May 1st and the Labour movement
On May 1, 1886, 400,000 workers demonstrated in various US cities for better working conditions. The demonstrations were bloodily suppressed, but the impulse spilled over into Europe. From 1890 onwards, European workers also demonstrated on May 1st, the “Day of Fight of the Labor Movement” (and a public holiday in Germany since 1919). This picture gallery shows impressive images and evidence of this movement through the decades.