Tower (Berlin-Kreuzberg)

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The house at Leuschnerdamm 9 that was occupied at the time

The tower was one of the first and most famous squats in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg . The house on Leuschnerdamm 9, right next to the Berlin Wall , was occupied by young people on September 7, 1979. The term "tower" refers to the round shape of the staircase protruding from the facade. The political motivation of the occupation was assigned , among other things, to the nationwide youth center movement .

history

After the occupation, the residents initially planned to conclude rental agreements. Since the owner, the Senate and the residents could not come to an agreement, the squatters spoke out against the conclusion of rental agreements.

Together with squatters from houses on Luckauer Strasse , Naunynstrasse 77, Mariannenstrasse and Cuvrystrasse , the occupiers from Leuschnerdamm founded the weekly occupation council on March 28, 1980, an interest group for squatters. The residents of the tower were also involved in running the children's farm on Adalbertstrasse .

In 1981, besides the squatters, only one legal tenant lived in the house in a basement apartment. The then 74-year-old man, who was also no longer paying rent at that time, had been overlooked by the property management team when they had previously mobilized the tenants of the house to move out and sometimes moved them against their will.

On April 7, 1981, the streets around Heinrichplatz were largely blocked by the police and raids carried out on the tower and on Oranienstrasse 198. Then there were also road closures around Oranienplatz and the houses at Oranienstrasse 44 and 45 and Luckauer Strasse 3 were searched. Altogether there were 165 provisional arrests and announced investigations into the formation of a terrorist organization according to § 129a StGB . However, the tower was not cleared.

Another group of young people occupied “Leuschi 7” in 1981, the neighboring house on Leuschnerdamm 7. In the spring, the Senate gave the residents an ultimatum to sign rental agreements, which the residents did not comply with. The tower and the house at Leuschnerdamm 7 were then both cleared on June 28, 1983. After the evacuation, however, rental contracts for individual apartments were concluded with residents.

Movies

Web links

  • Flyer from February 1980

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Berlin occupied. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
  2. ↑ More than a myth - Berliner MieterGemeinschaft e. V. Accessed March 25, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Chronology - House Warfare Berlin 1979/1980. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
  4. ^ Defending the Tower - A Kreuzberg Documentary . In: Kreuzberged: Berlin Companion . March 13, 2013 ( kreuzberged.com [accessed March 25, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Dietmar Kesten, Gelsenkirchen: Squatting in West Berlin: The “Berlin Line” - Materials for the Analysis of Opposition. June 6, 2013, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  6. ↑ The tower | Berlin Street. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 18.2 "  N , 13 ° 25 ′ 9.3"  E