Working Class History
Working Class History#OtD 28 Dec 1943 fascists executed all seven brothers of the anti-fascist Cervi family as punishment for their activity in the 'Banda Cervi' partisan unit of the Italian resistance. Learn more about the resistance in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/
Working Class History#OtD 25 Dec 1889 Octave Garnier (aka: 'Le Terrassier') was born in France. As a 13-year old he became a member of the anarchist Bonnot Gang, stealing cars and robbing banks. More on the Bonnot Gang in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the-bonnot-gang-the-story-of-the-french-illegalists-richard-parry
Working Class History#OtD 25 Dec 1837 the Africans and Native Americans who formed Florida's Seminole nation defeated a vastly superior US invading army bent on cracking this early rainbow coalition and returning the Africans to slavery https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9721/seminole-nation-defeat-u.s.-army
Working Class History#OtD 24 Dec 1913 73 people (59 of whom were children) were killed at a Christmas party of striking miners' families. Witnesses said they saw bosses' thugs shouting "fire", and some claimed they held doors shut, causing a crush on the stairway https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9637/christmas-eve-calumet-massacre
Working Class History#OtD 23 Dec 1961 Dutch Spanish Civil War volunteer, Fanny Schoonheyt, known as the queen of the machine gun, died. She was the only Dutch woman volunteer who fought the fascists, serving on the Aragon front until wounded. Learn more about the war: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/06/17/e39-the-spanish-civil-war-an-introduction/
Working Class History#OtD 21 Dec 1916 in Bulgaria during World War I, troops of the 25th Brigade mutinied and declared that they would not cross the Danube and invade foreign soil. It started spreading so authorities brutally crushed it https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9358/bulgarian-wwi-soldiers-mutiny
Working Class History#OtD 21 Dec 1848 escaped enslaved people, Ellen and William Craft, boarded a steamship in Savannah, Georgia, heading to Philadelphia where they arrived at Christmas. They then dedicated their lives to abolition and women's suffrage https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9355/ellen-and-william-craft-escape
Working Class History#OtD 21 Dec 1975 Italian Football Federation called a "friendship day" to calm tensions between different "ultras" (fan groups). Many of these ultras had a political/class basis eg AC Milan & Sampdoria being left-wing, Inter & Lazio being fascist https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9365/italian-football-friendship-day
Working Class History#OtD 21 Dec 1969 the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in NYC, a split from the more radical Gay Liberation Front. The GAA used “zaps”, confronting homophobic public officials to advocate for gay and lesbian rights. They disbanded in 1981 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9364/gay-activists-alliance-founded
Working Class History#OtD 20 Dec 1969 the funeral of Giuseppe Pinelli took place in Milan, Italy. The funeral was a mass demonstration in protest at the police murder of the anarchist rail worker as part of the strategy of tension https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12665/giuseppe-pinelli-funeral