Spaltprozesse – Wackersdorf 001 (Fission Processes - Wackersdorf 001) is a 1986 documentary film by directors and producers and , depicting life in the Upper Palatinate region in Bavaria surrounding the Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA). Fission Processes (cf nuclear fission) is part of the Nuclear power Trilogy, which also includes (Residual Risk, 1989) and (The Eighth Commandment, 1991). A fourth film, (Half-Lives), was made in 2006.
Content and intentions On February 4, 1985, it was announced that the WAA (Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant) was to be built in Wackersdorf. The film "Spaltprozesse" (Fission Processes) describes the nuclear policy intentions and the danger to the population from radioactive emissions, and depicts the ecological and landscape destruction. The focus is on the threatened people and their political and personal processes of change.Spaltprozesse on DENKmal-Film The title "Spaltprozesse" is ambiguous. On the one hand, it refers physically to the splitting of atomic nuclei, and on the other hand, to the division of society during the conflicts surrounding the WAA.Documentary film "Spaltprozesse" recalls WAA disputes - The documentary film "Spaltprozesse" evokes memories of the disputes surrounding the planned WAA in Wackersdorf. It will be shown at a special screening – at the BMW plant., Oberpfalznetz, September 29, 2024 The filmmakers, including Bertram Verhaag, were particularly interested in the question of what happens to a "deference-loving, Catholic population" suddenly confronted with such a WAA project.'Better active today than radioactive tomorrow', ttt – titel, thesen, temperamente, contribution by Lars Friedrich from February 14, 2012 on YouTube (Bertram Verhaag from minute 2:30 and 4:10)"Spaltprozesse": Widerstands-Geschichte beim ZWICKL.light Filmfestival with , , 1 October 2024, 4 min
Spaltprozesse focuses on the citizens' protests and the changing political consciousness. By depicting the power dynamics between the administration and nuclear companies, the film also sheds light on manifest contradictions between constitutional norms and constitutional reality, thus making an important contribution to political education.Spaltprozesse - Wackersdorf 001, Filmdienst
The film uses excerpts from Zaunkämpfe (Fence fights)Zaunkämpfe (Fence Fights) on YouTube (approx. 4 min) (Medienwerkstatt Franken), WAAhnsinn – Der Wackersdorf-FilmWAAhnsinn – Der Wackersdorf-Film, Rockpalast July 1986, YouTube, 100 min, evidence-gathering videos (Filmstelle PP-Middle Franconia), and excerpts from contemporary reports by ARD and ZDF.
Characters in the film Hans Schuierer, Karin Rostek (Mother), Armin Weiß (Chemist), Robert Jungk (Futurist), Franz Josef Strauss, Helmut Kohl, Friedrich Zimmermann, , Heinz Riesenhuber, (Activist), Joseph Höffner (Cardinal), Gerhard Löwenthal (Presenter, ZDF Magazine), Richard Salzl (Priest), Walter Angebrand (Doctor), (Priest), Konstantin Wecker (Song: The treeKonstantin Wecker Song: "Der Baum" on YouTube), Rio Reiser (Song: The Dream is overRio Reiser Song: "Der Traum ist aus" - on YouTube) and others.
Film screening at the WAA site In 2024, the documentary "Spaltprozesse" (Split Processes) was screened at the former WAA site in the BMW plant, and director Bertram Verhaag answered questions from the audience.Wackersdorf: BMW promotes Zwickl Film Festival – Documentary "Spaltprozesse" screens at the plant in: Mittelbayerische Zeitung, September 5, 2024 Betrieb im Wackersdorf Innovation Park provided the perfect setting for a documentary about WAA in: Mittelbayerische Zeitung, September 30, 2024“Spaltprozesse”: Resistance History at the ZWICKL.light Film Festival with , October 1, 2024, 4 min
Awards The documentary won eleven awards and was the most successful documentary film of 1987/88. Documentary Film Prize of the City of Munich 1987 Film of the Month, Jury of the Protestant Film Association:de:Jury der Evangelischen Filmarbeit 1987 Prize of the Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK) 1987 Best Journalistic Achievement, Ökomedia 1987 Promotional Prize of the City of Freiburg 1987 Promotional Prize International Youth Film Test 1987 Preis der deutschen Filmkritik (German Film Critics' Prize), Duisburg Film Week 1987 Silver Dove, 30th International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week 1987 Summa cum laude, Gold Medal, Medicinale International Parma, 1987 German Youth Video Prize:de:Deutscher Jugendfilmpreis 1987 Best Documentary Film 1987 Readers' Jury epd Film:de:epd Film Highly Recommended, German Film and Media Rating (FBW)Spaltprozesse: Highly Recommended on German Film and Media Rating (FBW)
Literature Better active today than radioactive tomorrow I. The nuclear power plant protest movement from Wyhl to Brokdorf. Library of Resistance, Volume 18, Film: Split Processes on DVD, Laika-Verlag 2011, ISBN 978-3-942281-01-0 Bruno Rettelbach: From Palatine to Upper Palatinate. ("Split Processes," pp. 164–168), Norderstedt 2009, ISBN 978-3-8370-5257-2
: Spaltprozesse - Unacceptable for the police officers (Den Polizeibeamten nicht zumutbar) in: ibid Hans Schuierer – Symbolic Figure of Peaceful Resistance Against the WAA. Book & Art Publishers Oberpfalz 2018, pp. 231-233, ISBN 978-3-95587-063-8.Erfolgsgeschichte zu Ende geschrieben - Grundschulrektor und Autor Oskar Duschinger veröffentlicht sein zweites Buch über den WAA-Widerstandskämpfer Hans Schuierer, Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 28 October 2018 Hans Schuierer - Symbolfigur des friedlichen Widerstandes gegen die WAA, Photos and reading sample on oberpfalz-buch.deDas neue Schuierer-Buch "Hans Schuierer - Symbolfigur des Widerstandes gegen die WAA" (The new Schuierer book "Hans Schuierer - Symbolic figure of the resistance against the WAA"), TVA (Fernsehen), YouTube, October 2018
References
External links
Spaltprozesse (IMDb), Spaltprozesse (Filmportal) Spaltprozesse, the whole movie on WDR, YouTube, 96 min Spaltprozesse (Trailer), Laika-Verlag, YouTube approx. 6 min Spaltprozesse, website for the film, DENKmal-Film Verhaag GmbH Spaltprozesse: Resistance history at the ZWICKL.light Film Festival, OTV 2024, 4 min