Evening star., 1953-08-04
Red Riot Ganqs
Attack German
Food Stations
West Berlin Police
Beat OFF 5000 in
Stiff Street Bottle
BY the Assoeioted Press


5000 Communists, including
women. invaded West Berlin
today and made three attacks on
food stations in an effort to
break up the free distribution
of American food to East Ger
many's hungry.
West Berlin police called out
reinforcementS, and beat back
the columns of riot gangs with
clubs and water guns in swirling
street battles.
Dozens of heads were cracked,
and about $50 Communists, in
Guiding seven women, were ar
restedH
Police said they expected more
attacks. They reinforced their
guards around the free distribu-
ton centers and moved mobile
water guns up to strategic Sec
tors.
OlVen GOOd Beating"
The invasions took place in
the Neukoelln and Kreuzberg
boroughs of the American sector
and the industrial borough of
Wedding in the French sector.
"We gave them a good beat
ing" said a West Berlin police
man in the American sector.
The riot in the American Sec
tor was started by young Com
munistS who infiltrated into a
food station area in the guise of
food-seekerS. While standing in
line they began jeering police
and the "Amis" (Americans).
When minor scuff1ing with police
broke out the infiltrators were
joined by a body of young Com
munistS who rushed across the
sector border.
The attacks by Communist
storm columns were the first di-
rect attempt to smash food sta
tions in West Berlin. But dur
ing the past week the Reds have
manhandled hungry Germans
who returned home with Ameri-
can aid packages. The Com
munists also have imposed
blockade on train tickets to Ber-
lin in an effort to stop the floods
of hungry from East Germany
to the food centers.
100000 Defy Red Threats.
Some 10000 East Berliners
def1ed Communist police threats
and sporadic confiscation of food
parcels yesterday and visited the
free food stations. Many more
thousands swarmed over the Sec
tor border today despite Com
munist disturbances.
West Berlin's American radio
station told the Germans who
are barred from coming to Ber-
lin that the parcels would be held
for them until they can get
through the Iron Curtain.
New strikes and demonstra-
tions against the blockade were
reported in East Germany.
The East zone police struck
back, hunting down East Ger
mans who had returned with the
Western parcels, seizing the food
and imposing fines and other
penalties. Communist-controlled
East German newspapers were
filled with "blacklists" naming
people who had received the
American aid.
Reds Confirm Fighting.
But the United States-con-
troled radio told the barred East
Germans to sit tight, promising
that parcels would be held until
your Communist jailers let you
out-they can't blockade you for
ever"
The East Berlin hungry still
poured in despite Communist
threats that anybody accepting
an American Judas parcel"
faced punishment as an enemy
of the state" AS the FOOD give
away went into its ninth day,
the total handout was expected
to reach the is million mark.
The Communist press again
belatedly confirmed earlier West
ern reports of the fights and
demonstrations. But the Red
version still was that honest
workers" were fighting the "re-
turning food beggars trying to
incite revolt against our gov
ernment."
Communist Premier Otto
(See FOOD, Page A-4.)