Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival

The anti- WAAhnsinns festivals were politically motivated rock concerts that took place in support of the protests against a planned Wackersdorf reprocessing plant ( WAA ) in the 1980s. In 1986, the fifth of this festival marked the culmination of citizen protests against the WAA: With over 100,000 visitors on 26th and July 27th, 1986 Burglengenfeld experienced the largest ever rock concert of German history, where the elite at the music industry - from BAP, Udo Lindenberg, Rio Reiser to Herbert Grönemeyer - was represented. The anti -nuclear movement learned thus a hitherto unsuspected media response. Around 6,000 police officers were around Burglengenfeld in use; the event was, contrary to many fears on the part of government authorities, absolutely peaceful.

The origins of the festival

The first anti- WAAhnsinns Festival took place in 1982 in Burglengenfeld place on the grounds of the lance Angers. In charge here was the autonomous youth center Burglengenfeld. Such music festivals had been a long tradition at the youth center; between 2000 and 4000 people attended the annual concerts. Since many members of the youth center were also actively involved in resisting the reprocessing plant, the Board decided to make an "anti- WAA " festival of it. The events should cause a greater interest of the general public to the WAA and the protests in the first place. Thanks to the committed work culture of the youth center succeeded very quickly establish contacts with Bavarian musicians like Haindling or Biermösl Blosn that publicly spoke out against the construction of the reprocessing plant. Since those festivals came across more and more response in the audience, the idea matured, a number of Germany's famous artists - such as BAP, Udo Lindenberg, Herbert Grönemeyer or Die Toten Hosen - enthusiasm for the project. Finally wore the good contacts with the management of BAP to the fact that the record company EMI Electrola could move their (rather leftist ) artists to participate in the festival. In the same year appeared under the EMI label the double live LP on the festival, which raised citizens' initiatives against the WAA.

The festival as a political bone of contention

The original intention of the organizers was to be held the anti - WAAhnsinns festival in the immediate vicinity of the WAA site. After violent riots at Easter and Pentecost was the climate in both camps, in particular by the Chernobyl disaster, very aggravated. Thus, the Bavarian government issued a " restricted area " of 120 square kilometers around the site of the reprocessing plant. The organizers finally decided for the lance Anger in Burglengenfeld as a venue. Even before the plans some CSU councilors and the mayor of Burglengenfeld, Stefan Bawidamann, grave concerns were expressed and feared riots on the outskirts of the festival. At the City Council meeting on 18 June 1986, was discussed in detail on the request of the organizers to organize on the site, the open- air concert. In the City Council were at that time two blocks over: the SPD parliamentary group on one, CSU and FDP ' on the other side. The voice of the mayor Bawidamann tipped the scales, so that the tuning ratio of 13 to 12 behaved normally in favor of CSU. In the decisive vote, the City Council approved Surprisingly, however, the festival - crucial in this respect was the voice of the 27 -year-old CSU City Council Josef Bachfischer.

Although the anti - WAAhnsinns Festival was officially approved by the city, declared the beginning of July 1986, the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior and the Government of Oberpfalz their intention to ban the event. A special meeting of the City Council was scheduled for July 15, which voted again for the conduct of the festival. After the vote, the mayor Bawidamann declared the vote, citing Article 19 of the country's criminal and regulatory law invalid because it " seems necessary prevention of threats to life, health or property or to protect against significant nuisances to the community" for. The decision on the approval of the festival was now in the hands of the next higher supervisory authority - the district office Schwandorf. The District Administrator Hans Schuierer declared the decision of the City Council for valid and dismissed the Government of Upper Palatinate on to review the legality of the cancellation of the City Council decision again.

Meanwhile, founded especially for the festival "Association for advice and support youth work " had requested the Regensburg Administrative Court for an injunction that would restore the decision of the castle Lengenfelder City Council; until the beginning of the festival remained only a few days. Only because of countless volunteers, it was possible to carry out the construction work within a very short time after the legal authorization was granted in the last instance by the Bavarian Administrative Court in Munich. The anti - WAAhnsinns festival could take place as scheduled from 26 to 27 July at the lance Anger; However, with some limitations: total ban on alcohol, limiting the visitors to 35,000 (later 40,000 ) and an increase of parking spaces and a minimum distance of 15 kilometers to the WAA.

The Festival

The event site on the Castle Lengenfelder Lanz Anger was divided into two sections. On the stage nearer sector still far away from the stage for residing participants were placed speaker towers. Behind it was the prepared for accommodation of the visitors' area.

For inlet and safety of the motorcycle club Kuhle attended paunch. Almost an hour had faeces are worn. When parking spaces fields were been leased within several kilometers from the organizer. Some of these areas were harvested shortly before the start of the festival, although the grain it was not yet ripe. Because not have been anticipated with such a high number of visitors, short term additional fields had to be reported as parking areas. On such a surface as stubble it came near the village Greinhof by a hot catalyst to a conflagration, in which burned out several vehicles. Only resolute action of a farmer who pulled a fire break with the plow, major damage was prevented.

The approximately 10,000 inhabitants, Burglengenfeld was not prepared for such an influx of visitors. On the eve of the festival all the basic food and non-alcoholic beverages were in the supermarkets of the city sold. Several stores closed and opened also no longer on the following Sunday. Because there were no mobile phones, the church doors were full of pinned written instructions as to when they would meet whom where. Each shell was used by visitors as a " roof over your head ," as sleeping place. However, it did not come to the feared by the population thefts, property damage or even riots in the locality. Nevertheless, it came to the festival to problems with numerous folders of Kuhlen paunch. At several food stands around eighty cash were taken openly, many of which later appeared again, as well as approximately 184,000 DM, which were taken without authorization, according to reports of a sworn auditor.

21 artists and groups with over 600 musicians designed 2 days 28 hours of programming and thereby waived their fees. Through the program led Eisi Gulp and Evi Seibert. A total of 600 journalists from 10 countries reported by Waahnsinn; 1300 volunteers were called for a nearly smooth course. About the number of countries participating in the festival-goers, there are different information. It should have been about 100,000, which will not be completely excluded in view of the available area. Musically, the festival is as unprocessed live recording on both a double LP (1986 ), a double CD (2008) as well as on the production Waahnsinn - been arrested, the Wacker village movie.

Aftereffect

The 5th Anti- WAAhnsinns Festival remained after the end of the WAA in Wacker village in 1989, a unique event in terms of the number of audience ( 100,000 visitors) and the quality of the musicians that appear. In the event premises " Lanz Anger" in Burglengenfeld today a memorial stone to the spectacular anti-nuclear Festival.

Line -Up

• July 26, 1986

Marian Gold, Herbert Grönemeyer, Anne Haigis, Axel Heil Hecker, Herwig Mitteregger, Wolfgang Niedecken, Purple Schulz, Hans -Jürgen Buchner, Alexander " Effendi " Büchel, Wolli Fedde, Frank stool, Gerd Köster, Udo Lindenberg, Wolf Maahn, Axel Risch, Gerd Sagemüller, Wolfgang Ambros, Manfred Boecker, Kevin Coyne, Klaus 'Major' Heuser, Pete King, Christian Schneider

• July 27, 1986

Mob Boettcher, Michael Breitkopf, Campino, Dieter Exter, Hans Fritzsche, Marian Gold, Herbert Grönemeyer, Anne Haigis, Norbert Hamm, Jacob Hansonis, Markus Maria Jansen, Alfred Kritzer, Andreas von Holst, Andreas Meurer, Herwig Mitteregger, Gaggy Mrotzek, Henni Nachtsheim, Ali Neander, Peter Osterwald, Mike Pelzer, Mateng Pollkläsener, Ullrich Pollkläsener, Rio Reiser, Wolfgang Rohde, Armin Rühl, Sabine Sabine, Stefan Walkau

Movies

• Waahnsinn - The Wacker village movie (1986 )