Andrea Dieck
Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen

Berlin’s housing crisis reflects deeper issues rooted in capitalist property relations and has sparked one of the most ambitious movements for socialization in recent history. The campaign Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen demands the transfer of housing from private companies to public, democratically controlled ownership. While Article 15 of the German constitution permits expropriation for the public good, it has never been applied. Despite the success of the 2021 referendum, the Berlin Senate failed to enact expropriation laws, demonstrating that government institutions cannot be relied upon to change power structures. This highlights the need for a combination of strategies for transformation: institutional approaches focusing on the state—such as legal referendums and changes in ownership—must be interwoven with strategies that center the question of implementation and shaping alternative (power) relations. These include building counterpower from below through organizing networks of solidarity in buildings, neighborhoods, and across the entire city.

About

Andrea Dieck studied Design in Bolzano and is completing a master’s in futures studies with a focus on democratic planning at the Free University of Berlin. She works as a freelance designer and with communia e.V. on transformation, democratic economy and socialization. She teaches at HfGG Koblenz and has been active with Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen since 2019, focusing on strategy, campaign coordination and organizing.

Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen is a citizen initiative active since 2018 in Berlin. The initiative demands that the Berlin Senate enact all measures necessary to transfer real estate to public ownership: expropriation, compensation, public-law and democratic participation.