Unveiling the concealed past of the 1910 Moabit Uprisings
In the heart of Berlin, on the island surrounded by rivers and canals, the working-class neighbourhood of Moabit was the scene of a tumultuous industrial dispute in September 1910. The strike at Kupfer & Co. coal depot, which began on Monday, September 19, was ignited by workers' demands for a seven pfennigs raise per hour.
The conflict escalated rapidly, with professional strike-breakers from Hamburg, notorious for their aggressive tactics against unionized workers, being brought in. This move, coupled with the German army's provision of police escorts and tents for the strike-breakers, transformed the strike into a military confrontation.
The area, first settled by Huguenot refugees, had undergone a significant transformation in the second half of the 19th century, becoming Berlin's industrial centre with the construction of factories. The clashes in Moabit were intense and drew large crowds, with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people taking to the streets during the Battle of Rostocker Straße, the highpoint of the riots.
Residents, in solidarity with the striking workers, bellowed socialist anthems near police lines, while four British and American journalists were beaten by police during the riots. The violence was severe, with one officer stabbed, two striking workers killed, and hundreds of Moabiters injured.
Union officials, desperate to extricate themselves from the fighting, were unable to prevent the strike from ending in defeat on October 10. The coalmen of Kupfer & Co. returned to work without the promised raise, marking a significant victory for the ruthless capitalist Hugo Stinnes, who had bought Kupfer & Co. and was determined to undersell the competition.
It is worth noting that a week prior to the events in Moabit, Rosa Luxemburg had been appealing for mass strikes. The leader of the strike-breakers from Hamburg, a particularly brutal figure due to his ruthless behaviour, was not identified in the available search results.
The Battle of Moabit serves as a poignant reminder of the intense industrial disputes that marked Germany's turn-of-the-century history, and the struggles faced by workers in their fight for better working conditions and fair pay.
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