User:Dr Gangrene/Differdange strike

The strike at the Differdange steelworks of 26 January 1912 is until today the only strike in Luxembourg in which people were killed: 4 people were shot by the gendarmerie.

The main cause of the strike at the Differdange steelworks, which belonged to the Deutsch-Luxemburgische Bergwerks- und Hütten-AG, was the introduction of an obligatory payment of 70 Pfenneg into the pensions and invalidity fund, which was deducted from the workers' wages. This was particularly resented by the Italians, who worked in the most unpleasant conditions, partly because they expected they would not see the benefit of this, as in old age they would be back in Italy. For them it was nothing other than a lowering of their already low wages.

340 Italian workers therefore stopped work, and processed through the streets in Differdange and Oberkorn with red flags. Around noon they arrived at the entry gates of the steelworks, where not only the family members were assembled to bring lunch, but also 18 gendarmes. The demonstrators took the food off them and threw it in the gutter. To get the crowd away from the gate, the management called the company fire brigade, as well as the mayor Emile Mark. Tensions escalated, and stones were thrown at the fire fighters, the gates were forced open and the strikers made their way into the court. The police withdrew into the blast furnaces, with individual police officers blocking the stairs. When the strikers came closer, Mark gave the order to fire.

Shots were fired for four minutes, before the Italians withdrew. On the factory premises, they destroyed all the windows. In the evening, they returned to the gates, and shots were fired again, resulting in one death and several wounded.

In total, 4 people were shot, including a 13-year-old boy who was bringing food to his father, and six were badly wounded.

The Italians did not return to work until 30 January, after management had made some financial concessions.