2 May 1936 The largest-scale celebrations were in Soviet Russia, where 30,000 troops and about a million and a half civilians paraded

Yesterday’s May Day celebrations throughout the world were marked by few disturbances. The largest-scale celebrations were in Soviet Russia, where 30,000 troops and about a million and a half civilians paraded before Stalin in Moscow. In Berlin’s Nazi version of May Day – “a national day of festival” – 1,500,000 members of the Labour Front listened to an oration by Herr Hitler. Attendance was compulsory for all employees.

Spain marked the day by a complete cessation of all business and amusement. There were no public services, and all shops, cafes, and restaurants were closed.

From the archive, 2 August 1950: Stalin and the Soviet state Read more

Bulgaria had a national Labour Day with a monster rally under Government patronage. Three persons were killed in a disturbance in a provincial town. Nothing worse than a tram strike is reported from Greece.

In Paris the day passed off calmly – without taxis. Various mass Labour meetings were held in the afternoon without serious disorder.

In London many thousands of workers and students took part in the May Day procession from the Embankment to Hyde Park yesterday for a mass demonstration, which proved to be almost without incident. Few of those present could recall a May Day on which the demonstration had been carried through more quietly. Nearly 300 police had gathered in the park in case of emergency, but beyond marshalling the crowds there was little for them to do.

The Moscow parades

Reuter’s Moscow correspondent telegraphs:–

The troops were escorted by 700 aeroplanes and 300 tanks, which included several new types and were followed by approximately 1,500,000 civilian demonstrators carrying banners, balloons, effigies, and other decorations.

The foreign military attachés and the chiefs of staff of the three Baltic countries who are at present in Moscow seemed much interested in the aerial display. Among the planes seen were fifty or more of the new two-motored monoplane bombers, which have a much higher speed than the older models and the new chaser planes were also prominent.

May Day rallies around the world – in pictures Read more

The chief note of the civilian demonstration was the improvement of the standard of living and industrial achievement. Enormous replicas of bunches of fruit, piles of sausages, and huge loaves of bread were borne high in the procession.

Monster military parades and demonstrations also took place today in Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tiflis, Khabarovsk, and other cities of the Soviet Union.



