-
![]()
Alongside the border of the mine battle dressed police make sure no one enters. During the last weeks, violent clashes between activists and authorities have taken place in these fields.
-
Lützerath Lebt!
Since 2020 a group of activists have occupied the village of Lützerath. It happened after the German government decided to give permission to expand the Garzweiler coal mine. The expansion means that Lützerath will be destroyed to extract the coal under the village. The government has chosen to do so even though it has been decided to totally phase out coal-fired power soon due to the extreme pollution which it entails. At the beginning of 2023, the authorities started to remove people from the area to start the excavation. Thousands of people traveled to Lützerath to protect the village. For weeks this led to violent clashes between the police and the activists.
-
![]()
This Tuesday a big group of activists walks towards the coal mine which currently stops just outside Lützerath.
-
![]()
A gasp goes through the crowd when the first people suddenly start to break through the police barrier. It initiates a chain reaction and quickly hundreds of people are running toward the mine. The activists will use their bodies as a shield so it will be impossible for the bucket wheel excavator to proceed to dig.
-
![]()
The police are outnumbered, and most climate activists managed to get past the barrier and escape the police.
-
![]()
The hilly terrain makes it almost impossible for the police to organize themselves and stop the activists who are heading toward the edge of the mine.
-
![]()
The authorities use tear gas, police clubs, horses, and brutal arrests in their attempt to stop the activists from entering the mine.
-
![]()
Greta Thunberg is one of those who have traveled to Lützerath to join the protests. She is arrested but receives surprisingly gentle treatment compared to others.
-
![]()
By now many of the activists are experienced in clashes with the police after weeks of confrontations. Some of them have been occupying this area for years.
-
![]()
A group of activists succeed to come to the very edge of the mine, but the police manage to surround and retain them shortly after.
-
![]()
Despite being retained the activists try to keep their morale high. At regular intervals, the group breaks out into sing-alongs and makes so-called “life checks” to make sure everyone is all right.
-
![]()
Even though the activists have been caught they insist on civil disobedience. They have gradually gained expertise in making the police ́s work more difficult.
-
![]()
For more than three hours the activists are sitting on the ground while being retained by the police. It is in the middle of January.
-
![]()
One by one they get arrested and dragged into police busses where they will be driven out of Lützerath.
-
![]()
The protest on the 17th of January became one of the last ones before the climate activists decided to retreat from the area. The village of Lützerath belongs to the past and now the area will be transformed into a coal mine.
