Squatting | With the help of axes, saws and a battering ram special forces of the German police invaded the creative living project “Liebig14”, one of the last squatted houses in Berlin. Outside, about 1,500 left-winged protesters, students and creative folks demonstrated against the eviction of the building, fought with the police and made a lot of trouble in Berlin’s creative stronghold Friedrichshain.
The house was squatted in 1990, shortly after the Berlin Wall fell, when Berlin was a paradise for squatters from all over Europe because of the large number of empty buildings. For that reason it’s really pity to loose this traditional left-winged open space which was not just an alternative housing project, but also a center for alternative politics and a gravitation field for street art and other creative ideas!
There were dozens of arrests after 2,500 police officers were deployed in a huge operation to clear the Liebig 14 commune in the eastern district of Friedrichshain. The 25 residents had refused to leave after losing a lengthy legal battle that has become a focus point for the anti-gentrification movement in Berlin and other German cities. (guardian.co.uk)
In my eyes, “Liebig14” was, like all the other former squatted places in Berlin, an important alternative project with a lot of local social influence. These are bad days, not just for the former squatters but for Friedrichshain! Here are some of the shots I took while the eviction…
Goodbye “Liebig14”!
liebig14 eviction riot police squat eviction berlin liebig14 riot
