  We introduce our project on galaxy evolution in the environment of rich
clusters aiming at disentangling the importance of specific interaction and
galaxy transformation processes from the hierarchical evolution of galaxies in
the field. Emphasis is laid on the examination of the internal kinematics of
disk galaxies through spatially resolved MOS spectroscopy with FORS at the VLT.
First results are presented for the clusters MS1008.1-1224 (z=0.30),
Cl0303+1706 (z=0.42), and Cl0413-6559 (F1557.19TC) (z=0.51). Out of 30 cluster
members with emission-lines, 13 galaxies exhibit a rotation curve of the
universal form rising in the inner region and passing over into a flat part.
The other members have either intrinsically peculiar kinematics (4), or too
strong geometric distortions (9) or too low S/N (4 galaxies) for a reliable
classification of their velocity profiles. The 13 cluster galaxies for which a
maximum rotation velocity could be derived are distributed in the Tully--Fisher
diagram very similar to field galaxies from the FORS Deep Field that have
corresponding redshifts and do not show any significant luminosity evolution
with respect to local samples. The same is true for seven galaxies observed in
the cluster fields that turned out not to be members. The mass-to-light ratios
of the 13 TF cluster spirals cover the same range as the distant field
population indicating that their stellar populations were not dramatically
changed by possible clusterspecific interaction phenomena. The cluster members
with distorted kinematics may be subject to interaction processes but it is
impossible to determine whether these processes also lead to changes in the
overall luminosity of their stellar populations.
