Everything for Everyone, and For Free, Too!
A Conversation with Berlin Umsonst

Initiated in the Spring of 2003, Berlin Umsonst (Berlin For Free) began as a campaign to develop a “culture of everyday resistance” to the official discourse of scarcity, cutbacks and structural adjustment in the city of Berlin. It evolved into an open campaign label or action form that has spread to other German cities, including Hamburg, Cologne and Dresden. The Umsonst slogan (“Alles für alle, und zwar umsonst!”) is now heard from the anti-capitalist bloc at all the big Berlin demos. This conversation with three members of Berlin Umsonst was recorded in late July 2005. At their request, they are identified here by pseudonyms.Gene Ray: So it’s Spring 2004, and the MoMA has come to Berlin, with this blockbuster exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie. When did the incredibly long lines start? Was that from the beginning?

Kalle: You would need to ask, when did the media hype start? The hype started weeks before the show opened, so it was clear that from the first day there would be lines.

Peter: At certain points, people had to wait three to four hours to get in! And they had this VIP entrance where you paid double or triple the normal fee and then you could get in immediately.

GR: And the posters were everywhere in Berlin...

Peter: Yeah, they had these neat posters with pink type: “MoMA in Berlin.”

Kalle: With a strong corporate design. You only needed a glimpse to recognize it.

Peter: So we thought it would be cool to have a For Free action in a field that’s not directly related to your existential needs, which until then had been our focus. Public transportation, sure, everyone agrees we need that. But culture, well, a lot of people say that’s a luxury. You don’t need it. So we wanted to make a statement that things should be free in every area.

Kalle: Not only what you need to survive.

Peter: Right. So MoMA was perfect for us. We downloaded their official poster from their website and changed it. Instead of saying “MoMA in Berlin,” our version said “MoMA for Free.” Then we had a few sentences saying that art and culture should be available for everyone and should be free in this society. And we had it in German, English and Turkish. And then it gave a date: Sunday, April 17, 4pm. MoMA for free. Everyone’s going to get in free on that date and time.

GR: Was it clear that everyone should try to get in free then, or was it presented as the MoMA’s offer?

Peter: Well, we had a tiny little Berlin Umsonst label at the very bottom. So if you really looked closely, you would see that it actually wasn’t the MoMA. But otherwise, the whole poster looked exactly the same, and it was announced as if the MoMA itself was saying: you’ll get in free. We had about 2000 of the posters printed and started putting them up two weeks before the date. Immediately, the media was reporting it. The MoMA had to make a public statement saying that no one is going to get in for free! Which was great!

GR: So the media picked it up as, there are all these posters out there, what’s going on?

Peter: Right, and then they went to the MoMA. They also approached our group and wanted to do interviews. The expectation was, oh, these autonomous rioters are going to smash up the whole building.

Kalle: Which is all glass! It’s a big cube with glass walls 30 meters high. So it had their worst fantasies of violence working!

Peter: It was funny. We knew we wouldn’t be able to get in. But they gave us the opportunity to pretend that we had a strength we didn’t really have. So we gave an interview on RBB, the local television news channel, and we said, “Well, we’ve decided not to smash the place up. We’ll just try to get in for free!”

Kalle: We’ll be generous this time!

Peter: It got a lot of sympathy because people hated waiting for hours and they hated the VIP shit. And on the actual day, there were hundreds of cops and about 400 people who came to protest.

Kalle: They had to close down the show for two hours!

Peter: For two hours, they wouldn’t let anyone in. They thought we would go in and do damage, or whatever.

Kalle: And we were dressed pretty, so they couldn’t recognize us so well.

Peter: Some members came in suits and gave statements to the media. They totally confused everyone by making radical, leftist statements in suits.

GR: You weren’t in a bloc. So their crisis actually was that they couldn’t distinguish you from the other visitors.

Kalle: We went as a culture bloc this time!

Peter: We also had materials and banners prepared. We had this whole gate constructed, a For Free gate we thought people could go through. But all that got confiscated. The cops had all these checkpoints around the museum and confiscated all our fliers. We had a lot of fun stuff planned to involve the visitors. But we couldn’t do any of that.

GR: Was anything in this action actually illegal? Was the poster illegal?

Kalle: No. And there’s a big public plaza in front of the museum. It’s normally totally legal to be there.

GR: So what was the justification for confiscating your fliers and props?

Peter: Well, if you don’t announce and register your rally, they can say you’re illegal. In Germany, there’s a constitutional right to have a spontaneous rally. But if you bring fliers, they can always argue that it’s not spontaneous.

Kalle: Besides, cops don’t need justifications. They do what they want to do, then let the judge decide two months later in court. Whether or not what the cops did was legal, your rally got busted. That’s how it works.

Peter: The nice thing was, on the same day there was a demo going on against rising public transportation fares. After an hour and a half in front of the MoMA show, everyone decided to join the other protest, and 400-500 people left together as a spontaneous march to go and join up with that.

GR: Nice exit. Let’s go back to the origins of Berlin Umsonst. What was the context for the “For Free” idea?

Peter: Umsonst was an initiative of FelS [Für eine linke Strömung: For a Left Current], an established Berlin group that has been doing political work for 15 years. The idea was to come up with an everyday practice or culture of anti-capitalist resistance. There are many groups in the Berlin radical left that do anti-capitalist work, but there isn’t an everyday practice of resistance.

GR: What do you mean by that?

Peter: Well, we wanted to find areas where there are already practices of resistance, and that already had anti-capitalist elements.

Kalle: Areas where people are already involved.

Peter: Right, we were looking for areas where people already do break capitalist rules, but they maybe do it secretly. Like, you ride the metro without paying. Or you want to get into the city swimming pool, but you don’t have the money. Or you want to go to an art show, but you can’t afford it. So a lot of people would maybe try to sneak in. But they don’t do it collectively, in any organized way.

Kalle: Or they might do it and feel guitly about it afterward.

Peter: So we thought, there are already these little subversive actions in peoples’ everyday lives. And this is maybe where we can intervene and strengthen them. Maybe we can take these moments of resistance and say, OK, now we’re all going to do this together and not feel guilty about it. We do it publicly, as a political action. And it’s nothing new that we invented. There’s a long tradition of this kind of autonomous appropriation – in Germany in the 1980s. And in Italy in the 1970s, where people collectively lowered their rent or bargained lower prices in the supermarket. So we just recovered and reinvented it, in the context of Berlin today.

Antje: The broader situation was also that Berlin was going bankrupt. Everything was put under a sort of austerity regime: we can’t continue social spending because there is no more money, and so on. So the concept of Umsonst was to say, this financial mess is not our problem. We aren’t responsible for these debts, which were mainly the result of real estate speculation. The For Free campaign was to break with this whole neoliberal discourse about cutbacks and increases in the fees the public has to pay for city services. We said, no, everything should be for free: free public transportation, free recreation, free culture.

GR: Is Umsonst a group? A network? You’ve called it a campaign. . .

Peter: Well, groups are involved, like FelS. But it’s an open campaign, with the idea that everyone can use it and take part in it. We don’t have a copyright on it. We came up with the concept, as a kind of action form, and it’s available for anyone to use.

GR: So would it be right to say that it’s like the “Überflüssigen” (the Superfluous or Unneeded Ones) – a form of direct action to address a certain cluster of issues, and any group or ad hoc coalition can use this label for their own actions in this direction?

Antja: Yes.

GR: Was the idea to demonstrate, in a symbolic or exemplary way, what would be possible in a certain direction of collective resistance, or was it your intention to actually mobilize and organize masses of people into a kind of urban movement?

Antje: I think we were not very clear about that. When you look at the actual practices of the actions, they are mainly symbolic. The numbers of people participating have been rather small. We didn’t specifically decide to develop symbolic actions, but I think this is what happened, because security was too tight, and we had to deal with a lot of repression.

Peter: There were two levels. One is what Antje was talking about earlier: the need to break with this logic of governance that says, Berlin is broke, we need to cut back social programs, raise prices, all of that. So one thing was to intervene and show a different possibility. In this, I think Umsonst has been successful. We got a lot of media coverage and public sympathy, and a lot of people came to our actions. And the idea has spread to other German cities. We also got a lot of repression, which shows we hit a sore point. So on the level of public discourse, I think we did break this argument about financial constraints.
But then we also always had in mind that people would be politicized through this campaign, and would maybe start to organize themselves and come up with their own ideas about where to intervene with Umsonst actions. On this level, after two years, we have to say that this didn’t really work. People come to our actions in Berlin, but it doesn’t spread or take off. We can’t provide the organizational infrastructure so that people can stay involved and have continuity. If they come to our actions, they like it. But then they go home, and they’re alone again. So that was an aim, but we never reached this mass effect.

GR: How do you make decisions? How do you decide what actions to do and how to do them?

Peter: In terms of Umsonst? Well, first of all, within FelS, we don’t vote. We’re not democratic in the bourgeois sense! We decide by consensus. We discuss everything, and everyone has to agree, otherwise it doesn’t happen. For Berlin Umsonst, we came up with a catalog of criteria for actions. Like the need to connect with people in areas where they’re already doing things, like riding the metro without paying. Also, we want to violate rules, but we’re also aware that we can’t go too far into illegality without becoming exclusive. So we use these five or six criteria to find areas for Umsonst to intervene. Then, there are a number of groups that have been participating in the actions. And what we do then is to get agreement from as many groups as possible, to broaden the base and bring people into the actions. And of course, these groups can propose their own Umsonst actions as well.

GR: So it is a network, as well as a campaign form. What’s the relation to ACT!

Peter: ACT! came after Berlin Umsonst. ACT! is an alliance of radical left groups that was formed in 2004. FelS is one of the groups in this coalition.

Antje: The thing is, Berlin Umsonst is a form to do a certain kind of action, and this kind of action is not applicable to every situation. When the defensive protests against the federal social cutbacks started, against Hartz IV and so on, ACT! was involved in that, but Berlin Umsonst not really so much. Against the workfare reforms like Hartz IV, we mainly worked in the coalition of groups called “Das Ende der Bescheidenheit!” [No More Modesty in Demands!].

GR: This was responding to the so-called social “reforms” at the federal level – really a neoliberal structural adjustment program for Germany?

Antje: Right. There was an alliance of groups that met every week on that, last year. And the ACT! groups were part of that. And there were working groups on different themes, also an Umsonst working group. It was very dynamic.

Peter: And Berlin Umsonst started earlier, so from the beginning there were groups involved in For Free actions that were never a part of ACT! We always had a lot of students involved. For the MoMA action, for example, a lot of art students came, because that was totally their field to intervene. And now I think we can count on the ACT! groups, whenever we come up with new Umsonst actions. But it was always the idea to have people involved who are not organized at all.

GR: So FelS is a kind of anchoring group, but Umsonst functions more like an open action category. Every action is going to have a different participation and composition.

Kalle: Yeah, and this is how it worked between the cities. The label is working in Dresden, even though there is no ACT! outpost there. And in Hamburg, the same.

GR: Is it because of what Umsonst has done in Berlin that this form has spread to other cities? Meaning that groups have sprung up there?

Antje: Only in Hamburg is there an Umsonst group that meets on a continuous basis.

Peter: What about Dresden?

Antje: Dresden is over, because of the repression there. In Cologne a core of groups also did one or two actions under the label of Umsonst. Maybe they will do some more.

GR: But in Hamburg there is a group.

Antje: Right.

Peter: At a congress of leftist groups last year, we organized a workshop to present the Umsonst idea. And there were 50 or 60 people from all over the country, about ten different cities, who came to the workshop. So there is a lot of interest. But, I mean, it’s a lot of work, too.

Antje: But it has this open source character. It’s out there now and people can use it.

GR: What were the first Umsonst actions?

Peter: The first ones were swimming pool actions, to protest the city raising the price to get into the pools. We had about a hundred people who rode by bike to pools in the city and did protests at each one. Then at the last one, we tried to get in. It didn’t work, because the cops were there. But it was a lot of fun. We blocked the streets, dressed up for a day at the pool, and played volleyball and all that right in front of the cops. And at the same time, we had fliers and banners and a very clear political message.

GR: The one I remember vividly from photos, maybe from Indymedia, was the action last year at the Badeschiff on the Spree River.

Peter: That was last summer. There was a big group of comrades from Spain in town, and we wanted to do something fun with them. Badeschiff is this private swimming pool that’s actually a ship on the Spree that they filled with water. It’s like you’re swimming in the river, but you’re actually in this boat that’s a pool. So we got a bunch of little boats and rafts and air mattresses, and we all dressed as pirates and entered the pool from the river. We refused to pay. They had security there, but they were so confused that they didn’t do anything about it.

GR: How long were you there?

Peter: About half an hour.

GR: How did people respond?

Peter: The guests were confused, but they liked it and had fun, too. And it’s always part of Umsonst actions that we try to include the staff. We always tell them: “This is a protest, bit it’s not directed against you.”

GR: Umsonst actions seem to be a lot of fun. How important is this idea of “fun,” as a tactic to pull people in?

Antje: I think it’s quite important. And it’s a response to the massive repression you are confronted with at the large demos. In Berlin at these large rallies, somehow the police are always managing to beat people up. So fun makes it more difficult for them. It’s the same with this pink-silver idea. You dance around and confuse the police, who can never be quite sure: is this a political action or a cultural action? It’s good to break down these clear divisions.
This is also part of the Umsonst “Pink Point” or “Ride Pink” campaign. We wanted to break with this old term for illegally riding the buses and metro. In German, it’s called schwarzfahren, “riding black,” which is also maybe a racist term. So we decided we will call these actions “riding pink.” Actually this idea came from the Hamburg group. The idea is to get beyond these negative criminal and racist associations with a new term, so that people feel safer doing it.

Peter: For the first Ride Free action, we printed tickets that looked exactly like the normal ones, but they said, “For Free.” On the backs, we had our website and information about the campaign. We handed them out on the metro and people loved it. That’s where you reach them – in the areas of our everyday problems. Here you don’t impose an abstract political statement on anyone. Public transportation is something everyone needs, and when prices go up, people know exactly why. The direct response of people on the trains was very positive.
The concept and preparation of the Pink Point campaign was done not just by FelS, but also by other groups at the Open University, which is an open space for leftist groups at the Humboldt University. All the planning meetings were held there, and a lot of other groups were involved. The metro had just taken away the old discounted semester fare that had been available for students, so the idea was to focus mainly on students who needed the metro to get to classes everyday but had lost their discounted fare. We designed a pink button that people could wear. And we made pink meeting points on the platforms at the metro stations, where people could meet and then go together on the trains without any tickets. The controllers who check tickets mostly work in pairs. So if you can get seven or eight people together, it’s harder for them to get you off the train.
We did three actions that worked really well. At one point we had about 50 people riding pink. Controllers and also two cops came in, but they left the train without doing anything. So the publicly announced actions went well, but the students didn’t start doing it on a daily basis. It was too hard to organize and make it available to everyone on a daily basis. A couple of people got caught and had to pay fines, but we threw a big party and raised the money for that.

GR: Is the penalty or fine different if this is done as a political action, as opposed to just sneaking on?

Peter: Yeah, if you sneak on the train and pretend that you have a ticket, they fine you 40 Euros. But with riding pink, you’re not pretending to have a ticket. In fact, we go up to all the guests and tell them that we didn’t buy a ticket and don’t want one, because we don’t think it should be necessary to buy one! So they can only say that it’s trespassing. The three people who were fined were fined for that.

GR: Is this ongoing?

Peter: Yeah, our latest idea is called “Pink Tuesday.” We’re trying to get cultural institutions, movie theaters and clubs involved, so that people who get caught riding pink can go on Tuesdays to the participating institutions and they’ll get in free. We’re trying to decriminalize it and broaden support beyond the radical left.

Kalle: But I get the impression that Umsonst actions have somehow mostly transformed into Überflüssigen actions, which are more closed and exclusive because they are more offensive and militant. Like visiting luxury restaurants.

Peter: Right now, the Berlin Umsonst campaign is discussing if and how we continue. But there are action forms and campaign forms that have already evolved out of it. The Überflüssigen are definitely inspired by Berlin Umsonst. And it’s maybe a more adequate or effective form to intervene in certain areas and situations.

GR: What are the differences between the Umsonst and Überflüssigen action forms?

Kalle: The Umsonst actions are planned openly. The Überflüssigen actions are prepared secretly, in order, for example, to get into luxury restaurants, bust the buffet and spend some time there before the police comes. Take your pictures and video, to publicize the action later, but then get out of there.

Peter: The Überflüssigen actions are definitely more exclusive in terms of participation. This is a critical point that we have always discussed. Although we try to develop inclusive forms of action that also break rules, it always tends to exclude people who are handicapped or who don’t have a legal residency status. If you’re in a wheelchair, you’re not going to climb over a fence to get into a public swimming pool. Or if you are an illegal immigrant and get caught in a half-legal action or demo, you might be deported. Beside that, the more you go toward illegality, the less people are going to participate. With the Überflüssigen, if you announce this kind of action publicly, it’s not going to work. But it has been very effective for getting media coverage. For example in Hamburg last May Day, a 5-star restaurant was practically taken over by 35 people. This was a mixed group, but some of them were Überflussige.

Kalle: The Überflussigen wear a “uniform.” This is another difference.

GR: They wear white theater masks and red, hooded sweatshirts with “Die Überflüssigen” on the back. . .

Peter: This is for protection. There are so many cameras and videos around now you really need to be careful. And so, because this kind of action can’t be prepared openly, it’s pretty exclusive in terms of participation. But the press and media totally love it. The action in Hamburg was in all the major newspapers the next day. Even the conservative yellow press was running photos and interviews. One guest, a kid, said, “They really looked like they were having fun!” Because it touches popular resentment, the media loves it.

GR: How did the action work?

Peter: In Hamburg, the group went into this really fancy restaurant with boxes that said, “5 Stars To Go.” Then they went up to the buffet and started packing the boxes with food. One person gave a speech, fliers were handed out, then everyone disappeared. The staff actually really liked it. They handed the food over right away. The guests were totally confused. The management came up and said: “Look, we have some prominent, high-security guests here. We don’t want to call the cops rights now, but how long are you going to stay?!” The group said, no, this is a short action. We’re going to get our food and pass out some fliers, and then we’ll be gone! The flier made the point that no one who works at this place would be able to afford a single dessert. And the whole flier text was reprinted in the yellow press. So we gained in coverage what we lost in participation.

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Write to Berlin Umsonst at: berlin-umsonst@gmx.net
Websites:
Berlin Umsonst: http://www.berlin-umsonst.tk/
FelS: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/fels/
ACT!: http://act.so36.net/
Die Überflüssigen: http://www.ueberfluessig.tk/