Police crack down on the protest movement at Frankfurt Airport
As the number of passengers taking off and landing at Frankfurt Airport increased in the 1950s and 60s, it soon became clear that a fourth runway was required, and planning approval procedures for the western runway were initiated in 1968. However, as the project involved large-scale logging in an area of special conservation value and was expected to increase noise levels, it was met with protests from environmentalists and local residents. Citizens’ initiatives filed over 100 lawsuits, all of which were dismissed. Unable to find another way to stop the construction, 15,000 people organized a demonstration and others set up a village of makeshift huts to prevent the bulldozers from rolling.
The protest village became well known throughout Germany, and the police were eventually dispatched to clear it on 2 November 1981. In response, 120,000 people took to the streets of the regional capital, Wiesbaden, to protest against the construction of the new runway. Chaos reigned for days, with further demonstrations bringing Frankfurt city centre to a standstill. Protesters fleeing the police erected barricades on the motorway and blocked access to the airport. Several protesters were injured. The anger eventually subsided but also hardened; some groups resorted to terrorist attacks, which continued even after the runway opened in 1984. On 2 November 1987, during demonstrations organized to mark the anniversary of the clearing of the protest village, extremists shot at police officers, injuring nine and killing two. Two perpetrators were identified and prosecuted. This shocking violence brought an end to the protest movement.
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