Miners' strike of 1912
The miners' strike of 1912, also known as the Triple Alliance strike, was the third major strike by miners in the Ruhr mining industry .
prehistory
The background to the dispute was the demand for the eight-hour shift, the end of the employers' proof of work, restriction of fines and, in particular, the increase in wages because of the increase in the cost of living. In contrast to the spontaneous strike of 1905 against the unions, the industrial action of 1912 was supported by some miners' unions from the start . However, the union of Christian miners refused to participate. In the "Triple Alliance", the free trade union "Old Association", the miners of the liberal Hirsch-Duncker trade union and the Polish miners' union were united.
course
Despite the official rejection, some of the members of the Christian trade union took part in the strike. Between March 11 and March 20, 1912, between 150,000 and 235,000 miners in the Ruhr area were on strike. At the height of the dispute, this corresponded to around 61% of the total workforce.
In view of the division of the trade unions and the opposition of the Christian trade union to the strike, the willingness of the employers to comply with the demands was low. In addition, if the strikers were defeated, they also hoped that the SPD and the labor movement as a whole would weaken . The employers, supported also by the Christian trade unions, demanded the protection of those willing to work. The mine owners even deployed protective forces from the ranks of those willing to work against the strikers.
In contrast to the strike of 1905, when the government was ready to talk and even initiated an amendment to the Mining Act, the authorities reacted with great severity. Wilhelm II wrote to the Prussian Minister of the Interior: “Above all, protection of those willing to work in the most energetic form! Sharpshooting! ” The military was even transferred to the Ruhr area. On March 14, 1912, around 5,000 soldiers moved into the Dortmund , Hamm and Recklinghausen districts . The Düsseldorf government president had refused the help of the military.
Four workers were killed in clashes with the military and police. Numerous others were injured. Because of these incidents in particular, a two-thirds majority for the continuation of the strike was no longer achieved at a delegates' conference, so the strike had to be broken off on March 19.
consequences
As a result, numerous strikers were sentenced to fines and imprisonment. A total of 2,000 charges were brought. The allegations were mostly of insult and threat. Of the 1206 cases in which the old association granted legal protection and for which the results of the trial are available, 299 men and 84 women were sentenced to prison terms and 247 men and 148 women were sentenced to fines. 280 men and 92 women were acquitted and 29 cases were dismissed.
Cinematic representation
The strike of 1912 is mentioned in the series Rote Erde : With the episode title "For 30 Pfennig more", the seventh episode of the first season deals with the circumstances and effects of the strike on a (fictional) small mine and its workforce. Dominic Raacke plays a social democratic MP and trade unionist who advocates the above-mentioned demands; As an industrialist, Walter Renneisen embodies his political opponent. Claude Oliver Rudolph plays an involved miner .
The 1983 series had already addressed the great miners' strike of 1889 in a previous episode .
literature
- Gerhard Taddey (ed.): Lexicon of German history . People, events, institutions. From the turn of the times to the end of the 2nd World War. 2nd, revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-81302-5 , p. 1068.
- Dieter Schuster: Chronology of the German trade union movement from its beginnings to 1918 . Bonn 2000. Digitized