Photo Gallery Nuclear Issue Divides Wendland
Castor alarm in Wendland: Opponents are preparing for the next transport of nuclear waste.
Around 30,000 demonstrators are expected to gather near the temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Gorleben. Some 17,000 police officers have been despatched to the area.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Schröder (left) and Ulrich Flöter, mayor and deputy mayor of the Gartow community near Gorleben. They see the nuclear storage plants as an important economic factor.
On the fence: Eckhard Kruse is the pastor in Gorleben's neighboring community Gartow. As "depository officer" of the local Evangelical church he mulls over the ethical questions posed by the site and has an open ear for both supporters and opponents.
Opponents are preparing for their fight against the nuclear waste train. The yellow "X" is on display in many front gardens as a symbol of Wendland's resistance.
Rolf Meyer outside the fence of the nuclear waste disposal facility in Gorleben. He is a former press officer here. He says many opponents of the site came to see him as the enemy personified.
The Gorleben site is protected by wire and walls. But opponents don't let that stop them registering their protest in color outside.
Klaus Poggendorf has defended the site since the very beginning. As senior district director from 1978-1996, he was personally involved in making some of the major decisions regarding the repository. In his book he justifies his unpopular choices.
Wolfgang Ehmke is a veteran opponent. His family have experienced first hand how the dispute over the repository can divide loved ones.
Hans-Werner Zachow prepares for the arrival of the nuclear waste together with the "Rural Emergency Association." He and his farmer colleagues plan to block roads with tractors.
Opponents want to make the passage of the nuclear waste train as difficult as possible through protests and blockades.
The yellow X is visible on every street in Wendland. The dispute over the proposed permanent nuclear storage facility in Gorleben has been raging for over 30 years.
The controversy over the repository has put the small community of Gorleben on the map. This sign in Dannenberg points in the direction of other nuclear-related sites.
