Black bloc

The Black Block (also Black Block or Black Bloc) is a demonstration tactics of groups that appear to be homogenous to the outside due to behavior and mostly black clothes and disguise. The uniform clothing is used to avoid identification by the authorities and is intended to give solidarity. One of the tactics of the Black Bloc include the threat and use of mass militancy to achieve political goals. It is usually composed of groups and individuals of the left, autonomous and extreme left-wing spectrum. The tactic is also used by right-wing groups, the Autonomous Nationalists.

Mark

Features of Black Blocks on demonstrations, besides the clothes resolute to aggressive behavior. Sometimes people went out of the black block offensively violent against police and political opponents before, erected barricades, threw paint bombs and damaged shops. In addition, arson of vehicles and buildings were carried out by participants in the black bloc.

The uniform black clothing and face coverings such as hoods, caps, sunglasses and scarves to protect the protesters in particular from detection by police, state security or political opponents, such as neo-Nazis and against tear gas. Formerly known motorcycle helmets, gas masks and balaclavas were used; in Germany, however, this represents by applicable law since the introduction of Vermummungsverbots 1985 in violation of the Assembly Act dar.

History in Germany

The term Black Block was with the advent of new social movements in the late 1970s, when increasingly Autonomous appeared on demonstrations of these movements such as the anti - nuclear movement and the peace movement and characterized themselves as. For May 1, 1980 in Frankfurt, there was the first call to the Black Block. At the time, the occurrence of the Autonomous however, was not as homogeneous as black as the heyday of the Black Bloc: In the early 1990s, marched in Göttingen organized by the antifascist demonstrations of up to 2000 people in the black block. In the early 1990s introduced the " Autonome Antifa (M) " demonstrations with the masked ' Black Bloc ' violent with non-partisan alliances through.

For many actions, but it was also often pitched battles with police, for example, as part of the squatter movement in the 1980s and 1990s, the movement against the west runway at Frankfurt Airport in the early 1980s, the anti - nuclear movement in Brokdorf, Wacker village and Gorleben in the 1980s, the so-called Berlin Revolutionary May Day in 1987, an alternative event of the radical Left to the traditional first -May- demonstrations of trade unions, the IMF Congress in Berlin, the occupation of the houses in the harbor road in Hamburg the 1980s.

The Black Bloc is not a fixed organization. Rather, the term is 129a of the Criminal Code of the Federal Prosecutor against more than 50 people back for "membership in the terrorist group Black Block" in 1981 to investigate with the instruments of the paragraph. The term was picked up by Autonomous and has since been used increasingly by the media. Since the 1990s, increased copy Autonomous Nationalists this tactic.

Since the late 2000s, left and autonomous protesters also occur occasionally with the out - of-control tactics, since hiking boiler monitoring and preventive measures taken by the police can be better avoided than with a closed block.

Austria

The demonstrations against the Viennese Ball academics marched from 2012 with a black block, which caused particularly serious riots of 2014. There was damage to property and the police had to intervene several times forced. Police and demonstrators were injured. Am Stephansplatz, the situation escalated, there was severe damage to property, so many shop windows were smashed at the trench and attacked a bank branch. At the court the protesters overran a sparse police barrier, paving stones torn from the ground, and pelted the local police station. A radio car of the ORF Vienna and several emergency vehicles of the Vienna police were destroyed, among others, demolished road signs and concrete blocks. There were several arrests. The material damage was estimated according to the protest with more than a million euros a day. The police operation to secure the ball is said to have also cost a million euros.

United States

In the United States of America, the black block was probably the first time in 1991 elected by the anarchist organization Love & Rage as a form of protest. Was formed in 1992 on the occasion of Columbus Day again, a black block. Was received more medially until the on 30 November 1999 formed the anti-globalization protests in Seattle of about 200 people block. Graffiti was sprayed and smashed shop windows from the anonymous group out what total earned great attention and increased in participation of marginalized since the 1920s militant anarchist movement criticism anarchopazifistischer groups, but the anarchist movement. The debates in the episode revolved similar since the 1980s conducted in German-speaking countries to the meaning and benefits of action, damage in reputation for the movement and diversity of tactics or sharp demarcation of militarisiertem occurrence and not publicly -place actions.

Italy

Much destruction had caused a black block at the G8 summit in Genoa in 2001. In the workup of these events, the suspicion was repeatedly expressed that the police had infiltrated disguised officials in the Black Bloc as provocateurs. Several eyewitnesses had claimed that the police had acted with great force against peaceful protesters, but I held back against the Black Bloc in a conspicuous manner.

Egypt

In Egypt, in the wake of protests against the policies of President Mohammed Mursi developed a violent group, which calls itself Black Block. This first appeared on January 24, 2013 in Tahrir Square in Cairo in appearance. The " Black Bloc " sees itself as a resistance to the thugs of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was arrested on December 4, 2012 in front of the presidential palace, many members of the opposition and beaten.