Aus dem Karton - from the old shoebox 2: Hamburg 1981

Aus dem Karton - from the old shoebox 2: Hamburg 1981

Hamburg, June 20. 1981
At the biennial convention of the Protestant churches of Germany the "NATO Dual-Track Decision" of 1979 becomes the main topic. The decision includes the installation of new nuclear weapons as well as negotiation-offers to the Eastern block. On June 20 a first mass-demonstration with about 70.000 participants moves through the city of Hamburg. During the next years the new "peace movement" emerges, which mobilises hundred-thousands of people to fight the threat of a "nuclear Holocaust".
Not far from Dammtor-Station the situation became a bit tense, because protesters tried to damage a monument for casualties of World War I. and met policemen who were in a rather bad mood, having to do extra-hours during the weekend... But in general the protest remained peaceful and the non-violent protesters managed to isolate those ready for violence.
At an official field-meeting of the Protestant convention, "armours" of paper were handed out, bearing the motto "My armour doesn't rust".

Regarding some certain experience with police-water-cannons, and because I was afraid there might be a violent escalation, I did not dare to take a "real" camera there, so the pictures were made in truly "subterranean" quality with a small Agfa-pocket camera, using small film-cassettes. Cleaning up old boxes of negatives I found the tiny strips and tried to scan them. I didn't care too much for the photographic quality, but for the memory, of course, but sometimes that is what photography is about, I think...

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