Read more
Translated for the first time into English, the history of the German autonomous anticapitalist movement is traced back to the 1970s in this firsthand account. Battling police in riot gear, the early members of the autonomous movement used military tactics that included barricading and hurling Molotov cocktails in protest. Dubbed the "Black Bloc" by the German media, those tactics were soon adopted by scores of anticapitalist groups across the globe. The dawn of the autonomous faction spawned a movement in which average citizens can reclaim their lives from governmental control. Political activists and anticapitalists will find updated historical context to the movement and the current state of the German autonomous movement in this updated chronicle.
About the author
The author, writing under the pseudonym of Geronimo, has been an autonomous activist since the movement burst onto the European scene in 1980–81.
Summary
Fire and Flames was the first comprehensive study of the German autonomous movement ever published. Released in 1990, it reached its fifth edition by 1997, with the legendary German Konkret journal concluding that “the movement had produced its own classic.” The author, writing under the pseudonym of Geronimo, has been an autonomous activist since the movement burst onto the scene in 1980–81. In this book, he traces its origins in the Italian Autonomia project and the German social movements of the 1970s, before describing the battles for squats, “free spaces,” and alternative forms of living that defined the first decade of the autonomous movement. Tactics of the “Autonome” were militant, including the construction of barricades or throwing molotov cocktails at the police. Because of their outfit (heavy black clothing, ski masks, helmets), the Autonome were dubbed the “Black Bloc” by the German media, and their tactics have been successfully adopted and employed at anticapitalist protests worldwide.
Fire and Flames is no detached academic study, but a passionate, hands-on, and engaging account of the beginnings of one of Europe’s most intriguing protest movements of the last thirty years. An introduction by George Katsiaficas, author of The Subversion of Politics, and an afterword by Gabriel Kuhn, a long-time autonomous activist and author, add historical context and an update on the current state of the Autonomen.
