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Difference between revisions of "Schwarzwohnen (GDR)"
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Living in a flat without state permission was considered an administrative offence in the GDR, because the state claimed the right to entirely determine the allocation of flats. In contrast, most ''Schwarzwohner'' had no sense of guilt in view of the inefficiency of the housing administration. From the late 1960s, the phenomenon of ''Schwarzwohnen'' could be observed in several East German towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants such as Berlin, Dresden, Halle, Jena, Leipzig, Rostock and Schwerin. The vacancy of flats was a consequence of the GDR’s extensive house-building programme. While new districts were built at the periphery, many town centres were left to decay. | Living in a flat without state permission was considered an administrative offence in the GDR, because the state claimed the right to entirely determine the allocation of flats. In contrast, most ''Schwarzwohner'' had no sense of guilt in view of the inefficiency of the housing administration. From the late 1960s, the phenomenon of ''Schwarzwohnen'' could be observed in several East German towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants such as Berlin, Dresden, Halle, Jena, Leipzig, Rostock and Schwerin. The vacancy of flats was a consequence of the GDR’s extensive house-building programme. While new districts were built at the periphery, many town centres were left to decay. | ||
'Schwarzwohnen'' occurred almost exclusively in older buildings. The living conditions in run-down flats under the roof or in the basement were poor. Students who lived ‘in teardown’ sometimes compared their situation to living in a shanty town. Single young people in particular had almost no chance to be allocated a flat. A large number of young Christians and students practised ''Schwarzwohnen'', but it was not limited to the youth. Divorced wives (including the future German chancellor Angela Merkel), shift workers, families with children and even pensioners illegally occupied flats as well. | ''Schwarzwohnen'' occurred almost exclusively in older buildings. The living conditions in run-down flats under the roof or in the basement were poor. Students who lived ‘in teardown’ sometimes compared their situation to living in a shanty town. Single young people in particular had almost no chance to be allocated a flat. A large number of young Christians and students practised ''Schwarzwohnen'', but it was not limited to the youth. Divorced wives (including the future German chancellor Angela Merkel), shift workers, families with children and even pensioners illegally occupied flats as well. | ||
In contrast with squatters in Western Europe, in most cases ''Schwarzwohnen'' was not carried out as a collective but an individual action. The main concern was to live in one’s own four walls. ''Schwarzwohnen'' was a tacit practice. Attaching a banner at the facade would have caused the immediate end of the illegal housing. As long as the dictatorship was intact, there were no public campaigns, no squatter organisations or informal networks. Most of the occupations were not politically motivated either. | In contrast with squatters in Western Europe, in most cases ''Schwarzwohnen'' was not carried out as a collective but an individual action. The main concern was to live in one’s own four walls. ''Schwarzwohnen'' was a tacit practice. Attaching a banner at the facade would have caused the immediate end of the illegal housing. As long as the dictatorship was intact, there were no public campaigns, no squatter organisations or informal networks. Most of the occupations were not politically motivated either. | ||