1919: 17 dead in Offenbach's Good Friday putsch
On April 19, 1919, the Offenbacher Zeitung described the events of the previous day as a "black page in our city's history". During a clash between rioting citizens and the Reichswehr in a barracks in Bieberer Straße, shots were fired and 17 people were killed. A further 26 were seriously injured. The side from which the first shots were actually fired remains a mystery to this day. The so-called "Good Friday Putsch" is considered the bloodiest civil uprising in Offenbach's history.
Political power at this time was in the hands of the "People's Council", which was made up of members of the workers' and soldiers' councils. Among them were mainly social democrats and bourgeois liberals. On Tuesday, April 15, 1919, a general meeting of the KPD had already taken the fundamental decision to occupy the barracks and disempower the People's Council. The following day, Maundy Thursday, was chosen for the planned action.
In a rally, the communist parties USPD and KPD called for an uprising against the government. The army of the People's Council, the "People's Army", consisted mainly of USPD supporters and denied the Hessian state government its military support against rebelling citizens.
Meanwhile, a crowd of around 5,000 citizens gathered on Wilhelmsplatz around the platform of a truck, from which speakers from the Communist parties launched verbal attacks against the government and, above all, the Offenbach People's Council. Among them was the Offenbach Communist Willy Eisenreich, who demanded the overthrow of the People's Council, the occupation of state offices and the establishment of a revolutionary workers' council under the leadership of the Communists. Led by Eisenreich, the crowd set out to storm the barracks.
On Friday, April 18, 1919, around 1,000 demonstrators clashed with the state troops that the Hessian government had sent to Offenbach. The situation presumably escalated when a 25-year-old female demonstrator reached for a soldier's machine gun and was fatally shot. According to government sources, however, a hand grenade from the crowd started the fight. The exact circumstances are still unclear.
When Frankfurt sent military support, the uprising was put down. The Volkswehr was disarmed by the government soldiers and thus disbanded for good. A night-time curfew was imposed on the people of Offenbach, and gatherings were banned for days afterwards. Despite the agitated mood among the population, there were no further uprisings. The barracks in Bieberer Straße were later occupied by the riot police. Today, it houses the tax offices of the city and district of Offenbach. The building is partly a listed building.
On Monday, April 19, 2004, Offenbach's then Head of Cultural Affairs, Mayor Stephan Wildhirt, placed a commemorative plaque on the fence of today's tax office in memory of the "Bloody Good Friday" and the history of the historic building.