The Strike of the 100,000 (french: Grève des 100 000) was an 8-day

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in German-occupied Belgium which took place from 10–18 May 1941. It was led by

Julien Lahaut Julien Lahaut (6 September 1884 – 18 August 1950) was a Belgian politician and communist activist. He became leader of the Communist Party of Belgium after the First World War. A dissident during the German occupation of 1940–44, he became ...

, head of the

Belgian Communist Party french: Parti Communiste de Belgique , abbreviation = KPB-PCB , colorcode = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Joseph JacquemotteJulien LahautLouis Van Geyt , founder = Julien Lahaut , founded = , dissolved = , merge ...

(''Parti Communiste de Belgique'' or PCB), even though the Nazi—Soviet Pact was still in force. The object of the strike was to demand a wage increase though it was also an act of

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...

to the German occupation. The strike originated at the Cockerill steel works (''Cockerill Fonderie'') in the industrial town of

Seraing Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Saint ...

, in eastern Belgium, on 10 May 1941. The date significantly marked the first anniversary of the German invasion of Belgium. News spread quickly through the

Province of Liège A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

and brought many other workers out on

solidarity action Solidarity action (also known as secondary action, a secondary boycott, a solidarity strike, or a sympathy strike) is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in a separate corporation, but often the same en ...

s. It also spread into the industrial

Province of Hainaut Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...

in the west and also to the neighbouring

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

in Flanders. It is estimated that 70,000 workers participated in the strike at its height, though never the 100,000 supposed by its popular name. The actions received widespread coverage in the national

underground press The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

of the

Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Be ...

and even achieved limited support from the middle and upper classes who had traditionally opposed labour militancy. In order to end the disruption, the Germans were forced to agree to a substantial wages increase of eight percent. The strike soon finished, ending officially on 18 May. In its aftermath, the German authorities worried that it could be repeated. 400 workers were arrested in September 1942 on suspicion of planning a similar action. Further important strikes did, however, take place in Belgium in November 1942 and February 1943. In the aftermath of the strike and the start of the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

(June 1941) led to the end of the limited toleration of Belgian communists. Lahaut was deported to a concentration camp in Germany and many other strikers were also incarcerated in the

Citadel of Huy The Fort of Huy (french: Fort de Huy) or the Citadel of Huy (french: Citadelle de Huy), known locally as The Castle ( wa, Li Tchestia), is a fortress located in the Wallonia, Walloon city of Huy in the Liège (province), province of Liège, Belgiu ...

. A similar strike, inspired by the success of the Strike of the 100,000, took place later the same month in the Nord and Pas de Calais mining basins in Northern France which formed part of the same German administrative area as Belgium. It was judged by the French newspaper in 2001 to have been one of the most spectacular acts of the French resistance. The strike, which broke out on 27 May and lasted until 9 June, brought 17,000 miners (around 80 percent of the regional total) out to protest pay and food shortages.

References

External links

"La grève des 100.000 (Mai 1941)" by José Gotovitch
(published in ''Jours de Guerre'', No. 7, 1992) at the Centre des archives communistes en belgique (Carcob) German occupation of Belgium during World War II Belgian Resistance Labour disputes in Belgium 1941 labor disputes and strikes 1941 in Belgium History of Liège Province Seraing May 1941 events

See also

References

Further reading

External links