to correct and, if necessary, to prevent the decisions of local and federal administrations in a constitutional state. At the same time, the festival suggested the possibility of peaceful protest. Nowadays there is a memorial stone on the former festival site “Lanzenanger” in
Burglengenfeld Burglengenfeld is a town in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Naab, 22 km north of Regensburg. Climate Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfal ...
that is to commemorate the spectacular Anti-Atom-Festival.


Literature

* Allnutt, Mike / Herl, Michael (Publisher): ''WAAhnsinn – Der Wackersdorf-Film. Die Filmbilder, Lieder, Texte, Reden, Interviews, Dokumente'', Nördlingen 1986. * Hoffarth, Florian: ''"Ihr habt die Festung, wir haben das Fest" – Das ‚Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival' 1986 als Höhepunkt der Bürgerproteste gegen die Wiederaufbereitungsanlage in Wackersdorf'', in: Jahresband zur Kultur und Geschichte im Landkreis Schwandorf, Bd. 16/17 (2005/06), published by Landkreis Schwandorf, pages 102–123.


Reference


External links


Homepage of the Jugendzentrum Burglengenfeld
(German)

(German) {{Portal bar, Germany, Nuclear technology Music festivals in Germany Anti-nuclear protests Environmental protests in Germany Anti-nuclear movement in Germany Schwandorf (district)