1936–1937 Gothenburg rent strike

1936–1937 Gothenburg rent strike
Location
Gothenburg, Sweden
Goals
  • Rent reduction
  • Increased maintenance
Parties
Tenants
Property owners
Lead figures
  • Claes Bergqvist
  • Martin Andersson

The 1936–1937 Gothenburg rent strike, also known as the Olskroken conflict, was a major tenant mobilization by residents of the working-class neighborhood of Olskroken, in eastern Gothenburg. The strike was led by a local tenants union (Swedish: Hyresgästernas centralförsamling), who pushed for lower rents and increased maintenance. After dispute resolution fell through, a standoff ensued, where about 250 families were evicted. The strike ended with a victory for the tenants.[1][2]

Strike

Claes Bergqvist was chairman of the local tenants union (Swedish: Hyresgästernas centralförsamling) at the time of the strike.[3]

Negotiations between the property owner's association (Swedish: Fastighetsägarnas garantiförening) and the tenants union ended without resolution on 21 October 1936.[4] A government-appointed mediation commission was created.[5]

By 20 November, evictions were planned or underway in Olskroken, Lunden, and Majorna.[6] At least 250 families were evicted during the course of the strike.[7]

In February 1937, the tenants assembly made commemorative stamps picturing the three oldest people evicted during the conflict.[8]

Aftermath

Impact

In Stad i förvandling (English: City in transformation), architectural history professor Boris Schönbeck wrote that the strike strengthened the position of tenant unions in post-war Sweden.[9][10]

Legacy

A street in Olskroken is named after Martin Andersson, a prominent tenants right activist involved in the strike.[7]

References

  1. ^ Kubu, Mert (1971-04-11). "200 familjer vräktes i största hyresstrejken" [200 families evicted in largest rent strike]. Dagens Nyheter. p. 8.
  2. ^ Johansson, Tommy (2021-08-26). "Göteborg 400 år – 26/8: Hyresstrejken 1936 blev en seger för hyresgästerna - P4 Göteborg" [Gothenburg 400 years – August 26: The 1936 rent strike was a victory for tenants - P4 Gothenburg]. Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2025-09-28. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  3. ^ "Olskroken – det var hyreskamp det" [Olskroken – it was a battle over rent]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1972-10-29. p. 41.
  4. ^ "Möller ordnar i Olskroken" [Möller organizes in Olskroken]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1936-10-22. pp. 1, 30.
  5. ^ "Förhandlingarna börja i Olskrokenkonflikten" [Negotiations begin in the Olskroken conflict]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1936-10-30. p. 22.
  6. ^ "Flera vräkningar i dag i Göteborg" [Several evictions today in Gothenburg]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1936-11-20. p. 4.
  7. ^ a b Christensen, Jan (2022-02-13). "Jan Christensen: När Göteborg fick minareter" [Jan Christensen: When Gothenburg got minarets]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2025-09-29. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  8. ^ "Vräkta damer på "frimärke"" [Evicted women on a “stamp"]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1937-02-10. pp. 1, 28.
  9. ^ Schönbeck, Boris (1994). Stad i förvandling : uppbyggnadsepoker och rivningar i svenska städer från industrialismens början till idag [City in transformation: periods of construction and demolition in Swedish cities from the dawn of industrialism to the present day]. ISBN 978-91-540-5641-5.
  10. ^ Schulz, Solveig (1997). "Boris Schönbeck-Minnesteckning" [Boris Schönbeck-memorial]. Nordic Journal of Architectural Research. 3: 7–9.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.