May Day

:For the distress signal, see: Mayday; For the James Bond villain see May Day (James Bond)

Germany

Berlin, Germany, particularly in the districts of Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg, traditionally has yearly demonstrations on May Day. In 1929, the social democratic SPD government prohibited the annual May Day workers' demonstrations in Berlin. The communist party KPD, which was the strongest party in Berlin, called demonstrations nonetheless. By the end of the day, 32 demonstrators, workers and bystanders had been killed by the police, at least 80 were seriously injured. The Berlin police, under control of the supposedly pro-labor social democratic government, had fired a total of 11,000 rounds of live ammunition.

Related Topics:
Berlin - Germany - Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg - 1929 - Social democrat - SPD - KPD

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This incident, remembered as Blutmai (ger.) (blood May) deepened the split between the workers' parties KPD and SPD. This gave an advantage to the Nazis, who became Germany's governing party in 1933, partly due to the fact that the KPD and SPD had been unable to form an anti-Nazi coalition. The Nazis adapted May Day to their purposes, calling it the "day of work", which is still the official name for this public holiday. Ironically, just after May Day - to be more precise, on May 2, 1933 - the Nazis outlawed and destroyed all free labor unions and other independent workers' organizations in Germany.

Related Topics:
Blutmai (ger.) - Nazis - 1933 - Labor union

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In today's Germany May Day is still of political importance, with labor unions and parties using this day for political campaigns and activities, but since 1987 it has also become known for heavy rioting by radical leftists, including the punk rock scene, Autonome and others, but also "regular" youths not fond of the police. However, violence from the political left has been on the decline in recent years, with May Day 2005 in Berlin being the most peaceful in nearly twenty years.

Related Topics:
1987 - Punk rock - Autonome - 2005

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In recent years, neo-nazis and other groups on the far right like the NPD have also used the day to schedule public demonstrations, often leading to clashes with left-wing protesters, which turned especially violent in the historical city of Leipzig in 1998 and 2005.

Related Topics:
Neo-nazi - Far right - NPD - Leipzig - 1998 - 2005

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In rural regions of Germany, Walpurgisnacht celebrations of pagan origin are traditionally held on the night before May Day, including bonfires and the wrapping of May Poles, and young people use this opportunity to party, while the day itself is used by many families to get some fresh air, wurst and beer.

Related Topics:
Walpurgisnacht - Pagan - Bonfire

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