Keine Startbahn West – Eine Region wehrt sich

The 1970s in West Germany were marked by protest movements against nuclear projects, rearmament and large-scale industrial projects, for peace, equality and alternative concepts of life. After successful protests against the planned Wyhl nuclear power plant in southern Baden and against the Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility, there were also protests against other major projects such as the expansion of Frankfurt Airport. KEINE STARTBAHN WEST. EINE REGION WEHRT SICH (1982) was created by an authors’ collective of the AG HE-Film and the Frankfurt Filmwerkstatt (Thomas Frickel, Regine Hauser, Gunther Oehme, Wolfgang Schneider, Rolf Silber, Michael Smeaton). The film traces the chronology of the citizens’ protest and employs many stylistic devices, from text overlay to animation. The artistic aspects of the protest were important to the team. The film therefore begins with a songwriter’s protest song in an empty hall. This shot is contrasted with images of the Frankfurt skyline and industrial plants. Later, idyllic images of the forest are juxtaposed with those of the destructive construction site. The interviews with active people, pilots and doctors may seem a bit conventional today, especially since they are barely edited and often relatively long. The commentary is quite pointed: “The West Runway is the concrete prey of madness.” The solidarity concerts with musicians and bands such as Inga Rumpf, Udo Lindenberg, Bots and other artists are an important aspect. This is a creative element of the film.

The film discusses in detail the question of when and how citizens should defend themselves against the plans of industry and politicians. In addition to peaceful protests with 100,000 participants, there were violent clashes on the construction site with the police who had to enforce the construction work. Ultimately, the runway was built despite all reservations and opposition.

Image © Frankfurter Filmwerkstatt Arbeitsgemeinschaft HE, Film Arbeitsgemeinschaft Volksbegehren Keine Startbahn West