2013–2014 Hamburg demonstrations

Series of protests in Germany April 2020 thumb|Demonstration against the 'danger zones' on 18 January 2014 The Hamburg protests were a large series of demonstrations in Hamburg, Germany, in December 2013 and January 2014. History thumb|upright|Toilet brush symbol adopted for the Hamburg protests thumb|upright|Toilet brush affixed to a wall, January 2014 In late December 2013, there were large demonstrations in Hamburg with a number of objectives: to advocate for refugees to be allowed to remain in the city; to protest against decisions to evict squatters from the Rote Flora building; and to protest the demolishing of a dilapidated block of flats colloquially known (due to the filling station out front) as the 'Esso houses'. Additional goals were to demand a reduction of consumerism and the provision of more public spaces."Hamburg police brace for protest weekend", The Local, 20 December 2013. The primary focus of the unrest concerned the threatened eviction of the Rote Flora, a former theatre which was squatted in 1989 and became an anarchist self-managed social centre in 1989."Toilet brush becomes an unlikely protest symbol in Hamburg demonstrations", The Journal, 9 January 2014. More than 7,000 demonstrators clashed violently with police on 21 December; scores of people were injured, including dozens of police (with estimates ranging up to 500 demonstrators and 120 police"Hunderte Verletzte bei Rote-Flora-Demo" https://web.archive.org/web/20131222023927/http://www.ndr.de/regional/hamburg/demonstration353.html 22 December 2013 , Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 23 December 2013 de), and buildings including the Social Democratic Party's local offices were damaged.June 2021 The following weekend, police at the Davidwache station on the Reeperbahn were attacked with stones and bottles and three were injured, one with a broken jaw."US travel warning for Hamburg after police crackdown", BBC News, 8 January 2014.Philip Oltermann, "War of words in liberal Hamburg after protesters clash with police", The Guardian, 10 January 2014. The rioting has been called the worst in Germany in many years, described in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "reminiscent of a civil war". On 4 January 2014, Hamburg police established a 'danger zone' (de Gefahrengebiet) encompassing the red-light districts of the city centre, in which a curfew was imposed and stop and frisk rules were put into effect,"Nach Krawallen: Polizei erklärt Teile Hamburgs zum Gefahrengebiet", Die Zeit, 6 January 2014 de"Day 3 of “Danger zone” Protests in Hamburg, Police Lies Exposed" https://web.archive.org/web/20140201100252/http://revolution-news.com/day-3-of-dangerzone-protests-in-hamburg-police-lies-exposed/ 2014-02-01 , Revolution News, 8 January 2014. leading to further protests both in the city and online, where the Twitter hashtag #WirSindAlleHamburg (We are all Hamburg) trended widely. In response, the zone was reduced to three 'danger islands' and the curfew there limited to 6 pm to 6 am."Online protest targets Hamburg 'danger zone'", Al Jazeera, 9 January 2014."After Massive protests, Hamburg police try to fool the media again" https://web.archive.org/web/20140201082000/http://revolution-news.com/after-massive-protests-hamburg-police-try-to-fool-the-media-again/ 2014-02-01 , Revolution News, 10 January 2014. The US Embassy in Berlin issued a travel advisory for the city.David Charter, "US issues travel warning after Hamburg protests", The Times, 10 January 2014. On January 13, police dissolved the danger zones,Associated Press, "German police scrap much-criticized 'danger zone' in Hamburg imposed following violent protest", Fox News, 13 January 2014. and a few days later, the borough of Altona announced a change in plans for the site that would ensure the Rote Flora would not be demolished and could remain a cultural centre."Rote Flora bleibt Kulturzentrum", Der Spiegel, 18 January 2014 de Protesters adopted the toilet brush as a satirical symbol of defiance, after a video was circulated depicting a hooded man having a toilet brush confiscated by police,Patrick Gensing, ""Klo, Klo, Klobürsteneinsatz"", Schlusslicht, Tagesschau, 9 January 2014 de and also organised a pillow fight in St. Pauli.Xinhua, "Hamburg’da olaylar devam ediyor" https://web.archive.org/web/20140115223015/http://www.zaman.com.tr/dunya_hamburgda-olaylar-devam-ediyor_2193077.html 2014-01-15 , Zaman, 12 January 2014 tr The list of items confiscated by police in the 'danger zones' was described in a news report as "rather lean and whimsical", including not only a truncheon, clubs, and a pocket knife but shawls and a plastic bucket. An unknown number of toilet brushes were noted but not taken from their owners.ALS, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "Kontrollen in Hamburgs Gefahrengebiet: Ein Schlagstock, ein Plastikeimer und zwei Knüppel", Der Spiegel, 28 January 2014 de Gentrification of central Hamburg was a major concern in the December protests, with activists accusing the city of permitting the landlord of the 'Esso buildings' to let them decay so that they would have to be demolished. The anti-gentrification group Recht auf Stadt was prominent in the initial demonstrations. Some activists have said the later protests included more "drunken football hooligans" and other destructive participants "without a political motive", and eyewitness accounts have cast doubt on the police account of the Davidwache incident as pre-planned and politically motivated.Denis Fengler, "Randale vor Davidwache: Widersprüche und Erkenntnisse", Hamburger Abendblatt, 23 January 2014 deBirger Menke, "Angriff auf Hamburger Polizisten: Die rätselhafte Nacht vor der Davidwache", Der Spiegel, 23 January 2014 de Maps center horizontal center Maps of the 'danger zone' Gefahrengebiet Hamburg 4.1. bis 9.1.2014.svg 300 Original 'danger zone' Gefahrengebiet Hamburg ab 9.1.2014.svg 300 'Danger islands' as enforced 9–13 January 2014 References Further reading Gefahrengebiet in Hamburg: Der Spiegel thematic archive de Julian Staib, "Krawalle in Hamburg: Im Schützengraben", Politik, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11 January 2014 de External links Demonstrations Demonstrations Category:Protest marches in Germany Category:2013 in Germany Category:2014 in Germany Category:2013 protests Category:2014 protests Category:December 2013 in Germany Category:January 2014 in Germany