Au (squat)
{{Short description|Squatted building in Frankfurt, Germany}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Au
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = De
| logo =
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| image_alt = The Au Squat as seen from across the road in 2016
| image_caption = The Au Squat as seen from across the road in 2016
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| classification = Housing project
Self-managed social centre
| location =
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| location_city = Frankfurt
| location_country = Germany
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| opened_date = Squatted 1983
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| website = {{url|http://au-frankfurt.org/}}
}}
Au ({{IPA|de|aʊ|-|De-Au.ogg}}) is the name of a building that has been squatted since 1983 in Rödelheim in Frankfurt, Germany.{{cite news|last=Badger|first=Mark|title=AU-Squat-Festival Frankfurt, Germany- squatted for 25 years|url=https://birminghammusicnetwork.com/2008/05/25/au-squat-festival-frankfurt-germany-squatted-for-25-years/|accessdate=16 November 2011|newspaper=Birmingham Music Network|date=25 May 2008}} It bills itself as a 'self-organised cultural Centre and living project' (German: Selbstverwaltetes Kulturelles Zentrum und Wohnprojekt).{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.au-frankfurt.org/frame.html |website=Au |accessdate=24 April 2019}}
Au was home to the Au Squat Festival on June 3, 2006, featuring many punk rock bands such as The Restarts. The 2007 festival was on June 9 with bands such as Sensa Yuma and the 2008 festival took place on June 7 with headliners Life... But How to Live It?. Any profits went to human rights organizations and were also given to antifascist networks and other autonomous centres. Beside the open air festival there are many other concerts and cultural or political events during the year.
History
File:2010 10 23 Accion Mutante live at AU Frankfurt Germany 071.jpg
The Au was occupied on June 4, 1983. The Frankfurt municipality bought the building from the Deutschen Bibliothek for 4.3 million Marks in 1988.{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Theresa |title="Brennpunkt des Linksextremismus" |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/frankfurt/frankfurt-raeumung-des-linksextremistischen-zentrums-au-15135812.html |accessdate=23 April 2019 |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine |date=4 August 2017}}
Eviction threat
In the aftermath of the protests at the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg, local politicians made statements about the Au. The FDP and Alternative for Germany (AfD) all demanded that the centre was evicted. The CDU suggested the Au paid rent. In response, the Greens and the SPD cautioned against hasty actions.
Arson attacks
In late 2018, there was a spate of arson attacks against left-wing projects in the Rhine-Main region. The Au was attacked twice in November with fires started in the garden. Both times the residents were able to extinguish the flames. Nobody was apprehended. In a joint statement, representatives of Au and other autonomous spaces viewed the attacks as politically motivated and blamed the “dangerous sentiment against left projects” created by the previous statements of political parties.{{cite news |title=Frankfurt: arson attacks against squats and self-organized spaces |url=https://freedomnews.org.uk/frankfurt-arson-attacks-against-squats-and-self-organized-spaces/ |accessdate=23 April 2019 |work=Freedom News |date=7 December 2018}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.au-frankfurt.org/ Au]
{{coord|50|7|17.98|N|8|35|58.57|E|type:landmark_region:DE|display=title}}