SO 36 brennt

The part of Kreuzberg I live in has an interesting history. Once home to much of West Berlin's alternative community and overflowing with squats, the the area was a center point for far-left (especially anarchist) political activity in the time before the fall of the wall and the gentrification that followed. Referred to by its West Berlin postcode, "SO 36" thinks back nostalgically on its edgy past. As the famous comparison between SO 36 and Kreuzbergs more bourgeois other half states, "36 brennt, 61 pennt" (36 is on fire, 61 is asleep).

In keeping with this mood, Berlin's more left-oriented residents flock to SO 36 on May 1 (Labor Day) to peacefully demonstrate by day or riot by night, depending on how radical they are.

View from my Window, Morning

The day has become such a tradition that its no longer solely about political ideology. In fact it's mostly about things that have nothing to do with politics, such as the largest, most crowded party I've ever seen . My street, Oranienstr., was particularly packed, as it was lined with food and alcohol stands and sound-stages that shook all the windows in my apartment.

Party on the Street

Things heated up a bit at night after the sound stages closed at 1 or 2 am. Some years it gets really serious and police get severely hurt, but this year was pretty tame. There wasn't really any sort of clear message from the rioters. They seemed rather to enjoy clashing with police--it was all more of a game than an expression of ideology. The worst of the chaos happened a few blocks away, and the scuffles outside my window didn't escalate really. The procedure I observed was this: some people would throw fire-crackers into the police ranks or shove some of the riot-control-guys; those people would get arrested; members of the crowd would attempt to stop the arrests; they would be arrested too; police reinforcements would arrive; everyone would take a little break; and things would get started again.

View from my Window, Night

More (and bigger) pictures of the day's festivities, not all of which were taken from my window, can be viewed here.