Taking matters into their own hands: Lithuanian bakers in 1920s–1930s

Abstract

This article adapts the Hobsbawmian concept of “primitive rebels” and analyses Lithuanian bakers and their involvement in the labour movement and labour unrest in the 1920s–1930s. Ancient bakers’ traditions like “wedrówka” (travel money) and “fajerantas” as a way to support the unemployed bakers are also presented. The article draws attention to bakers’ cooperation which spontaneously formed as a response to poor working conditions and to symbolic acts of violence which happened as a response to poor factory management.