“Revolutionary May 1st” demo has started

• “Revolutionary May 1st” demonstration moves through Neukölln
• Police expect more than 5,000 participants – 6,200 police officers on duty
• Villa district in Grunewald was not fenced off during the “MyGruni” satire demo
• Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupt DGB rally, police investigate

The “Labor Day” demonstrations in Berlin have so far all been peaceful and without any major incidents. The left-wing extremists have been moving since shortly after 6 p.m “Revolutionary May Day” demonstration through Neukölln. Violence is expected here, which is why a total of 6,200 police officers from various federal states are on duty. According to the police, 3,600 people have taken part in this protest so far, but the influx is continuing.

The first participants met at Südstern from 4:30 p.m., and according to rbb reporters on site, the situation remained calm. Now the protest procession should set off via the following route: Südstern – Körtestraße / Lilienthalstraße – Hasenheide – Hermannplatz – Karl-Marx-Straße – Erkstraße – Sonnenallee – Hermannplatz (interim rally) – Hasenheide – Südstern. According to the police, the demo is registered for 5,000 participants, but they are expecting up to 10,000 participants.

According to the police, the route was specifically chosen with a view to the Gaza war in order to attract as many pro-Palestinian demonstrators as possible. One expects aggressive demonstrators.

In a house on Pannierstrasse, which is on the demonstration route, the police said they discovered stone deposits and roof tiles next to a Palestine flag that had been laid out. The police announced this on “X” in the afternoon. Several residents pointed this out to the police. She announced that she would fly the route with a police helicopter in order to discover possible further stone deposits.

Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) praised the police’s good preparation for the May 1st demonstrations. “The security of our city is the top priority,” wrote the SPD politician on Wednesday on Platform X. The police will take consistent action against criminals.

By midday it had already happened “My Gruni” demonstration in Berlin-Grunewald with an estimated 4,000 participants. The route of the demo with the motto “Raid in Grunewald – solving capital crimes” runs from Johannaplatz via Bismarckallee, Wildpfad, Griegstrasse, Königsallee and Fontanestrasse to Grunewald train station. Start was at 1 p.m. The police reported on X in the afternoon of a peaceful atmosphere without incident.

This year the organizers had announced a satirical campaign: Similar to the fencing plans for Görlitzer Park, they announced that they wanted to fence in the Grunewald residential area. A raid with “special expropriation forces (SEK)” is planned in Grunewald and a strike against the “capital extremist scene,” said the “MyGruni” initiative. But that didn’t happen. According to rbb reporters, the announcement was a PR stunt.

Previously, two bicycle demos had started as feeders on Behaimstrasse with, according to the police, around 70 demonstrators and in front of the Max-Schmeling-Halle with around 2,200 participants.

Previously, “Labor Day” in Berlin had one Demonstration by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) for “More pay, free time, security”. At the start of the procession through the center of the capital The police estimated the number of participants at 7,500; they later increased the estimate to 12,500 people.

The demonstration had to be stopped briefly when around 100 people disrupted the demonstration with loud pro-Palestinian slogans and banners. The police confirmed this to rbb. The officers separated the group from the rest of the demo, then the demo continued. In the early evening, the police announced on X that two criminal charges for sedition had been issued in this context. One person resisted the police, whereupon their personal details were discovered.

The trade union federation also organizes rallies, demos and street festivals for the state of Brandenburg Cottbus, Forst, Guben, Finsterwalde, Königs Wusterhausen, Potsdam, Hennigsdorf, Brandenburg an der Havel, Frankfurt (Oder), Schwedt, Strausberg and Eberswalde announced. You can find all events on the DGB website [berlin-brandenburg.dgb.de].

The DGB organizes its nationwide central May event in a different federal state every year. This year it will take place in Hanover (Lower Saxony).

Which was held for around 15 years in a row “Myfest” in Kreuzberg will not take place again this year. The district administration said that there had been no concrete plans on the part of the organizers, and the organizer accused the district office of having no interest in the festival. The Senate, in turn, criticized the cancellation of the festival again: Now there are hardly any alternative, peaceful festival offerings to “Myfest”. But in 2025 they want to organize a “Myfest” again, says organizer Halis Sönmez.

But there is a small version in Kreuzberg: as “May Day at Mariannenplatz” with music in the open air, speeches and activities for children, between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., around Mariannenplatz, Heinrichplatz and Oranienplatz. The Left is one of the organizers.

There are other festivals all over the city: at the children’s farm Ufa factory In Tempelhof, for example, there are offers on May 1st, especially for families. The party “HelleMitteDanzt” On Alice-Salomon-Platz in Hellersdorf there is a free stage and family program from May 1st to 5th, including bumper cars, carousels, cotton candy, etc. Poems and stories about Labor Day were read out at Hasenheide.

At Kurt-Schumacher-Damm on the Central fairground is again hype. And in the Obersee-Orankesee-Park in Alt-Hohenschönhausen “Cultures in the park“ Another festival with various readings, vintage cars and artistry will take place. And if all that is too much for you, it opens at 12 p.m Wendeschloss lido his season. It should be up to 26 degrees warm.

Already on the eve of May 1st there was in Berlin two larger demonstrations. Under the title “Take Back the Night” there were up to 2,800 people Call from left-wing, queer-feminist women followed. The meeting started late at Boxhagener Platz in Friedrichshain and was actually supposed to go to the Jannowitz Bridge. It ended on Warschauer Straße about an hour and a half earlier than planned. Pyrotechnics and firecrackers were occasionally set off along the way, but ultimately the situation remained peaceful, according to the police. According to initial reports, there were no arrests.

Previously, up to 800 people attended Demonstration march “For peace and social justice!” from Leopoldplatz in Wedding towards Gesundbrunnen. According to the police, there were no incidents here either.

Around 3,000 police officers accompanied the events on Walpurgis Night.

Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, May 1st, 2024, 7 a.m