Today is May 1st, #MayDay2020.
And tomorrow, May 2nd, is also an important day in labor history. Not in a good way.
On May 2nd, 1933, the Nazis stormed the offices of every German labor union in Germany, shut them down permanently, and put their leaders in concentration camps.
And tomorrow, May 2nd, is also an important day in labor history. Not in a good way.
On May 2nd, 1933, the Nazis stormed the offices of every German labor union in Germany, shut them down permanently, and put their leaders in concentration camps.
We didn't learn this in school, but German unions & the their members were the main source of resistance to Hitler.
They didn't vote for Nazis, they fought them in the streets.
That's why abolishing unions was basically the first thing Hitler did.
encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art…
They didn't vote for Nazis, they fought them in the streets.
That's why abolishing unions was basically the first thing Hitler did.
encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art…
Hitler outlawed strikes and collective bargaining, and created a fake union called the German Labour Front.
When they showed up and tried to participate in the International Labor Conference, they were denied credentials & called out for anti-semitism.
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/…
When they showed up and tried to participate in the International Labor Conference, they were denied credentials & called out for anti-semitism.
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/…
The biggest act of mass resistance to Nazi rule was the 1941 Dutch general strike, organized by labor unions and the Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of people refused to work and shut down Amsterdam in protest of the treatment of Dutch Jews.
nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/a…
nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/a…
And it was the enemies of organized labor, particularly large companies and their owners, who funded the Nazi Party and lobbied for Hitler to be appointed as Chancellor of Germany.
brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…
stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/stuff_…
brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…
stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/stuff_…
Hitler also sought from the beginning of the Nazi Party to divide native-born workers from immigrant workers. He was relentless in blaming immigrants, as well as Jews, for the economic suffering of the unemployed.
The same way Trump does.
The same way Trump does.
As unemployment skyrockets and more people struggle to buy groceries, we'll see more strikes & collective action.
And we'll see Trump double down on dividing us from each other and scapegoating immigrants.
Which side will win? That's up to all of us.
And we'll see Trump double down on dividing us from each other and scapegoating immigrants.
Which side will win? That's up to all of us.
