Hafenstraße
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Hafenstraße is a street in
St. Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...
, a quarter of
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, Germany, known for its legalized
squats Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to: Body position * Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs * Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...
. The squats were occupied in 1981 and became a figurehead for
autonomist Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...
and
anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
politics. After a prolonged battle with the city council which involved demonstrations of over 10,000 people, the buildings were legalized in the 1990s. Today they are owned by a self-organised
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
.


Occupation

Hafenstraße (German ''Hafen'' – harbour; ''Straße'' – street) is a common German abbreviation of ''St. Pauli-Hafenstraße'',The official German name is spelled "-straße" instead of "-strasse" a street in
St. Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...
, a quarter of
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, Germany. The Hafenstraße occupation began in 1981, when twelve buildings were squatted. They were to become extremely important symbols for the German squatters movement and for urban activists more generally. Students who were already living there joined with autonomists to save the buildings on Hafenstraße and Bernhard-Nocht-Straße from being demolished. The apartment blocks had been constructed in 1900 and were in serious need of renovation. It was not noticed that the buildings had been squatted until 1982, when the owner SAGA immediately reported the trespass and the police evicted the squatters. The buildings were quickly reoccupied. The squatters then signed a three year temporary use contract and argued they should be permitted to restore the buildings themselves. This led to conflict with the city council which repeatedly attempted to evict them.


History

As well as building a permanent fortress to resist evictions, the squatters organized a
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
station and a Volxküche (cafe) which was founded in 1982 and still exists. Christian Lochte, head of the Department for Protection of the Constitution of Hamburg, claimed that women from the
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...
were living at Hafenstraße and the Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke (HEW -Hamburg Energy Company) frequently raided the buildings. In June 1984, Hafenstraße was widely condemned after a woman was raped and tortured by three squatters; the three perpetrators were beaten up, had their heads shaved and were ejected from the houses. The controversy generated debate about sexism and violence in the autonomist movement. One apartment in the buildings became a women-only space. In the 1980s, Hafenstraße became a centre for
autonomist Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...
and
anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
politics. If the factions disagreed on an issue, they were united in the defence of the houses. Other struggles included publicising the hunger strike of imprisoned RAF members in 1984 and protesting the death of antifascist Günter Sare in 1985. At New Year in 1986, the Hafentage (Harbour Days) were organised by the
Autonomen Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...
and Danish squatters from the BZ-movement attended. When several apartments were evicted, the squatters fought back by setting fires in 13 department stores. As well as housing activists, the building housed homeless people, youths, and refugees. Hafenstraße became known nationally and even internationally. As well as being a local symbol against gentrification and for the right to the city, the project became a centre for left-wing social movements such as anti-nuclear and anti-imperialist protests. Resistance to eviction culminated in street battles before the end of the contract in 1986, when 12,000 people marched to defend the squats. Black bloc tactics developed in Germany around this time. A pirate radio station, Radio Hafenstraße, was set up and autonomen launched a coordinated arson attack on 13 department stores throughout the city, causing over $10,000,000 in damages. Hamburg intellectual
Jan Philipp Reemtsma Jan Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma (born 26 November 1952) is a German literary scholar, author, and patron who founded and was the long-term director of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. Reemtsma lives and works mainly in Hamburg. Biog ...
offered to buy the houses for the symbolic price of 1 DM from the Senate, but the offer was rejected. When negotiations failed in 1987, the squatters readied themselves for more fighting and the mayor,
Klaus von Dohnanyi Klaus von Dohnanyi (born 23 June 1928) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as mayor of Hamburg between 1981 and 1988. Early life and career Dohnanyi was born in Hamburg, the son of Christine von Dohnanyi and ...
went against the feeling of his party (
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
) and offered to resolve the situation peacefully. In response, senator Alfons Pawelczyk mobilised thousands of police officers and the squatters built barricades. In November 1987, a contract was signed at the last minute and the barricades were dismantled again. Dohnanyi later received the Theodor Heuss medal for managing the conflict; he had previously described Hafenstraße as a "wound in the city" ("eine Wunde in der Stadt"). Indicating the international attention paid to the events in Hamburg, a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article was written about Hafenstraße and entitled "Squatters Win! (A Check book Did It)". The Hamburg Higher Regional Court announced the contract was void in 1993, leading to more discussions. New mayor
Henning Voscherau Henning Voscherau (13 August 1941 – 24 August 2016) was a German politician who was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He was the First Mayor of his home city of Hamburg from 1988 to 1997, serving as President of the Bundesra ...
offered to fix the contract dispute if Hafenstrasse inhabitants agreed with nearby developments and social housing was built. In February 1995, the Hamburg Senate finally decided to sell the remaining houses to the inhabitants for around 2 million
Deutsche Marks The Deutsche Mark (; English language, English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. I ...
. The co-operative Alternativen am Elbufer (Alternatives beside the Elbe) then took on the ownership. In October 2007, a new house was built for 40 people at Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 26. In March 2019, a drugs raid resulted in 19 arrests.


Murals

Hafenstraße has long been known for its murals, which are painted on the fronts or on the side of buildings next to empty lots. In 1987, the squatters painted the slogan "Boycott 'Israel'! Goods, kibbutzim, and beaches". Israel was written in apostrophes to emphasise its illegitimacy. The mural formed part of a broader campaign against the sale of Israeli goods in Hamburg which was endorsed by civil rights activists such as
Uri Davis Uriel "Uri" Davis ( he, אוריאל "אורי" דייוויס , born 8 June 1943 in Jerusalem) is an academic and civil rights activist. Davis has served as Vice-Chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights and as lecturer in Peace ...
who saw Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the same light as how South Africa treated its black population under
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. In 2018, a new mural in support of the Kurdish
Women's Protection Units (YPJ) ar, وحدات حماية المرأة , image = File:YPJ Flag.svg , caption = Flag of the YPJ , dates = April 2013–present , commander1 = Nesrin ...
(YPJ) was unveiled on one building.


Legacy

In 1998, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper referred to Hafenstraße as "the most famous squat in the world". Bands such as
Die Goldenen Zitronen Die Goldenen Zitronen ("The Golden Lemons") are a German punk rock band from Hamburg, formed in 1984. They are considered a forerunner to the "Hamburger Schule" and are noted for their anti-establishment stance. Formed by Schorsch Kamerun (vo ...
emerged from the scene around the Hafenstraße. Rasmus Gerlach made two documentary films about the Hafenstraße: ''Die Hafentreppe'' (1991) and ''Hafenstraße im Fluss'' (2010). In 2010, he commented that "it is the only attempt at utopia by the German left that has survived to this day" ("sie ist der einzige Utopie-Versuch der Bundesrepublikanischen Linken, der bis heute überlebt hat").


Film

* ''Terrible Houses in Danger'', Winter 1984–85, 45 mins * ''Zwischen Dachziegel und Pflasterstein'', 1985, 45 mins, Film about house occupations on Hafenstraße, Chemnitzstraße, Jägerpassage and Pinnasberg * ''Die Augen schließen um besser zu sehen'', 1986, 20 mins * ''Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann'', 1987–88, 100 mins Reoccupation and barricade days * ''Polizeiüberfall auf die Hafenstraße'', 1989, 20 mins Eviction of wagenplatz * ''Selbst das kleinste Licht durchbricht die Dunkelheit'', 1990, 60 mins, Film about house raids * ''Die Hafentreppe'', Directors: Thomas Tode & Rasmus Gerlach. D 1991, 75 mins * ''Empire St. Pauli – von Perlenketten und Platzverweisen.'' Documentary 2009, 85 minsSt. Pauli Dokumentation vom Rotlichtviertel zur Sahnelage
/ref> *


See also

*
Rote Flora The Rote Flora is a former theatre in the Sternschanze district of Hamburg, Germany. It has been squatted since November 1989 as a self-managed social centre. The collective said in 2001 "We are the 'UFO in the neighbourhood.' The black hole ...
*
Squatting in Hamburg The modern political squatting movement began in Hamburg, Germany, when Neue Große Bergstraße 226 was occupied in 1970. Squatters wanted to provide housing for themselves amongst other demands such as preventing buildings from being demolished ...


Notes


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links


Brief history of Hafenstraße (in German and English)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafenstrasse History of Hamburg Housing cooperatives in Germany Streets in Hamburg Legalized squats Squats in Germany