On this 1st of May, the tendency of a very positive development of the revolutionary movement was shown in the Germany, whereby the call for the reconstitution of the Communist Party of Germany became clearer once again. This development, this urge found expression in the demonstrations in Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Hamburg or Frankfurt am Main, among others.
For this 1st of May, unified actions were held simultaneously, on the eve of the 1st of May, in eleven different cities – Berlin, Bochum, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg, Hamburg, Leipzig and Wuppertal – in seven of the 16 federal states of the German state. Contingents took part in demonstrations in five cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Essen, Frankfurt am Main and Freiburg; additionally an own demonstration in Bremerhaven was organised, with a tradition of its own by now. In addition, a large amount of revolutionary press, "Klassenstandpunkt" and "Rote Post", was sold. That is the work of the Maoists in Germany on this 1st of May – not much, but not little either.
Bremerhaven
For the second year in a row, the 1st of May demonstration under the red flag with hammer and sickle took place in Bremerhaven. In the poorest region of the Federal Repulic of Germany (FRG), numerous mobilisation actions had already taken place in the weeks before and everywhere in Bremerhaven's proletarian “Goethe quarter” dazibaos, paintings and banners were emblazoned. Not forgetting last year's disgrace, when the demonstration left the predefined final rally point behind and decided for itself where to stop, against the will of the Bremerhaven police, this year the police were busy in larger numbers trying to remove as much propaganda for the demonstration from the neighbourhood as possible, as several residents reported. Apparently there is so little crime in Bremerhaven that the police can deal with such things. Or they blatantly show that they hate it when the residents of the neighbourhood start to unite and take their demands to the streets. While the city claims to have no money to meet the basic needs of the people, several highly paid police officers (and their unarmed helpers – the social workers) can spend all day scraping walls, cleaning up slogans and climbing trees to cut banners loose. But even this effort was in vain – new propaganda kept appearing.
On 1st of May itself, some local residents gathered at the demonstration. Grandparents with their grandchildren, mothers and fathers with their children, migrants and Germans, children, youths, workers. Among themselves, they distributed with joy and enthusiasm flags and signs with demands against the imperialist war, rearmament and the deterioration of the situation of the working class. The demonstration moved loudly through the “Goethe district”. It was particularly noticeable that the whole neighbourhood was also decorated with red flags with hammer and sickle. Here too, the police did not manage to remove all of the flags they hated. Apparently out of a primitive desire for revenge, the police placed a not particularly impressive unit of police with helmets, batons and cameras right next to the assembly at the final rally. A doomed attempt to intimidate the participants. After this attempt was denounced by the sound-car and "Get lost!" resounded from all throats of the demonstration, they did just that and positioned themselves far away from the rally. The second moral defeat, for the second year in a row. Embaressed by families with children, workers, young and old from the neighbourhood, under the red flag with hammer and sickle.
The seeds have been sown and the old mole keeps digging, even in Bremerhaven, or as one comrade put it at the demonstration: "When I see the children here, I don't worry about the future of our class.”
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Berlin
On 1st of May, apart from a variety of different events, the demonstration of the DGB (German Alliance of Unions) in the morning and the "Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration" in the evening took place.
Even before it began, the DGB demonstration was marked by the DGB-leadership's well-known betrayal of trade unionists and labour struggles and the workers' justified hatred of it. Several days before the demonstration, the invitation to the mayor of Berlin – Franziska Giffey – had caused controversy in different media. During the demonstration, different blocs and groups repeatedly stressed in their speeches and slogans that they would not put up with the costs of the crisis and the rearmament of the FRG being passed on to the workers. At the final rally, even the first, conciliatory speech of the DGB’s chairman was repeatedly interrupted by slogans of the angry masses. When Giffey then was brought on to the stage, her entire speech was drowned out by boos, whistles and slogans. A highlight of this weekend in Berlin occurred when she tried to thank the beating Berlin police officers. She was interrupted by two eggs thrown from the crowd in front of the stage, from which she was only saved by her highly trained police personal protection. She indignantly cut short her speech, amidst even more angry slogans, while the DGB-leadership drew a clear line between themselves, the corrupt Berlin political establishment, and the masses as they shouted, “Habt ihr `nen Knall?”, what can be translated to “Are you stupid?”.
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The Berlin police, with their well-known fascist fantasies of violence, whom Giffey had tried to praise in the morning, tried to maintain their reputation at the "revolutionary May Day demonstration" in the evening. Of the approximately 6000 police officers who were on duty over the weekend, according to official figures, a large proportion were present here. Contrary to last year, they limited their attack during the march to short fights and pepper spray attacks. The demonstration marched loudly through Neukölln and Kreuzberg, but on a different route, as the district of Neukölln tried to copy the strategy of the "MyFest" from Kreuzberg of the last years to restrict May Day. Undeterred, up to 20,000 people gathered in the demonstration against the crisis and the imperialist war. Among them was a block of Palestinians who had been banned from gathering by the Berlin police in the days leading up to May Day and after the previous week's fighting in Berlin. The police continued to insist that they were fascist thugs and prepared a kettle at the final venue where they brutally attacked the demonstrators, initiating skirmishes that lasted into the night.
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Hamburg
In Hamburg, the Red Women's Committee Hamburg participated in the DGB demonstration. A large amount of revolutionary press, such as "Rote Post" and "Klassenstandpunkt" was sold here, as well as in the evening at a demonstration.
Essen
In Essen, activists of Rebellion Ruhr participated in the DGB demonstration in Essen with a banner made together with Turkish comrades of Partizan under the slogan "Into the street for 1st of May – Down with the imperialist war".
Together with family members, the worker Adel B., who was shot by the police in Essen, was also commemorated on 1st of Day, whose birthday falls on the struggle day of the international working class. Every year on 1st of May, family, friends and supporters of the struggle for justice for this police murder in Essen come together at his grave.
Frankfurt
Two major demonstrations took place in Frankfurt on 1st of May. The first demonstration in the morning, which had been arranged by the DGB in front of the “Hauptwache”, was attended by about 3000 participants, a large part of them democratic and progressive forces of Turkish associations. At 6 p.m., the "Revolutionary 1st of May" demonstration gathered at Willi-Brand-Platz and, after a short opening rally, marched powerfully and in an organised manner through the city with singing, slogans, drums and orderly rows. Chants and speeches repeatedly addressed the attacks by the police on the demonstration last year, and fireworks and pyrotechnics were thrown at the police officers accompanying the demonstration.
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Freiburg
In Freiburg, the Internationalist Collective participated in the demonstration that gathered at Stühlinger Kirchplatz. In addition to the DGB, which had organised this demonstration, a wide range of different organisations also participated, such as Palestinian activists who mobilised for their activity on Nakba Day. In addition to participating with a banner under the slogan "Class against Class – War against War", leaflets and the International May Day Declaration were distributed at the demonstration and the final rally.
Flags in many cities
In 11 cities in seven federal states of the FRG, red flags with hammer and sickle were hoisdted in many different places, many of them working class neighbourhoods. We document here only a few of the pictures that were sent to us.
Berlin
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Bremen
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Bremerhaven
Frankfurt
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Freiburg
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Hamburg
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Leipzig
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Nordrhein-Westfalen
Here flags were hoisted in Essen, Wuppertal, Bochum and Duisburg.
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Call for the reconstitution of the party
In many other cities of the FRG there were demonstrations expressing the great development of the revolutionary movement and above all – as said above – an expression of the call for the necessary reconstitution of the Communist Party of Germany. We show impressions of some of these demonstrations.
Leipzig
Magdeburg
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Hamburg
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Also the Turkish revolutionary organisation Partizan mobilised in various German cities, participating at demonstrations.
Bielefeld
Duisburg
Frankfurt
Hannover
Nürnberg
Stuttgart
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