Thursday 19.11.2026 6.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.
“What?! Squatting in houses and forests in Spandau?!”
It wasn’t just in Kreuzberg – even in Spandau, with its more middle-class character, a vibrant protest movement formed in the 1970s and 1980s. Citizens, young people, and activists fought back against environmental destruction, controversial large-scale projects, and urban planning that often neglected people’s interests. Whether it was the successful resistance to the deforestation of the Spandau Forest for a planned large-scale power plant, the occupation of the Gatower Heide, or the house squatting in 1981: The issues at stake were participatory decision-making, affordable housing, environmental protection, cultural spaces, and self-determined lives.
The exhibition tells this little-known history through video interviews with contemporary witnesses, artistic works, and interactive stations. In doing so, it takes visitors right into the heart of the conflicts and ideas of a turbulent era—while also posing questions that remain relevant today: Who owns the city? Who decides its future? And how do we want to live together?
We warmly invite you not only to discover the fascinating memories of those involved at the time, but also to join the discussion about the effects on our present and the shaping of our future!
/ Exhibition opening with interpretation into German Sign Language (DGS)
/ Gotischer Saal
