Bernd Westphal

A documentary film about the citizens' initiatives and protests by various segments of the population in the Federal Republic of Germany against the planned nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Gorleben from 1977 to 1979.

In the spring of 1980, anti-nuclear activists occupied a drilling site near Gorleben and set up a "village of peace" there, consisting of homemade wooden houses and tents. The 33-day occupation was accompanied by discussions, concerts, and theater performances—and by the Wendland Film Cooperative, which documented the anti-nuclear movement from the very beginning. The "Free Republic of Wendland" was a dream that came true for a short time before several thousand police officers cleared the site. In addition to the construction and clearance, the film also shows what is at risk: the untouched landscape and the people who live there.