Basel general strike

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The Basel general strike , also known as the dyer's strike , was a conflict in the Swiss city ​​of Basel that was triggered off by the poor economic situation at the time .

causes

During the First World War, the Basel population suffered from real wage losses . About 30% of households were eligible for an emergency and received cheap food and fuel. In addition to high unemployment, parts of the population suffered from latent malnutrition. The dyers received particularly low wages .

course

The strike began with protests by the dyers from Clavel & Lindenmeyer , which were followed by lockouts . No agreement was reached and the strike spread. On July 30, 1919, the delegates of the workers' union called a general strike , which the metal, chemical and state workers joined.

The cantonal government requested the military, which arrived on August 1, 1919. This drove with vehicles to the public gatherings and was pelted with stones. At the gathering at Claraplatz , shots were fired, killing one protester. The deceased was transferred to the Klingenthal gym. A crowd of around 200 to 300 people formed the funeral procession. The path led across the grounds of the Basel barracks , the gate of which was guarded by a double guard. After verbal arguments, gunfire broke out in which three people were killed. During the general strike, the Basel vigilante group founded in the national strike was also deployed.

The strike leadership then called for people to avoid public spaces. The local command banned the publication of the newspaper Basler Vorwärts and had trade unionists arrested. As early as August 5, 1919, a considerable number of the strikers resumed work. The delegates 'assembly of the workers' union decided on August 8, 1919 to break off the strike.

Opinions differ as to the exact number of dead and injured and who is responsible for this. Most sources assume a total of five deaths. Strike demands were essentially not met (wages were raised by 10%, but this did not even compensate for inflation) and various strikers were fired.

literature

  • Markus Bolliger: The Basel labor movement in the age of the First World War and the split in the Social Democratic Party. A contribution to the history of the Swiss labor movement . Basel 1970.
  • Daniel Hagmann : Citizens clean Basel . City.History.Basel 2019.
  • Josef Kühne: Investigations into the diet of the Basel workers under the influence of the war . Basel 1919.
  • Robert Labhardt : War and Crisis: Basel 1914-1918 . Basel 2014.
  • Hermann Leuenberger: Memories of the Basler General Strike in 1919, in: Basler Stadtbuch 1969. pp. 173-184.
  • Maria Meier: Of emergency and prosperity. The Basler Food Supply in the War 1914-1918 , Diss. Univ. Lucerne 2017.
  • Hanspeter Schmid: War of the Citizens: The bourgeoisie in the fight against the general strike in Basel in 1919 . Zurich 1980.
  • Andreas Tscherrig: Visits to the sick are prohibited! The Spanish flu 1918/19 and the cantonal sanitary authorities in Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt . Liestal 2016.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Article Basler Zeitung
  2. ^ Judgment of the constitutional department of April 22, 1921 i. S. Hunziker against the Swiss Confederation
  3. ^ Daniel Hagmann: Citizens clean Basel . City.History.Basel 2019
  4. ^ Hermann Leuenberger: Memories of the Basler General Strike in 1919.
  5. ↑ Eyewitness describes the dye strike of 1919: "Blank hatred rose in me". Retrieved on August 2, 2019 (Swiss Standard German).
  6. ↑ When the army shot at Basler - the drama threatens to be forgotten. Retrieved on August 2, 2019 (Swiss Standard German).