VA - Schöner wohnen - abber fix! (1982) - Solidarity with "Liebig 34"

In the 1970s and 1980s, squatting in West German cities led to a self-confident urban counterculture with its own infrastructure of newspapers, self-managed collectives and housing cooperatives, feminist groups, and so on, which was prepared to intervene in local and broader politics. The "Autonomen" movement protected squats against eviction and participated in radical direct action.

After the German reunification, many buildings were vacated due to the demise of former state-run enterprises and migration to the western parts of Germany, some of which were then occupied by squatters. In Berlin, the now-legalised squats are in desirable areas such as Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. Before the reunification, squats in Berlin were mostly located in former West Berlin's borough of Kreuzberg. The squats were mainly for residential and social use. Squatting became known by the term "instandbesetzen", from "instandsetzen" ("renovating") and "besetzen" ("occupying").

One of the house projects that is currently facing eviction in Berlin is LIEBIG 34. Liebig stays!

In solidarity with the threatened residents of this project, we post another document of the 80s squatter movement in the Ruhrgebiet, West Germany, called "Schöner wohnen - abber fix!". This album was released in 1981 and features artists like Ape, Beck & Brinkmann, MEK Bochum, Cochise, Geier Sturzflug, and the wonderful Frank Baier with his inspring lament "Ja aber, laber laber, laber Lüger, laber laber..." unveiling the false promise of the so called free dialogue.

VA - Schöner wohnen - abber fix! (1982)
(cover art included)