Shots from Ådalen
The shots at Ådalen ( Swedish : Skotten i Ådalen ; also known as Ådalshändelserna , German: the incidents of Ådalen, or Ådalen 31 ) occurred on May 14, 1931 during a demonstration by striking workers in the north Swedish valley of the same name in the municipality of Kramfors . Five people were killed by the military. The incident initially had a polarizing effect, but ultimately played a major role in the peaceful development of Swedish society in the 1930s. The incident was filmed in 1969 by Bo Widerberg under the title Adalen 31 .
prehistory
In connection with the global economic crisis, there had been a conflict about wage cuts in the sulphate factory of Marma-Långrör AB since the summer of 1930 . The company had employed strikebreakers at its plant near Marmaverken in Hälsingland . When the northern Swedish lakes became navigable in the spring of 1931, these and some other factories were blocked by workers on strike. The business side, however, remained tough. There were sympathy strikes, including in the Granine concern, in its sulphate and sulphite factories in Sandviken and Utansjö . The owner of the concern, Gerhard Versteegh, then hired around 60 strike breakers, including students. The arrival of the strike breakers on May 13, 1931 aroused enormous resentment in the valley. The striking workers gathered in Kramfors and later moved to Sandviken. Strikebreakers were busy loading a Graningverkens AB vehicle. The demonstrators broke into the factory premises. There was abuse.
The conservative Svenska Dagbladet of May 15, 1931 reported that in the last few days "a true mob rule has taken place" in the valley mentioned, not least because of communist incitement. The authorities were practically powerless to stop the mistreatment of those willing to work. Those willing to work were forced to march ahead of the communist demonstration with their hands tied. The police had to watch passed out.
The shots
As a result of the above-mentioned incident, soldiers were called in from Sollefteå : 60 infantry men and a group of mounted men under the command of Captain Nils Mesterton. The departure of the military was accompanied by riots and stone throwing, in Sprängsviken as well as in Lunde . The soldiers responded with random shots and smoke grenades.
On May 14th, the transport workers' union held a protest meeting against the strike breakers in the people's home in Frånö, in the presence of several union representatives from the valley. A general stoppage of work in the sawmills and paper mills in Åtal was decided. Meanwhile, 3,000 to 4,000 people had gathered in front of the people's home. The march also carried flags from organizations belonging to social democracy. Ten soldiers and 20 horses had already been injured by stone throwing. The riot law had been read three times.
When the march arrived in Lunde and the protesters were less than 100 meters from the strikebreaker's barracks, Mesterton ordered a fire. First shots should be fired into the ground. But ten people were hit, five of whom died. The workers Erik Bergström, Evert Nygren, Sture Larsson and Viktor Eriksson and the worker Eira Söderberg were killed. Other representations emphasize the unplanned, even chaotic course of the demonstration. On May 15, 1931, the military was withdrawn.
consequences
As a result of the incident, officials were reassigned, some members of the military were subjected to mild disciplinary sanctions and a commission of inquiry was set up, but this did not come to any clear conclusions, except that in such cases police rather than military violence would make more sense to maintain public order. The following were charged and convicted of responsible for the riot in Sandviken: A. Nordström (2½ years of forced labor), H. Sjödin (8 months), Gusten Forsman (4 months), JE Törnkvist (2 months conditional). The relatives of the victims received no compensation.
One of the injured in Ådalen, Oscar Berggren, was invited to a spa stay in the Soviet Union. On May 19, 1931, riots broke out in Stockholm in connection with a communist demonstration, which also featured banners such as "Down with the killer government!" Two representatives of the Comintern were among those arrested . The then party chairman of the Swedish Social Democrats, Per Albin Hansson , took the unrest as an opportunity to force the party to be tightly controlled under the exclusion and control of radical left elements.
literature
- Bengt Schüllerqvist: Från kosackval till kohandel - SAPs väg till makten (1928–1933). Tidens förlag, Stockholm, 1992.