Archiv der Sozialen Bewegungen (ASB) in Rote Flora

The spaces of independent archives are themselves a ready-made story about the autonomy of the movements that create them. They are all strong with the power of their operators/creators, and some of them work completely independent of external subsidies. An example of such an autonomous space is Rote Flora, a center for culture and social resistance squatted in a former theatre building in Hamburg’s Sternschanze district. Since activists occupied it in 1989, it has become one of the symbols of the city’s alternative movement.

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Today, Rote Flora functions as an informal space for anarchist, anti-capitalist, pro-immigrant and climate activism and movements. The building has never been legally rented or purchased. The site hosts debates, concerts, workshops and solidarity actions. Rote Flora has also hosted the Archiv der Sozialen Bewegungen (ASB) since 1993. A paper and digital archive of the history of social movements, it gathers extensive collections documenting the activities of women’s, lesbian, trans, anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-nuclear movements, and many others (the systematic catalog includes more than 30 categories). There is also a powerful collection of current protest actions from the Hamburg area: https://asb.nadir.org/serien.php (each link leads to documentation of a specific protest event). This collection alone indicates what an active scene of social movements and activism Hamburg is.

Phot. by Maciej Kowalewski