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Left party delegation barred from laying wreath in honour of sailors who sparked the German Revolution

MEMBERS of Germany’s Left party were prevented yesterday from laying a wreath at the Laboe Naval Memorial in Kiel in memory of the sailors whose mutiny sparked the German Revolution a century ago and ended World War I.

Hundreds of sailors met on November 1 1918 to demand the release of comrades who had been imprisoned for refusing to obey orders for an assault on Britain’s Royal Navy.

A mass demonstration on November 3 calling for peace and bread was met with violence but merely provoked sailors, workers and soldiers to take over the city and within days the German monarchy had been swept away.

Left MP Lorenz Goesta Beutin said the memorial had been closed off when the delegation arrived and police were present. A notice announced that the site was neutral and would not tolerate “political” events.

Those attending held a rally outside the perimeter and “said a few words in remembrance,” he added.

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