Blutmai
Sign in to saveAlso known as Bloody May, Bloody May Day
Blutmai (, ) was an outbreak of political violence that occurred in Berlin from 1 to 3 May 1929.
Key facts
- Civil conflict.partof
- political violence in Germany
- Civil conflict.image
- Bundesarchiv Bild 102-07707, Berlin, Mai-Unruhen.jpg
- Civil conflict.place
- Berlin, Germany
- Civil conflict.date
- 1–3 May 1929
- Civil conflict.caption
- Berlin Police dismantle a barricade erected by communists
- Civil conflict.methods
- Political violence
- Civil conflict.side1
- Communist Party of Germany Roter Frontkämpferbund
- Civil conflict.side2
- Berlin Police (under Social Democrat control)
- Civil conflict.leadfigures1
- Ernst Thälmann
- Civil conflict.leadfigures2
- Albert GrzesinskiKarl Zörgiebel
- Civil conflict.casualties1
- Deaths: 33 unaffiliated civilians killedInjuries: ~200Arrests: 1,200+
- Civil conflict.casualties2
- Injuries: 47
- Civil conflict.casualties_label
- Casualties and arrests
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Bundesarchiv Bild 102-07707, Berlin, Mai-Unruhen.jpg
- Number of deaths
- 33
Show 3 more facts
- start time
- 1929-05-01
- end time
- 1929-05-03
- Commons category
- Blutmai
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Background
- KPD and Berlin police
- May Day ban
- Events of May 1–3
- Aftermath
- In popular culture
- See also
- Bibliography
- References
Blutmai (, ) was an outbreak of political violence that occurred in Berlin from 1 to 3 May 1929.
It occurred when the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) held May Day marches in defiance of a ban on public gatherings in Berlin ordered by the city's police chief Karl Zörgiebel of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The Berlin Police responded with an immediate and harsh crackdown. Often without regard to whether the persons involved were demonstrators or bystanders, they forcibly and sometimes violently dispersed the crowds that formed. As the day progressed, street battles developed between the protestors and the police, who used firearms and armoured cars. The violence lasted until the afternoon of 3 May, mostly in the working-class neighbourhoods of Wedding and Neukölln.