Heroic May 36 is commemorated in Greece

The event was opened by Yiannis Kourmoulis, member of the Central Macedonia Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Greece, who, made special reference to "the heroes of the working class, workers - trade unionists, who starred in May 1936 in Thessaloniki and were subsequently imprisoned, handed over by the bourgeoisie to the occupier and came to stand proud and haughty on the wall of Kaisariani!".

He noted "that the purpose of the event is to bring the lessons of these shocking moments to the present day, to correspond them to the tasks that the labor union movement is called upon to fulfill in current conditions and developments." 

In his intervention, Markos Bekris, member of the Central Committee of KKE, port worker and president of the Piraeus Workers' Center, connected the thread of the class struggles of yesterday with today. Referring to the great strike of port workers on February 6 against the imperialist plans that turn workers into tools of war and which took place in 20 ports from 7 countries - Italy, France, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Germany - he emphasized that this strike provided an answer to a crucial question: what movement is needed today.

He explained, in particular, that "the strike contributed to opening the confrontation more deeply. To target the dominant policy itself. To challenge capitalist domination more intensely and in practice - regardless of who manages it.

A representative from the Communist Party of Turkey also made an intervention. He said "The existence of the Communist Parties of Turkey and Greece is the greatest guarantee of the brotherhood of the two peoples. Between the workers of the two countries there is no hostility, but a common struggle. The history of the common struggle shows that our peoples stood shoulder to shoulder not against each other, but against imperialism."

What happened in May 1936

Widespread labor strikes evolved into something closer to a popular uprising. The epicenter of this movement was Thessaloniki, where workers across multiple industries had already been engaging in repeated strikes. On the 29th of April, 1936, tobacco workers initiated a strike, putting forward demands such as the introduction of an eight-hour working day and improved pay. Their actions quickly inspired other workers the country, and by the 1st of May, similar strikes had broken out in other Greek cities.

By the 8th of May, thousands of tobacco workers participated in a massive strike and demonstration. The following day, the General Confederation of Greek Workers called for a nationwide 24-hour strike. In Thessaloniki, the demonstration escalated into a broader revolt. Police forces, supported by army units including mounted troops and motorized detachments, responded to the mass protest with gunfire, killing 12 demonstrators and seriously injuring 32 others.

But the movement did not subside. Some soldiers even refused orders to shoot and instead sided with the striking workers. Anti-fascist slogans spread widely across the city. The next day, more than 200,000 people—nearly half the city’s population at the time—joined the funeral processions for those killed. For roughly a day and a half, state authority effectively collapsed, and the people of Thessaloniki held de facto control of the city.

The strike in Thessaloniki was over on May 11, after the demands of the strikers were satisfied.