Lützerath is an 800-year-old German village whose fate is now sealed, according to authorities and energy giant RWE. It must be sacrificed as the country cries out for energy since the Ukraine war led to cut off supplies of Russian gas. But the environmental movement does not agree, and has been occupying society for almost a year now, which has become the symbol of the energy dilemma.
On Wednesday morning, riot police surrounded the area. “The evacuation of Lützerath has begun,” the police wrote on Twitter, urging everyone to leave the area voluntarily and peacefully.
The last farmer in the area almost a year ago gave up trying to stay. But Lützerath is only the first in a series of communities that must be destroyed if the giant coal mine Garzweiler’s expansion is to be completed.
See images from the protests in the village in the clip above.