10th August, Berlin Germany.
“Somebody has to build all this shit, the highways through forests, the jails, the palaces of the rich in the formerly green backyards of Berlin’s old buildings, the concrete aisles along the banks of the Spree River.
As we walk through the city, we repeatedly encounter the signs of a handful of companies that want to use them to mark who owns the city. Among them is Züblin, a construction corporation that pours cement on the explosive increase in rents. Züblin has long been active in the business of the capitalist attack on our living spaces, and was already targeted forty years ago for this reason, when construction machinery burned because of its involvement in the construction of Runway West in Frankfurt. During the Nazi regime, Züblin used forced laborers at Frankfurt Airport. Through its connection with Strabag, Züblin has become one of the leading tree killers, see the expansion of the A49 through the Danni or A66 through the Fechenheimer forest.
Naming such actors and sabotaging them unpredictably can be a modest contribution to the long-term wave of action towards revolt.
On the night of August 10, we shut down a Züblin vehicle with fire in Kreuzberg, Alexandrinenstraße.
The attack of the day before on the occupied houses in Habersaathstr. by a security company on behalf of the real estate mafia, shows the determination of our opponents to subjugate the city at any price in their pursuit of profit. There is nothing left but to target all profiteers of these exploitative relations.
Our action took place in a neighborhood that has been completely transformed in recent years in favor of the new urban elites. The nocturnal crackling of their vehicles is supposed to be part of the disturbing background music of the workers of Züblin, Amazon, DB & Co, when they want to regenerate in their new fancy apartments for another productive working day.
Group for the Shutdown of the Construction Industry“
What is the background and history of Züblin, particularly its involvement in construction and its impact on living spaces and the environment, and how has it been a subject of protest or controversy in different contexts, including its role during the Nazi regime and its connection with Strabag in relation to deforestation projects?