The Berlin neighbourhood fighting off the Google giant

Kreuzberg’s crusade — A Google Campus is due to open in a 2500m² complex in Berlin’s popular Kreuzberg neighbourhood, but as locals fear exploding rent prices and continued gentrification amidst Berlin’s burgeoning start-up scene, an anti-Google alliance is fighting against the tech giant both online and on the streets.

It’s a hot June evening in Berlin, and locals and tourists alike are wandering through the cobblestoned streets of Kreuzberg, one of the city’s most vibrant and multicultural neighbourhoods. While passersby stroll alongside the idyllic Maybachufer canal or across the lively Görlitzer Park, dining tables are being set up in the streets for open-air banquets. There are murmurs of the World Cup, and the talk of the town is of the next big game.

But for Kreuzberg residents, the big game isn’t against a World Cup team. Instead, theirs is an ongoing opponent that has become synonymous with the area’s widespread gentrification: the tech-giant Google.

The big tech company announced back in November 2016 its plan to set up a Google Campus inside the Umspannwerk, a 2500m2 complex on Ohlauer Straße, and to eventually move in after this summer. The Campus would be the company’s seventh in the world and, as its website affirms, would become a space “for entrepreneurs to learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world.”

But although Berlin’s mayor Michael Müller welcomed the announcement, locals have become increasingly frustrated. “Everything [start-up companies] are bringing the people in this community could do themselves,” explains Ulrich Hardt, Kreuzberg resident since 1982 and director of the Theatre Expedition Metropolis. “They have no idea of the history of this place. We have no need for people from Silicon Valley here.”

 3C1A2391.DPI_300 IMG_1213.DPI_300

Berlin has increasingly been hailed as London’s successor to become Europe’s start-up capital in light of the Brexit chaos and has even been deemed “the EU’s new Silicon Valley,” suggesting that from a business and tech perspective, the move for the Google Campus made sense. What’s more, Kreuzberg itself already hosts the tech giant Zalando and Factory Berlin, the latter self-proclaiming itself as “Europe’s biggest club for start-ups.”

Yet for Berliners, comparisons to Silicon Valley will stand out as more ominous than flattering. Property prices in the city have jumped up an enormous 20.5 per cent in 2017 alone, making Berlin the city with the fastest-rising property prices in the world. As Stefan Klein, a lawyer turned activist who now leads the neighbourhood initiative GloReiche fighting gentrification, declares unswervingly: “The Google Campus will transform our neighbourhood so enormously it is hard to imagine. We can only compare to San Francisco to see the effects.”

Still, Google’s plan to open a Campus in Kreuzberg, one of the city’s hotspots for nightlife and with an enduring tradition of leftist and anarchist subcultures, was always going cause trouble. Since its initial announcement a year and a half ago, the fight against Google has seen regular events set up by an organised group of anti-gentrification activists and anti-corporate hacktivists that have formed the superhero-sounding ‘anti-Google Alliance.’

3C1A2211.DPI_300 3C1A2119.DPI_300

One of these events happened to coincide with the start of the World Cup, and was headlined as “Kick Google aus dem Kiez” (“Kick Google out of the Neighbourhood”). Close to a hundred people turned up to listen to speeches by locals and activists switching between German and English in typically Kreuzberg style, while families played political football in front of the Umspannwerk and browsed through leaflets listing alternative search engines to boycott Google.

Stefan Klein’s GloReiche, and other neighbourhood initiatives Lause Bleibt and Bizim Kiez, all attended the event. The three initiatives are no strangers to fighting Kreuzberg’s prevalent gentrification. Previously, they successfully defended both the beloved bakery Filou and the corner-shop Oranien-Späti from eviction after initial pressures from London-based owners and big real estate companies. “After we saved the bakery and Späti we [the three initiatives] decided to take on Google,” Klein says, unflinchingly. “We are fighting for our Kiez [neighbourhood].”

However, the three initiatives knew that the big tech company was a different beast to previous opponents. As such, varied participants have taken interest in this battle that is turning out to be the David vs. Goliath of the digital age, in a scenario where David comprises of society’s modern outcasts and rebels: anarchists, hackers, activists and anti-capitalists.

3C1A2373.DPI_301 IMG_1235.DPI_300

The anti-Google alliance is not only spreading its message through demos – it’s also rallying support through talks held at the anarchist library turned anti-Google café Kalabal!k every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month, through revolutionary guidelines circulated in the Shitstorm newspaper, and online through the fuckoffgoogle.de website set up by hacktivists.

As it gathers support from international campaigners, it’s clear that the anti-Google alliance is spreading both online and offline because it confronts not only the issue of gentrification but also safety and privacy. As a hacktivist behind the fuckoffgoogle.de website declares openly at the Kick Google Out event: “We’re not just opposing any company. Google practises mass censorship and surveillance. Its smart city concept has an imperialist agenda. With your help, we can build evidence and a network of solidarity both online and in our neighbourhoods to say: ‘fuck off Google!’”

As the anti-Google alliance continues to gather momentum in Berlin, it’s safe to say that the tech giant will face continued opposition even if it ultimately moves in. “We’re not against start-up employees,” maintains Konstantin Sergiou, a member of Bizim Kiez. “We’re against companies like Google that feed off growth and displacement. Even if the Google Campus comes here this place will always be haunted.”

3C1A2148.DPI_300

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

 


Ad

Latest on Huck

Two young women making silly facial expressions, one with a grey coat and the other in a black coat, in front of a white building.
Culture

Tender, carefree portraits of young Ukrainians before the war

Diary of a Stolen Youth — On the day that a temporary ceasefire is announced, a new series from photographer Nastya Platinova looks back at Kyiv’s bubbling youth culture before Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. It presents a visual window for young people into a possible future, as well as the past.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Four people posing for a portrait, wearing black outfits against a bright red background. The text "Hush presents Analogue Appreciation" is overlaid in yellow and green lettering.
Music

Analogue Appreciation: 47SOUL

Dualism — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Palestinian shamstep pioneers 47SOUL.

Written by: 47SOUL

A punk rock band performing on stage, with a female lead singer belting into a microphone. Behind them, a colourful mural with graffiti-style text.
Music

Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene

Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Group of people dancing at a live music performance, with a large "Spaces Beats" sign in the background.
Music

Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms

Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.

Written by: Jack Styler

A person's face surrounded by colourful flowers. The flowers include orange, red, and yellow dahlias, as well as smaller yellow blooms. The person's expression is serious.
Music

Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”

What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.

Written by: Uwade

Taxidermy alligator with a small monkey sitting on its head, displayed on a wooden shelf with other items.
Culture

Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets

“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.