The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 2, 1934, Page 5

- Dimitroff Addresses An Open Letter to Austrian Workers — « MISTAKE LAY IN By GEORGE DIMITROFF HAVE before me a letter dated Dec. 7, 1933, which I received in the Leip- zig jail only on Jan. 15, 1934, from a group of workers in the Karl Marx House, which now, after the February events in Austria, has become known to the whole world. Here is the text of the letter: Karl Marx House, Vienna, Dec. 7, 1933. Dear Comrade Dimitroff: On behalf of many we give you our warmest greetings. Millions are listening to your cour- ageous words, You give new strength to millions. Your struggle shall not be in vain. It is also our struggle.The great army of the class-conscious proletariat stands behind you in serried ranks. We ask you, Comrade Dimitroff, to send us a few lines in reply. With greetings for free- dom... (A number of signatures follow) On the very same day that I received this letter I tried to send the following short reply through the strict police censorship: “Today I received your friendly letter of December 7, last year, and read it with great joy and thankfulness. As far as my conduct at the trial is concerned, I was only trying to fulfill my proletarian duty and to remain faithful to my heroic class right to the very end. “With militant fraternal greetings. . : I do not know whether even this short reply reached its destination. I read and re-read the letter from the Aus- trian workers many times while in the dungeons of Goering’s secret police in Berlin, when I learned from the German fascist press about the heroic battles of the Austrian workers. With a throbbing heart I followed the development of events and the outcome of the armed battles between the Austrian proletariat and fascism, feeling great joy over the manifestations of pro- letarian heroism and deep hatred for the treach- erous policy of the leadership of Social Democ- racy. After ng in the U.S. S, R,, although I Was still ill as a consequence of the hardships of imprisonment and the tension at the trial, nevertheless, as soon as my health permitted, I tried first of all to acquaint myself with the Austrian events and the historical lessons which followed from them not only for the workers of Austria but also for the workers of all cap- italist countries. T would now like to share my impressions and some of my thoughts about the Austrian events with these comrades who wrote to me, as well as with all the Austrian fighters for the proletarian cause. ‘ Our Class Ties I do not know how many of those who, wrote this letter are still alive. But now, every Com- munist feels that in the struggle for the common cause of the workers he is linked up by indis- soluble bonds with the Austrian workers who remained alive, as well as with those who have fallen in the battles. We Communists feel drawn still closer to the workers who have fought and are still fighting, now that Austrian reaction is celebrating its sanguinary victory over the working | class. Thousands of slain and wounded workers, thou- sands of prisoners, terror raging throughout the country, a regime of tyranny for the proletariat, comparable only to the fascist regime in Ger- many—this is the result of the hangman's work of the Dollfuss government. The bourgeoisie is covering with glory the Dollfusses and the Feys, who used howitzers to shoot down the workers and their wives and children. The Papal Nuncio sends these hang- men his blessings. And at the same time the cowardly leaders of Austrian Social Democracy read the workers a lesson, telling them that it ‘was not necessary to take to arms, that the working class committed an error by answering with an armed struggle the general offensive of fascism whith threatened to sweep away not only all the economic and political gains of practically half a century of struggle of the Aus- trian working class, but even threatened its bare existence, But would capitulation without struggle have saved the Austrian proletariat from reaction? No, it would only have made the reactionary forces more arresant and mors sure of their strength. The Austrian proletariat was right in its de- termination not to betray its own class, in re- fusing to submit without strugele, to a fate resembling that of the working class of Germany which was betrayed by German Social Democ- racy. The armed struggle of the Austrian pro- letariat served as a clear warning, not only for the Austrian bourgeoisie but also for the bour- geoisie of other countries. It showed that the proletariat will not reconcile itself to the reign of fascism. Where the Mistake Lay No, it was not the armed struggle of the Aus- trian working class that was a mistake; the mis- take was that this struggle was not organized and led in a revolutionary Bolshevik way. The fundamental weakness of the February struggles of the Austrian workers who suc- cumbed to the pernicious influence of Social Democracy, was that they failed to understand that it-was necessary not only to defend them- selves from the attack of fascism, but also to turn their armed resistance into a struggle for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and for the seizure of power by the proletariat. The armed recistance of the Austrian proletariat to fas- cism did not grow into a genuine armed insur- rection. This was the main mistake. Reaction has triumphed in Austria, But this victory is temporary; it is of such a nature that it even now contains elements of the future defeat of the bourgeoisie. What is necessary at present is that the Austrian workers should not despair, should not lose confidence in the strength of their class but, on the contrary, should draw all the necessary political and or- ganizational conclusions from the lessons of the February battles, especially with regard to Social Democracy. A Pre-Requisite for Victory Remember 1905 in Russia, comrades. At that time Czarism quelled the heroic uprising of the Tussian workers. But who, however, does not, know that it was just this uprising that was the DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1934 FAILURE TO TURN STRUGGLE TO ONE historical prerequisite for the victorious Oc- tober in 1917? In 1923, the September insur- | rection of the Bulgarian proletariat was sup- pressed. But just as in 1905 the Russian prole- tariat, under the leadership of Lenin, was able to benefit by all the lessons of the insurrection, gain confidence in its cause and carry its struggle to final victory, so the Bulgarian work- with their Communist Party at the head | and under the leadership of the Communist | after the bloody suppression of became even more eeled, trengthened their Party, and are now unwaver- | ingly carrying on the struggle against Bulgarian | fascism. After the experience of the Septem- ber insurrection, the Bulgarian proletariat | clearly perceived the roots of its weaknesses and | the correctness of the theory and practice of | Bolshevism. | The Bulgarian proletariat and its Communist \ | | ers, Party, which was driven underground, accepted |.the doctrine of Bolshevism as the foundation for their activity and struggle and converted the | defeat of the September uprising into the pre- | requisites for the victorious development of the revolutionary proletarian movement in Bulgaria, | And now, even the class enemy is compelled to admit that the Bulgarian proletariat and its Party have become much stronger than they | were before the September insurrection in 1923. The Austrian workers should take these hi torical lessons to heart. And as in 1905 in Rus- sia and in 1923 in Bulgaria, so now in Austria, as a result of the sanguinary suppression of the working class combatants, the proletariat and | the bourgeoisie have become separated by an unbridgeable gulf, which is one of the condi- tions necessary for the future victories of the proletariat. 1 TTO BAUER speaks of the catastrophe in Austria. Yes, there is a catastrophe, but it is the catastrophe of the whole Second Inter- national, of its theory, policy and tactics. It is the catastrophe of the Social Democratic theory of the peaceful, painless growing of capitalism into socialism through bourgeois parliamentary democracy; the catastrophe of the reformist policy which tries to patch up disintegrating capitalism; the catastrophe of the tactics aimed at averting the proletarian revolution. After the collapse of German Social Democ- racy, this is the second catastrophe, a catas- trophe towards which the Social Democratic parties of other capitalist countries are similarly heading. It is in vain that Otto Bauer, in order to prove that the coming to power of fascism was inevitable, refers to the example of Ger- many where, vpon Hitler's coming to power, as he says, neither the powerful Social Democratic Party nor the strong Communist Party offered any resistance. But if the German Social Democracy had not, throughout this entire jPeriod through its Severings, Zoergiebels, and | Grzesinskies, conducted a sanguinary struggle against the anti-fascist front which was rallying under the leadership of the German Communist Party if it had not sabotaged the numerous proposals made to it by the Communist Party, including that of January, 1933, to form a united front against fascism; if it had not rejected the proposals made at that time by the Communist Party for immediate proclamation of the general strike and if it had not broken up the joint ac- tions of the Communist and the Social Demo- cratic workers against fascism, then we can confidently assert that the German proletariat would not have become victims of the fascist orgy. The Communist Party of Germany, unfortunately. was not at that time strong of Social Democracy and to lead the German workers to an open armed fight against the Hit~ ler bands. It is clear that in Germany just as in Austria now, Social Democracy bears full responsibility for the vietory of fascism. |The Historical Test The events in Austria and Germany and the victorious construction of socialism in the U. S. |S. R. constitute the greatest historical test, based on the experience of millions of people, of the two policies: the policy of the Party of Lenin and Stalin, the policy of the Comintern on the one hand, and the policy of Austrian and Ger- man Social Democracy, the policy of the Second Internationa}, on the other. The first policy the policy of the proletarian revolution, has already brought the working class in the U. S. S, R., as well as the basic masses of the peasantry which are under its influence, to socialism. The sec- end policy, the poliey of conciliation with the bourgeoisie, as has been strikingly shown by the events in Italy, Germany and Austria, has led to the victory of the counter-revolution, to the triumph of fascism. The U.S. S. R., the great creation of the Bol- sheviks, stands firm like a rock—the bourgeoisie and the landowners have been crushed, the power of the working class has been established, a strong proletarian state has been set up, a powerful workers’ and peasants’ Red Army has been formed, a new, socialist economic system has been built up, unemployment and pauperiza- tion in the villages and have been abolished, and there is a steady rise in the material and cultural level of the toiling masses in town and country. But in Austria and in Germany there is not a trace of “democratic socialism” left. There, Dollfuss and Fey, Hitler and Goering hold absolute sway. The working class have had all rights taken from them, arms are in the hands of the bourgeoisie, the Vienna “Com- mune” (Gemeinde) is occupied by the Heim- wehr, and the communal workers’ houses which Social Democracy held up as a symbol of the “peaceful growing into socialism” have been would have been able to prevent the fascists | from coming to power and the German people | enough to overcome the sabotage and betrayal | BSS a at ae oe , : < \ wee, | GEORGE DIMITROFF | 1S fe | the workers; now they fill them with workers and execute the revolutionaries, If the Austrian and German proletariat had | in 1918 followed the policy of the Russian Bol- sheviks, there would now be no fascism in Aus- tria, Germany, Italy, Poland and in the Balkan countries. And there is no doubt that the working class and not the bourgeoisie would have been master of the situation in Europe. | But Austrian Social Democracy, with Fritz | Adler and Otto Bauer at the head, misled the working class. It made an alliance with the | bourgeoisie against the revolution, It tried to| frighten the Austrian workers by the difficulties | of the heroic struggle of the Russian. workers and peasants, it promised the workers to estab- lish socialism without revolution, without blood- Shed, solely by means of the ballot and Parlia- | mentary stratagems. It urged the workers not to fight the bourgeoisie, but to compromise with | them on the basis of small, temporary conces- sions, and by this means the bourgeoisie saved themselyes from the revolution. You, comrades, | unfortunately, did not listen to the voice of the | Communists who were trying to convince you of | the fatal effects of this policv. For years you| submitted to the treachery of the leadership of | j the Social Democratic Party which, with its pol- | |icy of capitulation to reaction, led the working | class from retreat to retreat and from defeat to | defeet. For fifteen years reaction and fascism | had been organizing their forces systematically and unhindered under the very nose of the So- | cial Democratic Party. Through Revolutionary Struggle Was it possible, however, to hinder this con- solidation of the forces of reaction and to hold Austrian fascism in check? There is no doubt that this was possible, but only through rey- j Olutionary struggle. Remember, comrades, July | 15, 1827, when the masses went out on the streets upon the acquittal of the fascist murderers of Shattendorf. That moment was a turning point in the class struggle and in the relation of the | class forces in Austria. It gave the bourgeoisie | ® great advantage over the proletariat, and the bourgeoisie commenced to make vigorous prep- arations to establish a fascist dictatorship in Austria. If the Social Democratic Party had had even the least desire to struggle it could have easily converted the movement of July, 1927, into a Proletarian revolution; but even if it had not sufficient courage to do this, it could ‘ill have achieved the defeat of fascism. The only thing that was necessary was not to hold ‘back the workers, but Social Democracy broke up this powerful action of the Austrian proletariat against fascism. It surtendered the arms of the workers’ arsenal in 1927, it concluded the Huettenberg Pact in 1928, opening the doors of | the factories to the fascists; it introduced the law. of Julius Deutsch on discipline in the army | which permitted the government to clear the army of proletarian elements; it commenced to reform the constitution of December 8, 1929, in accordance with the demands of the Heimwehr. Since 1930 through the agency of Seitz, it per- mitted fascist demonstrations and banned Com- munist demonstrations, Social Democracy had its military organiza- tion (the Schutzbund), stores of arms, two-thirds | of the entire population of Vienna behind it, and | held almost undivided sway over the working | Class of the whole country. And yet the fas- cists killed one worker after another with im- punity, and every time Social Democracy re- treated, it threatened that at the next murder it would compel the bourgeoisie to put a stop to the terror “by the force of the organized work- | ing class.” The Dollfuss the Feys and the Heimwehr went on with their work, knowing the worth of such statements, By endless retreat you do not demonstrate the strength of the! organized working class. 1 y Nad yet the Austrian proletariat could have | won in February, 1934, too,®if you, Social Democratic workers, had refused to follow the Social Democratic leaders who from the very beginning demoralized your struggle by their policy of capitulation and defeatism, if you, to- | gether with the Communists, had teken the organization and the leadership of the struggle | into your own hands at the proper time. | An armed struggle is not an act which is sep- arate from the general policy of a party. A party which is constantly retreating, which in the course of fifteen years calls on the workers | to evade the struggle, cannot in the course of | twenty-four hours politically and organization- | ally adopt the line of armed struggle. Otto Bauer in his pamphlet, “The Uprising of the Austrian Workers” is now complaining that the general strike was not successful. But had | Social Democracy taken pains to prepare it? No, on the contrary, the Socia] Democratic lead- ership tried beforehand to clear itself in the eyes of the bourgeoisie from all responsibility for the strike, declaring that under the four con- ditions (violation of the constitution, supres- mn of the Social Democratic Party, suppres- ion of the trade unions, appointment of a com- missar of Vienna), the workers would them- Selves take the initiative of declaring such a strike. “In the mills and factories and in the party organizations ever more numerous became the Austrian Barricade F ighters in the U, s. S; R | rades in Germany’. | ing of the Austrian Workers, p. 14 | to join the workers in the fight their regional voices of those who were impatient for a fight, who wanted to hasten matters and repeatedly declared: ‘Don’t let us wait any longer! When one of these four conditions is carried into effect, we shall find that we are not fit for a struggle, Let us strike now while we are still fit for it. Otherwise we shall meet with the same fate as that which —Otto B: rtook our com- uer, The Upris- The Workers Were Right! the leadership of the Social Democratic Party was opposed to could no longer hold back movement of the workers. Ot the crisis to justify the treachery of the Rail- way Union bosses, who broke the strike on the railways and thus allowed the government to bring in artillery from Burgenland while the workers of Floridsdorf were shedding their blood. He tries to whitewas e printers’ union officials who, on February 13, on the second day Bauer drags in | of the armed struggle, called on the printers to end the strike and return to work In his pamphlet, Otto Bauer relates that the Social Democratic leaders allowed themselves to be arrested so that they might not be obliged and precisely those leaders were arrested “who did not take the least part in the struggle, and on Monday, as on other days, sat in their trade union of- fices, in their offices in the Vienna Rathaus, in district and municipal offices,’ (Bauer: The Uprising of the Austrian Workers). Yes, it was so. That is how the working class always act. the traitors to the Austrian Social Democracy, Fritz Adler, who shamefully stole away from the struggle, and | who, at the time when the Austrian workers were fighting with arms publicly declared that he could not take part in their “because he was busy with current affairs’—is he any better than these cowardly deserters who call themselves leaders of the working class? Comrades, can we go into struggle with such deserters in our ranks? These deserters are People who before the battle already wail about defeat, who attempt to bring panic into the ranks of the combatants at the first shot. These People do not want the victory of the working class; they are afraid of it. They only want to Scare the bourgeois a little, to make it more ready to come to terms with them. Thus, they | first hold the workers back, and then delib- erately limit the scope of their action, trying to | keep the broad masses out of it. To the workers | who wanted to support the Schutzbund in its Struggle their reply was, “Go home and cook your dinners while there is gas; armed struggle is the business of the Schutzbund and doesn’t concern you.” They refused to give arms to | workers who wanted to fight As a Soldier of the Revolution One's heart aches at the thought of the suf- ferings which the Austrian working class is now enduring as a retribution for the crimes of the Social Democratic leadership. My consciousness, as that of a soldier of the revolution, cannot reconcile itself to the fact that the glorious fighters of the Karl Marx were members of the same party as the members of the Corinthian and Vorarlberg organizations of Social Democracy, who deserted to the camp of the Heimwehr at the first shot in Linz. It is hard to realize that the Social Democratic pro- letarians who fought and died with so much heroism, were for many years led by such mis erable political philistines and cowards as Otto Bauer, Friedrich Adler, Deutsch and Saitz. OUR armed struggle was in fact a struggle for the re-establishment of the constitution which Dollfuss had violated, and it did not go beyond these limits, it did not turn into a struggle for power. And yet in the epoch of the general crisis of capitalism, when the bour- geoisie is no longer able to govern by the meth- ods of parliamentary democracy and enters upon the road of fascism, the fundamental question of the struggle of the working class is not the re-establishment of bourgeoisie democ- racy, which has outlived itself historically, but the struggle for the overthrow of the bour- geoisie, for the dictatorship of the proletariat Only the slogan of Soviet power brought to the consciousness of the broad toiling masses could have cemented the ranks of the fighters and created an indissoluble bond between the work- ers in action and the rest of the proletarians and peasantry. Only if the Austrian workers had set themselves the aim of fighting for Soviet power could their armed action have grown into a genuine armed uprising. Yes comrades, unfortunately, your armed struggle was not a struggle for power and thus, as Marx and Lenin have taught, it was not a genuine armed uprising. The fact that your armed struggle lacked this aim—the seizure of partly destroyed by artillery fire and are being taken away from the Austrian proletariat. Situation in 1918 But, comrades, in 1918 you had everything in your hands. You had arms, you formed your Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies. You were flanked on two sides by the Soviet Re- publics of Hungary and Bavaria. The bour- geosie lost their heads. They were afraid that you would deal with them as the Russian work- ers dealt with their bourgeoisie in 1917. They were afraid that you would confiscate their houses and palaces for the workers. Now they bombard your workers’ houses with artillery and give them to the murderers of your wives and children to live in. They expected that you would disband all their political parties; now they have suppressed your organizations, They expected that you would close down the whole bourgeois press, now they have closed down your press. They were afraid that you would fill up the prisons with the Dollfusses and the Feys, Some of the 300 heroes of the Austrian armed fighters who are now in the Soviet the Starhembergs and the other hangmen of other countries, and to the former members of the Austrian Socialist Party, that Dimi- power—was the fundamental defect of your heroic action, It Was No Accident But is the sec- | retary of the Second International, the leader of | struggle | Page Fivé eee ecw OF POWER OY e tactics on the ave brought cone he troops and drawn the wavere among them to the side of the tand on ceremony im ned means of transe st the workers, nor in ges, whereas the fighte he school of Austrian i—but would not v -Democra property eq tioning provie It did not occur to them that they must 0 take hostages from the bourgeoisie. And now Otto Bauer and the leader of the Schutze bund, Jul are flaunting this pettye bourgeois ina as a model of civie workers had in their sort of tactics, they too, Dolifusses and the Feys this have the riding on their backs. What heroism, what self-sacrificing fortitude on the part of the workers, and what a crime inal waste of workers’ blood on the part of the Social Democratic leaders! Tv. HAT is to be done now, comrades? The first thing to do is to analyze seriously the ex- periences of the period beginning with 1918 and h tt strugele of February, ending x armed 1934, to u e lessons of this struggle, which, like a mirror, fully reflects the bankruptcy of the Social-Demoeratie policy, and the sooner thi done, the better it will be for you and for the whole of the Austrian working class; the will bring this working class to de- nearer it cisive victory. As against Bauer’s “criticism” in which he glosses over his own crimes and those of the whole Social-Democratic leadership, you must, in my opinion, subject to the severest and most ruthless criticism the system of views with which Social-Democratic leadership poisoned the workers. You must cast a glance back on the road which you traversed under the leader- Ship of Social-Democracy and ponder over it} | you must remember what the Social-Demo- cratic press wrote, what the Social-Democratie leaders said in defending the choice of this road, and compare these with the inexorable facts. You must critically think over the pamphlet of Otte Bauer, which is in fact an indictment against the author himself and against the whole Social-Democratie policy. You must recall what the Communist International said to you during these 15 years. And you | must tell your class the whole truth, however | bitter it may be | And this truth will bring you to the conclue sion that the Communists have proved right, and not the Social-Democrats; the Comintern and not the Second International. The Com- | munists were right when they said that Ause ‘trian Social-Democracy was leading to the de- | feat of the revolution of 1918. They were right | when they warned you that the policy of Social- | Democracy was leading to the strengthening of , the bourgeois dictatorship, The Communists | were right when they said that Social-Democ- racy was safeguarding the rule of capitalism instead of leading the workers to socialism, They were right when they said that unless the | bourgeoisie was deprived of its power all the eco- | Momie, political and social concessions which the working class wrested from the bourgeoisie, all its communal houses, and so on, were in j constant danger of being taken away again. The Communists were right when they said |that the interests of the proletariat would be safeguarded not by compromising with the | bourgeoisie, but by an irreconcilable class struge gle against it. | Social-Democratic Bankruptcy The truth will further compel you to admit that Austrian Social-Democracy is now politi- cally bankrupt. The Party to which so much was given and which lost and ruined every thing has no more right to exist. Such a party | only deserves the hatred of the working class, Only after overcoming the political and organ- | izational influence of Social-Democracy will the | Austrian proletariat get on a new road which will lead it to victory over the Dolfusses and Feys, over the Heimwehr and over fascism. | You must break with the Social-Democratic organization, and together with the Commu- ‘nist workers establish a genuine fighting unity of the working class of Austria, This fighting unity is possible only on the basis of revolu- ‘tionary struggle. This unity will increase ten- fold the strength of the working class, will make many times weaker the offensive of fascism, will increase the revolutionary influence of the ‘proletariat on the peasantry and create the ' conditions for the victorious struggle against the | bourgeoisie and capitalism, for the Struggle for | Soviet power. | At the present time the greatest danger for | the revolutionary unity of the working class of j Austria would be to attempt to resuscitate and | Save Austrian Social-Demoeracy, even on a basis | of a new “Left” program. Such attempts would | bring nothing but the disruption of the work- But it was by no means an accident that in| Class movement of Austria. For are there that struggle the Austrian workers did not go|"°t ®mons you people who in the course of beyond armed resistance. It followed from all | these 15 years did nothing but “straighten” the the political principles of the Austrian Social , Policy of Social-Demoeracy in a “Leftward” d{= Democracy. “We do not intend to overthrow "ction? You see the results. either capitalism or the bourgeoisie,” the poli- | For the workers who are disappointed in Se- tical thesis of the Social Democratic! leadership | Ci#l-Democracy, it would be en equally fatal declared, In other words, in that concrete sit- | Gelusion, if in the struggle against Dolfuss fas- uation it meant: “You, the fighting ‘cism, they were to think of seeking support in must not attack the enemy; you must only de-| Hitler fascism, Remember that the Austrian fend yourselves ageinst him in your communal National-Socialists were on the side of the houses.” Guided by such principles the workers | Slaushterers of the workers during the armed let the initiative in this'struggle slip ou: of their | Struggle of the Austrian proletariat. Now like hands—they surrendered it entirely to the ; “brown” ravens they flock to the field of battle Union, It is to their comrades in Austria and —troff addresses his letter, enemy. What was the fate that overtook the workers who followed this principle of Social Demo- cratic leadership? Locked in their houses, isolated from each other, they were held as if | in a mouse-trap, They did no! secure posses- sion of either the approaches to these houses or the hills, from which the enemy’s artillery could with impunity bombard such positions of the workers as the Karl Marx House. By advising the workers to stay at home and wait for the outcome of the struggle of the Schutzbund, the leaders of Social Democracy clerred the streets | of the workinz class districts of the city for the government troops, which moved over them completely unimpeded. The government troops had the opportunity of taking one s ronzhold after another from the workers who were on | and, using the sacrifices and sufferings endured | by the proletariat for their demagogic ends, ; attempt to draw the Austrian workers, who are Cisappointed in Social-Democracy and are at tthe Parting of the ways, to the side of Hitler fascism. | We, Communists, look with the greatest con- | fidence to the future of the Austrian working | Class, We are firmly convinced of the final vic«- {tory of the proletariat throughout the world. This firm conviction gave me the strength dur- ing the Leipzig trial to look the ferocious enemy | Straight in the face just as the glorious fighters | of the Karl Marx House looked in the face of death. Beyond the incendiary fires and ruin, j beyond the slavery and misery, which fascism (Continued on Page 8) 3 i