Evening star., 1948-08-27
Berlin Red Mob
Forces Way Into
City Hall Again
Attempts to Replace
City Council With
Hond-Pieked Regime
BY the Associoted Press

oIAeAAAN, mug. zf.-rOT the
second straight day, belligerent
Communist = led demonstrators
forced their way into Berlin's
City Hall today. They broke up
a meeting of the anti-Commu-
mist City Council and imme-
diately tried to substitute a
hand-picked regime of their
own.
They demanded that a special
committee, composed of members of
Communist dominated labor unions
IN the Soviet zone of the city, be
appointed to replace the council. A
spokesman denied that it was to be
an action committee" such as took
over Czechoslovakia, but it appar-
emily could serve the same purpose.
Outside. milling crowds unable to
get into the City Hall yelled, when
told of the cancellation of a sched-
uled city council meeting:
I'VE will come back again and
again."
Crowd SweIls to 1900.
This appeared to indicate that
the Communist strategy is to keep
up constant demonstrations in
tended to stop all work of the city
government, force it to abandon
the City Hall and then set up a
Communist front government for
the divided, blockaded city.
|. This mornings crowd, which
numbered only 200 at the beginning
of the demonstration, swelled to
more than 1000 before it ended.
There were broadcast reports that
shops in the vicinity Of City Hall
were being closed to get recruits.
The demonstration broke up after
an hour and a half.
Ferdinand Friedensburg, the city's
acting Mayor and a Christian Demo-
crat, later charged that Soviet
controlled German police not only
refused the city's parliament pro-
lection "but actually backed the
demonstrators"
Entered by Back Door.
He said the demonstrators had
been let into City Hall by the back
door, which was opened, he said,
by a member of the Communist
dominated Socialist Unity Party
(SEDD after the front door had been
locked and the key hidden.
He said Soviet Army major
demanded that he be let out by the
front door after it was locked. This,
the acting Mayor said, apparently
was to let demonstrators in.
1T is now questionable whether
the City Parliament will stay here
under situation where the police
refuse to grant it protection against
the constant danger of being dis
turbed by a small minority pressure
group" Mr.. Friedensburg continued.
He added, however, that the city
governments administrative Offices
would stay in City Hall in the
Soviet sector no matter what the
council itself does.
I'VE will stay as long as pos
sible." he added.
Will Decide on Meeting Place.
There may be a decision later
today about future meeting place
for the council. There have been
suggestions that it move into the
American zone under the protection
of the Western half of the Berlin
police force.
That probably would mean q
Communist blitz on city officials left
in the Soviet zone. The Russians al
ready have arrested the head of the
coal distribution section of the city
administration.
Western Allied liaison officers at
the City Hall said non Communist
assembly leaders will put squarely
before the Soviet commandant, Maj
Gen. Alexander Kotikov, a demand
that he say whether he will provide
police protection to insure an Or
derly council session.
The Socialist speaker, Otto Suhr
was directed to ask Gen. Kotokoy
to grant a personal interview with
q parliamentary delegation. It is
understood that if the Russian
commandant ignores these requests
the parliamentary majority prob
ably will decide to move to the
American sector.
Socialist officials say the police
under Russian-supported Police Chic
Paul Markgraf not only failed tc
stop the invaders of City Hall, put
actually aided them.
Council members already had as