Mathias Whelan

Bachelor Project

First Examiner:
Prof. Dipl.-Des. Henning Tietz

Bachelor Project:
At FH Münster, Department of Design / Münster School of Design (MSD)

Second Examiner:
Dipl.-Des. Kay Domhardt

»Bis zur Rodung«

A short documentary about the motivations of an activist in the Hambach Forest

The Hambach Forest is a wooded area in North Rhine-Westphalia, situated between Bergheim and Jülich, that has been progressively cleared by the energy corporation RWE for lignite (brown coal) mining since 1978. Of the forest's original 5,500 hectares—dating back 12,000 years to the last Ice Age—only a tenth remains today.

For years, environmental activists have fought to preserve the forest, occupying parts of it to prevent its destruction. They set up barricades along forest paths, live in self-built treehouses, and even construct tunnel systems to resist both police and RWE security forces, aiming to delay further clearing. While isolated acts of violence by individuals sometimes overshadow the largely peaceful movement, clashes between police and activists frequently dominate local news and politics, leading to arrests and often casting activists in a negative light.

In this documentary, I explore the perspective of an individual who has dedicated much of their life to protecting the forest and is actively involved in the resistance. This short film aims to provide viewers with an overview of the situation, encouraging an open dialogue on the issue.

The Hambach Forest is frequently covered in the media and remains a significant topic in local politics. However, media coverage often focuses primarily on the portrayal of forest occupiers, while the core issue—the clearing of the forest for energy production—fades increasingly into the background. The potential environmental destruction associated with this is rarely a central focus of reporting. Instead, the spotlight falls on depictions of radicalized, extreme activists clashing with police and RWE security forces.

These activists are labeled as terrorists and viewed as problematic by some politicians. Media portrayals are dominated by negative narratives, creating a dark image of activism that doesn’t necessarily align with the broader activist community. The resistance is no longer presented with nuance but is instead broadly criminalized.

Individuals living in treehouses within the forest are thus seen as threatening, and their humanity is obscured. Activists from this community are seldom shown or heard in their own voices, as coverage tends to speak about them rather than with them, denying them the chance to share their perspective directly.

In my research on the Hambach Forest, I quickly realized how charged the topic is and just how many differing perspectives surround it. Information provided by RWE contradicts that of organizations like BUND (the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation). On one side, there is talk of reforestation; on the other, of destruction. And caught in the middle are the so-called radical activists, who have become the primary focus of media coverage. From an outside perspective, it’s difficult to gain a deep understanding of this complex issue in just a few minutes.

I soon found myself wondering what it must actually be like to live in and occupy this piece of forest. Who are the people who reside there, how do they see themselves, and what drives them to reject everyday comforts and dedicate their lives to activism? Are they truly radical anarchists, impossible to engage in dialogue with?