April-May strike

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Monument in memory of the strike in Tietjerksteradeel

The April-May strike ( Dutch april-Meistaking , there also known as melkstaking or mijnstaking , "Melkstreik" or "Zechenstreik") is the collective term for a number of individual strikes of the Dutch workers in April and May of 1943. The workers stopped working in response to the mass summons of Dutch veterans to work in the German Reich .

background

The Netherlands has been under German occupation since the surrender of its armed forces on May 14, 1940. In 1943 the war began to turn out increasingly unfavorable for the German Reich. Especially after the costly military defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad , there was a considerable need for workers in Germany in order to be able to continue to operate the war industries. From February 1943 onwards, the Germans carried out regular raids in the occupied Netherlands to find men fit for work. Students from all Dutch universities and colleges had to undertake to do a one-year labor service in Germany after completing their studies. These measures caused displeasure among many Dutch people who had previously suffered little from the occupation. On April 29, 1943, General der Flieger Friedrich Christiansen , Wehrmacht Commander in Chief in the Netherlands, issued an announcement that all former Dutch military officers who had fought against the German troops in 1940 were taken prisoner and obliged to work in Germany. Serious penalties were threatened if the instructions were not followed.

course

Announcement of April 29, 1943 about the entry of former Dutch soldiers to work in the Dagblad van het Oosten

The strike began on April 29, 1943 in the factory of the mechanical and plant engineering company Stork in Hengelo , Overijssel province . During their lunch break the workers there read the announcement that 300,000 former Dutch soldiers had to report for immediate work. In protest against the announced measure, around 3,000 factory workers decided to go on strike. Within two hours, the strike spread to other companies in the urban area of ​​Hengelo. Through workers who lived in the surrounding towns of the Twente region , news of the strike in Hengelo quickly spread to neighboring cities such as Enschede , Almelo and Borne . Up until the evening of April 29th, the possibility of work stoppages was debated in factories throughout the Netherlands. The miners in the south of the Limburg province were particularly willing to strike, which earned the strike in that region the nickname mijnstaking .

The following day the strike began to spread to other industries such as agriculture. By May 5th, Frisian farmers destroyed several hundred thousand liters of milk instead of delivering it to the cooperative dairies. By April 30, the events had escalated into a general strike, but it remained noticeably quiet in larger cities such as Amsterdam , Rotterdam and The Hague . This was mainly due to the particularly strong military presence of the Germans there and, in the case of Amsterdam, also to the fresh memories of the consequences of the February strike of 1941. The railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen did not take part in the work stoppage either, as its management feared severe penalties from the occupying forces.

German reaction

The German occupiers were initially surprised by the intensity of the reaction of the Dutch population. Commissioner General Hanns Albin Rauter initially hoped to limit the strike to the Twente region and, on the evening of April 29, relocated an SS regiment from Arnhem to Hengelo. The soldiers were instructed to enforce the martial law and to face the strikers with determination. However, as of April 30th, these efforts turned out to be clearly unsuccessful. Concerned that the strikes could spread to neighboring Belgium and France , the Germans increasingly reacted with violence against the strikers. By the time the majority of the working population resumed work on May 3, the crackdown on the April-May strike left around 175 dead and 400 seriously injured. Around 80 people were shot dead without a criminal trial; the youngest victim of the violent reaction by the Germans was only twelve years old.

consequences

As a result of the strike, the planned drafting of the Dutch military was only implemented to a significantly reduced extent; only about 8,000 former soldiers were actually forced to work in Germany. Furthermore, the occupiers now realized that the vast majority of the Dutch could not be won over to the goals of the National Socialists in the future either . Corresponding propaganda efforts were severely scaled back or stopped altogether from this point on. Furthermore, immediately after the crackdown on the April-May strike, the Germans confiscated all privately owned radio sets, of which, however, only about 75% were surrendered, despite the threat of being taken to a concentration camp . The previously very manageable resistance efforts in the Netherlands increased noticeably after the events. Solidarity among the various population groups increased, and many more Dutch people than before were now aware of the need for organized underground activities. Furthermore, the number of people in hiding increased noticeably, as some of the persecuted military personnel were also added.

literature

  • Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950 ( knaw.nl [PDF]).
  • Petra Wolthuis: He hopes it will begin sooner or later; de april-Meistaking 1943 . Amsterdam 2018, ISBN 978-90-828591-0-2 .

Web links

Commons : April-May Strike  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950, p. 13 .
  2. ^ Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950, p. 18 .
  3. ↑ Miranda Nijland: 'Vergeten staking': arbeiders Stork leggen werk uit protest neer. In: indebuurt.nl. April 8, 2018, accessed November 28, 2018 (Dutch).
  4. ^ Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950, p. 20-22 .
  5. ↑ Meer over De Melkstaking. In: fryslan4045.nl. Retrieved November 28, 2018 (Dutch).
  6. ↑ Dagboek fragments: De April-Meistakingen - 'Nederlanders, staakt !!!' In: niod.nl. April 29, 2016, accessed November 29, 2018 (Dutch).
  7. ^ Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950, p. 23 .
  8. ↑ Duitse reactie. In: verzetsmuseum.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018 (Dutch).
  9. ↑ De-Meis April Takingen. In: verzetsmuseum.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018 (Dutch).
  10. ^ Pieter Jan Bouman: De April-Mei-Stakingen van 1943 . Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1950, p. 187-188 .