Berlin home eviction: battle for a leftist symbol

Eviction of a house in Berlin: the battle for a symbol of the left

In Berlin, a house occupied by the left will be cleaned on Friday. The scene calls for violent resistance. Greens and leftists tried to the end to prevent the evacuation of the house.

Christoph Reichmuth from Berlin / ch media

“Let’s make the evacuation a disaster,” he says on Twitter with the hashtag “liebig34bleibt.” Liebig 34 represents a building on Liebig Strasse 34 in the Friedrichshain district of East Berlin. After the fall of the Wall, there were 130 occupied buildings in the eastern part of the city. L34, with a house on the adjacent Rigaer Strasse, is one of the last symbols of the radical left scene.

The building, an “anarcha-queer-feminist house project,” as residents call it, will be vacated this Friday after a successful lawsuit by the homeowner. The evacuation of a building with such high symbolic power for the radical left scene throughout the country will not pass without resistance.

Officially around 2,500 civil servants from all over Germany will leave the house from the morning hours, unofficially it is spoken of 4000. It is not clear how many radical leftists they will face. The scene has called to Berlin like-minded people nationally and internationally to prevent the evacuation of the L34.

Scenes like the G20 summit in Hamburg are possible

The scenes in Berlin are likely to be similar to those at the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg. Militant actions by L34 supporters have already taken place in recent days: there was an arson attack on Berlin’s S-Bahn network, cars were set on fire, officials were attacked and the owner’s lawyer was threatened.

Activists have called for “decentralized action” and militant action can be expected throughout the city. “There will be serious riots in Berlin,” predicts political scientist and left-wing extremism researcher Klaus Schroeder.

Not all residents of the two occupied buildings are seen as willing to use violence, but in recent years there have been repeated militant actions in the Friedrichshain area, and the scene obviously tolerates violence. Despite its militancy, the red-red-green city government differs only half from the extremists.

Politicians stand in solidarity with the squatters

Greens, leftists, and parts of the SPD are trying to perform the balancing act: on the one hand, showing sympathy for the squatters, with whom they feel ideologically connected in their fight against rising rents, gentrification and against the right. On the other hand, politicians distance themselves from acts of violence. Greens and leftists tried to the end to prevent the evacuation of the house. The L34 is a “single refuge” and point of contact for people who have suffered discrimination.

Left-wing extremism researcher Klaus Schroeder considers the actions of Berlin politics scandalous. A house project for violent right-wing extremists would never be tolerated, “but since it is the left with its supposedly good goals, they prefer to side with the activists.” The willingness of left-wing extremists to use violence has recently increased, Schroeder refers to the report on protecting the constitution.

After the killings of right-wing extremists in Halle, Hanau or against CDU politician Walter Lübcke, Germany had the impression that danger lurked only on the extreme right. “The threshold to murder is even higher on the far left than it is on the right wing extremists,” says Schroeder. “But the hard core of the violent left is about to cross this threshold.”

Discussions in relevant forums would suggest this. Schroeder warns: “An escalation of events with one serious injury or death may lead dozens to go underground to a new left-wing terrorist organization.” Schroeder calls on the state and its political representatives to draw a clear line against extremists on both sides: “Where violence is used, the state must intervene rigorously.” As long as politics does not move away from the stage, as is currently the case in Berlin, “as long as the violent left feels encouraged in its action.

The area around the house on Liebig Strasse is cordoned off by police 24 hours before the evacuation. The approximately 40 residents of the house cannot be seen. Canvases with anti-capitalist messages, appeals against racism and against homophobia hang from balconies and windows. “L34 remains!” Is also what it says. And: “Defend Liebig 34!” (aargauerzeitung.ch)