Heilbronn | Lidl boss Dieter Schwarz: A billionaire shapes his city

In the treetops in front of Heilbronn's indoor swimming pool, two people sit in homemade swings. They've strung a rope between two plane trees, from which hang banners bearing the Lidl logo. One reads: "Lidl is worth it. But for whom?" And a member of the Bundestag, hanging upside down from a climbing rope, says: "Excessive wealth like Dieter Schwarz's is a problem." The Lidl founder and owner wants to demolish the Soleo swimming pool in the city center to expand his educational campus. The trees are to be felled, the public green space sealed, and privatized.

The "Our Lidl" alliance took this as an opportunity for a weekend of action against the concentration of power among the super-rich. Participants organized a panel discussion, unfurled banners on public buildings and squares, and conducted street surveys among Heilbronn residents. And, of course, the aforementioned symbolic tree occupation was part of the program. With a fortune of almost €50 billion according to current estimates as of July 8, Schwarz is considered Germany's richest person. He lives in Neckarsulm, right next to Heilbronn. The headquarters of his Schwarz Group, which includes 12,200 Lidl stores and 1,450 Kaufland stores, is also located there.

Collectivize Lidl

"Dieter Schwarz-Stadt," as Tobi Rosswog, one of the organizers of the action days, calls Heilbronn, is massively influenced by the entrepreneur. Rosswog talks fast, always has a smile on his face, and dreams of collectivizing the Schwarz group. Why the focus on Schwarz? "Of course, Dieter isn't particularly evil, and Lidl isn't particularly cruel compared to Aldi and the like. The structure of capitalism is the problem, and we have to name it that way," says Rosswog. But criticism must be made concrete. In Heilbronn, he says, it's becoming clear what problems extreme individual wealth causes. The Schwarz group did not respond to a press inquiry from "nd" by the editorial deadline; Schwarz himself is considered extremely publicity-shy.

Demolishing a swimming pool and cutting down trees – in light of climate change, "insane," says Marcel Bauer. The trained forester has been a member of the Bundestag for the Left Party since March. Now, still hanging upside down from a climbing rope, he delivers a speech: "Billionaires are not only appropriating the added value of our work, but also our cities." Schwarz is ordering a reorganization of the city center without consulting the local council or the population. This only serves his interests and is coordinated by his foundation. Instead, urban development should be in the hands of the citizens, the 33-year-old believes.

"In principle, there should be no billionaires," says the politician from Karlsruhe. The wealth tax, which his party is calling for, is an effective instrument for ensuring that the super-rich participate appropriately in the financing of the community.

A man on an e-bike stopped to observe the tree occupation. He's not entirely convinced by what's being said. "Sometimes a blessing and a curse are close together," he says. Schwarz has advanced Heilbronn. But if the indoor swimming pool is demolished, he has the impression that "things are getting out of hand here." "Schwarz" decides what happens in the city, he says, summing up: "Money always decides."

Rosswog, hearing this, immediately jumps up: "Exactly, and that's why we have to change that and take back the wealth!" The man then replies: "Then everyone who is successful and creates a global company should be afraid of being expropriated." Then he drives off again. "Yes, but we're the ones being expropriated here!" Rosswog calls after him. He himself lives without a bank account and a permanent residence.

According to the alliance, more than 20,000 new workers and students are expected to move to the city, which has a population of approximately 132,000, in the coming years. This would place a significant strain on the already strained housing market, potentially leading to even more displacement of low- and middle-income people.

Rosswog, who advocates for socio-ecological transformation through art projects and political campaigns, can't believe this: "It can't be that one person alone decides how a city is designed. We have to do this together; all Heilbronn residents have to decide together what is done here and how," says the 34-year-old. Production and construction shouldn't be done for the profit of a few, Rosswog believes, and he advocates for "solutions beyond the market and the state."

Prestige project educational campus

The expansion of the educational campus is a prestigious project to promote AI technologies. Schwarz is bringing scientists from ETH Zurich to Heilbronn with endowed professorships; the Technical University of Munich currently holds 13 professorships in Heilbronn. As early as 2017, Hochschulwatch criticized the influence that Schwarz was thus gaining at the Munich university. Normally, one or two endowed professorships at an institute are common, but 20 from a single actor is a breach of the dam and a bad sign for academic freedom, the organization stated.

Given this level of power, there's still a lot to do before the dream of "Our Lidl" can become a reality. Aware of the persuasive work they'll have to do, the activists positioned themselves in front of Heilbronn's town hall the morning before the tree occupation with clipboards and survey forms. One of them is Gisela Schulz. A trained retail clerk, she knows the work pressures faced by cashiers and loading clerks. Staffing levels are often understaffed, and employee performance is constantly monitored. Schulz calls for more co-determination for employees in Lidl stores.

Schwarz's wealth has grown particularly dramatically due to crisis profits during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the international billionaires list published by business magazine "Forbes," it increased by $27.3 billion from 2020 to 2022 alone.

The market square is bustling with activity. A passerby argues that Dieter Schwarz is creating jobs and that his activities hold great potential for innovation. Gisela Scholz's arguments don't resonate with him. Sybille Weltin, on the other hand, is receptive. Weltin is carrying a shopping bag. It's the weekly market, and the stalls smell of cheese and fresh fruit. The woman, in a pink summer dress and Prada sunglasses, answers the question about expropriation: "It sounds very radical, but if people don't give voluntarily and take everything, then they have to be expropriated to some extent." She rambles into a rage: "Who raised prices less than two days after the war in Ukraine began? That's done. 100 percent!"

Many people doubt the explanation that the price increases at supermarket chains are solely due to inflation. They accuse the retail chains that dominate the food market of price gouging. This explains why the alliance is taking their protest after the demonstration on the market square to a Kaufland branch in the city center. They march through Heilbronn with banners and wearing Lidl clothing. Some people turn up their noses at this, while others nod in agreement.

"Of course, Dieter Schwarz isn't particularly evil, and Lidl isn't particularly cruel. The structure of capitalism is the problem, and we must call it that."

Tobi Rosswog Alliance Our Lidl

The alliance is drawing attention to the power of discounters and the declining purchasing power they cause for the majority of people. On Saturday, a food stand will be set up in front of the Kaufland supermarket, and as part of this "Kitchen for All" campaign, the aim is to encourage discussion about the "unfair supermarket system."

While sales at major food retailers in Germany grew by around three percent annually in the ten years before the coronavirus pandemic, growth in 2020 alone reached more than 13 percent. Products such as clothing, stationery, and technology, which could no longer be purchased in stores closed due to the pandemic, continued to be available in essential food retailers. In some cases, there were even sales promotions in which unusual products were added to the supermarket range. This was not only unfair competition, but also a crisis profit from which the government never skimmed any of it.

Agitprop at Kaufland

The lot in front of the Kaufland supermarket is huge, completely paved over to make way for parking. Amidst the gray asphalt, the activists are distributing a blue and yellow protest leaflet. In perfect Lidl design, the cover reads: "Farmer's bread for the uprising." The food they are distributing is made from discarded goods they have taken from the dumpsters. The activists hope that the "kitchen for all" concept could draw attention to the possibility of free, communally organized food and a democratized retail system.

Inside the supermarket, people wait in line at the checkouts, amidst a selection of tobacco, sweets, and magazines. How many of them have counted every cent while shopping, plagued by existential fears? Compared to 2020, according to the Federal Statistical Office's Consumer Price Index, food prices are 36 percent more expensive today. Food poverty in Germany is rising, and low-income households are disproportionately affected: single parents, retirees, refugees, students, and those receiving citizen's income.

"The decision about what is produced, how, and for what purpose must be placed in the hands of those who work with food every day," states the blue-and-yellow Lidl brochure, which at first glance appears deceptively authentic. To support this, the alliance invokes Article 15 of the German Basic Law, which permits expropriations in the interest of the common good. The activists want to apply this to Lidl. But not as an end in itself, but as the foundation for a democratically organized food retail industry that is not owned by individual billionaires.