Frankfurt am Main
Police clear occupied roof of former printing plant
SEK police officers on the roof of the former Dondorf printing works. photo
© Lando Hass/dpa
After more than a week of occupation, the police have now completely evacuated the former Dondorf printing plant in Frankfurt. She had previously ruled this out for security reasons.
Staying on the roof in the cold was a risk for the activists. It was said that the police decided to evict the building after “examining proportionality”. She had previously ruled out evacuation in the face of resistance for security reasons. The activists rejected a call from Goethe University for a voluntary eviction.
Two people were also arrested during the night for allegedly hanging backpacks with food on a cable to the roof. According to a police spokesman, this was aiding and abetting trespassing. The activists had previously criticized the police for denying them access to food and drink. However, the latter had explained that the activists could be safely escorted inside, where they would be given food and drink.
Activists against demolition
The occupation by the collective “Die Druckerei” was the second one this year and lasted over a week. After police cleared the interior last Thursday, a group of activists went to the roof, and some of them left in the meantime.
The activists are calling for the building to be preserved as an industrial and cultural monument. It is to be demolished to make room for a new building for the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. The building, which belongs to the state of Hesse, was most recently home to the Institute for Art Education at Goethe University.