Kraakers

The Kraakers (named for the sound a door makes when you crowbar it) or Krakersrellen is a Dutch autonomous and squatters movement active from 1968 until the present although in recent years there has been a sharp decline especially since new laws were voted in the 2010 kraakverbod (squatting ban) which crimminalised the practice.

Rise of the Movement

From 1968, in the aftermath of the counter-culture, squatters took over 25,000 buildings across the Netherlands in 13 years, 10,000 of which were in Amsterdam. They organize a network of resistance to the government, creating kitchens, bars, cafes, information centers to deal with landlords and police harassment, free radio stations and street parties. This was done in response to an economic boom in Amsterdam, as money was pumped into construction companies to promote a construction boom. At their peak in the mid-1980s, there was a new squat opened every week.

Activities

Some notably actions of the kraakers include:

• 1975: The Battle of Nieuwmarkt, kraakers resist the demolition of homes
• 1980: The Battle of Vondelstraat, seeing the Dutch government bring in tanks to help evict squatters
• 1980: The Battle of Geen Kronung, massive riots in response to the coronation of the Dutch queen
• 1980: The Battle of the Lucky Luiyk occurs, squatters and fascists fight in the streets
• 1983: The Battle for Groote Watering, squatters resist evictions by police
• 1985: The Battle of Amsterdam, squatters resist evictions and police brutality
• 1986: The Battle of Borssele, as they tried to stop the construction of a nuclear power plant
• 1988: The Battle of Nijmegen
• 1988: The Battle of Marienburcht
• 1988: The Battle of Konradstraat

Decline and Collapse

The movements decline began as landlords illegally recruit criminal enforcers to clear out occupied buildings, often dressed in American football gear and steel-tipped boots. Welfare to students and the unemployed was cut, and police were given greater power and funding. Neo-fascists also began to attack squats and police refused to hold them off. Public opinion also began to turn against the squatters in 1982 due to the amount of destruction caused by battles. The movement also split between radicals and non-radicals.

The radicals saw the Dutch housing crisis as another example of capitalism's failures, and saw their own struggle as the one being waged with stones and slingshots in occupied Palestine and with AK-47s in Nicaragua. They felt that being afforded the luxuries of Dutch citizens was part of their national privileges as members of an affluent society in a corrupt world system. The non-radicals simply saw squatting as a way to get free housing and protect themselves from homelessness, and supported the creation of a greater social democracy to protect people.

The combination of increasing repression, unpopularity and internal splits led to increasing paranoia in the movement, stagnating its ability to grow and depend on community support. A breakdown in trust and mutual aid led to the movement losing 24,000 squats in less than 10 years without an ability to create new squats. Surviving squats were converted into low-rent housing for squatters to live in, forcing them to act like lawyers and reintegrating them into capitalist society.

See Also

• Revolutionary Anti-Racist Action