Fotocredit: Soheil Honarmand
The Klapperfeld
At the Klapperfeld, the violent experiences of deportation and detention become tangible. The history of the prison, from its construction at the end of the 19th century to its end of use as such in 2002, is also made tangible. Since 2009, the Klapperfeld has been a self-organised cultural centre. Among other things, the initiative »Faites votre jeu!« works on the history as well as its significance for the present. It also enables access to this place for a broad public through exhibitions. Kathy from the »Arbeitskreis 2. Stock im Klapperfeld« gives an insight into the contradictions and simultaneities of the place:
Doro and Thorsten from »community for all« refer to current German deportation policy, which manifests itself for example in the deportation detention centre in Darmstadt: What does detention do to those affected? What criticism and room for manoeuvre are there?
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The history of the Klapperfeld
The Klapperfeld police prison was built in 1886. Since then, many different phases of use can be identified. From the 1980s until the building was closed in 2002, deportation prisoners were detained here. Since 2009, the Klapperfeld has been home to the initiative »Faites votre jeu!«, which has taken on the historical-political examination of the building. The rooms are self-managed and used non-commercially for critical, political, artistic and cultural work. The exhibition »Out of here – Inscriptions of people in police custody and immigration detention in Klapperfeld prison – 1955–2002″ approaches the use of the prison in the last decades before its closure. The numerous inscriptions tell the stories of the detainees and make clear how important it is to remember and come to terms with such a place in the heart of Frankfurt.
Deportation detention today
What belongs to the past in Klapperfeld is still a reality in other places in Hesse: detention pending deportation still exists. As an administrative measure, it is not ordered because of a criminal offence, but serves solely to secure or prepare the deportation of so-called »foreigners who are obliged to leave the country«. Because the European Court of Justice has prohibited the use of detention pending deportation in prisons since 2014, several detention centres for deportees have been opened at the level of the Länder. The detention centre for deportation (AHE) Darmstadt-Eberstadt has been in operation since March 2018 and was expanded at the end of 2020.
The Stations
The Klapperfeld
Deportation prisons and the resistance against them
The authority for foreigners
The difficult way to both a residence and working permit
Working in Frankfurt
The fight for workers’ rights
The Main-Railway-Station
Racial Profiling as a constant threat
The Paradieshof
The fight for a selforganised migrant center
The attack in Hanau
Against racist terror and oblivion
The Bahnhofsviertel
Important hub for migrant life
Mixtape Migration is financed by your donations
The tour is free for everyone and is accessible to as many people as possible. At the same time, we are dependent on donations and support — we want to make the tour better known and, in a second step, expand it to include additional topics and stations.
The project is designed, organized and carried out by the non-profit association turn the corner. turn the corner is committed to a society in which we together and consciously shape how we want to live and work independently. A society in which people can be different without coercion. Learn more about turn the corner.