PROPAGANDA POSTCARDS
(1935)

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12-Oct-2022 08:46

MAY DAY
(May 1935)

On 1st May 1933 Hitler addressed a crowd of 500,000 people at the Tempelhof Field in Berlin and declared the 1st May to be a national holiday. As early as 1890, 1st May was something of a celebration for socialists to highlight the struggle of the working classes against their oppresive masters. Hitler decided to re-invent the day as a celebration of German traditions and heritage, stripped of any socialist connections.

The day was renamed "The Day of Labour" and then in 1934 renamed again as "The National holiday of the German People". Traditional Socialist symbols were replaced with maypoles and people dressed in traditional folkish costumes which were sometimes awkwardly accompanied by military style marches and propaganda. The celebrations were never really accepted by the masses, and interest dwindled over the years until the day was quietly cancelled in 1942.