The Bethanien

We go to the Bethanian Rauch-Haus because Örjan says there’s a documentary film showing, in celebration of its 35th anniversary as a commune. As the story goes, it was the first successful squat in Berlin. (The film is old and has quirky technical failures that are not quite charming. It is hard for me to understand the people in it and I’m not sure if that hangs on my german or theirs.) From what I gather, it started out as some kids who were trying to find a free space to hang out or live. They found four floors of an apartment building and fixed it up as their own. The group grew to almost 300 (?) people and so they needed to move to a bigger place. Nearby was the beautiful old Bethanian hospital, which had been long abandoned. 'That’s the place!', they said. Then follows a resistance story like many resistance stories. There were demonstrations, some riots. The commune tried to declare their own land, Bethania. City hall was fought, and both sides won, a little. (This is where the film’s sound started having seizures). At least, in the intervening 35 years a compromise was reached and people still live there legally today. Mostly it houses a load of galleries and art events. The building is still a grand graffiti covered castle.