Status: 05/02/2023 05:58 am
More than 5,000 people took to the streets in Hamburg on May 1 at several demonstrations by left-wing groups. There were no major riots. A man was seriously injured in a police action at Schlump station.
Video recordings show how numerous demonstrators leave the Schlump train station and apparently try to run away from the police. A police officer bumped into one of the demonstrators with force. The man apparently suffered a seizure and had to be treated by paramedics. Police confirmed the protester suffered serious injuries. The Department of Internal Investigations is now investigating the case.
Largest demo train goes through Harvestehude and Pöseldorf
Around 3,000 participants had previously marched from the Eppendorfer Baum through the expensive districts of Harvestehude and Pöseldorf to the Dammtor station at a rally organized by the “Who has, who gives” alliance. “We can’t and don’t want to afford the rich any more,” it said in the call for the demo under the motto “Class collapse instead of cash register collapse”. The demo was accompanied by strong police forces. According to the police, there were no major incidents. Occasionally pyrotechnics were ignited. Since the participants in the demonstration had violated the ban on wearing masks, the train was stopped after an intermediate rally in Pöseldorf until the masks were removed.
Other gatherings of left-wing groups
The demonstration was the prelude to further gatherings of left-wing extremist groups on Labor Day. According to the police, the rallies of the anarchist alliance “Black-Red May 1st” and the Red Structure, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as violent, attracted 1,000 and 1,200 participants respectively.
Masked demonstrators: Police stop demo
At the demo, which was supposed to start at Hagenbeck Zoo, many participants were masked.
Under the motto “The system is the crisis, anarchism on the offensive”, the anarchists wanted to move from the Hagenbecks Tierpark underground station through Eimsbüttel and the university district to Theodor-Heuss-Platz. However, since numerous demonstrators were masked, there was no march. The demonstration was stopped by the police and several dozen masked people were surrounded. After the intervention of the police, the leader of the meeting broke up the rally. Later, the encircled demonstrators were also allowed to leave without their personal details being ascertained.
The revolutionary May Day demonstration of the Red Structures, classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as violent, went off without major incidents. According to the police, around 1,500 participants marched from the main station to Barmbek in the east of Hamburg under the motto “Fighting on the streets, strikes at work – this is our answer to your politics”. At a meeting with a concert that had been booked at short notice for the evening in the Schanzenviertel, the atmosphere was predominantly party.
Thousands of participants in the trade union demonstration
On Monday morning, thousands of people gathered under the motto “unbroken solidarity”. Demonstration of the trade unions in Hamburg. The demonstration began on Strassburger Strasse. The participants then moved to the Museum of Work in the Hamburg district of Barmbek. They called for more social justice, better working conditions and effective climate protection. According to the German Federation of Trade Unions, around 8,000 people attended the rally. Hundreds of people also came to trade union demonstrations in Bergedorf and Harburg.
First demo on Saturday in the Schanzenviertel
According to the police, it was quiet in Hamburg on Walpurgis Night from April 30 to May 1. On Saturday afternoon already had the so-called “Class festival against state and capital” took place in the Sternschanze. It was organized by the “Red Construction Hamburg” group. Around 400 people took part in the event, and 300 participants were registered. The atmosphere was peaceful, with around 500 people partying in front of a stage at Sternschanze S-Bahn station until late in the evening.
Police with a large contingent in action
The police were on duty at the demos on Monday with a total of around 1,500 officers as well as water cannons and a cavalry squadron. There were also emergency services from Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and the Federal Police.
In the past there had been repeated riots in the Schanzenviertel around May 1st. Since the serious riots surrounding the G20 summit in July 2017, things have remained largely calm in the Hanseatic city.
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