1935 Comintern 7th Congress Part 1 Wilhelm Pieck.pdf

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o. 1SEVEN1' II WORI I) CONGRI.SS Ol­Till COMM 1ST I TI R A no ALWILHELM PIECKReport on the Activities ofthe xecutive Committee ofthe Communi t InternationalJ U L Y 26th, '935VERBATIM OFFICIAL REPORT••MODERN BOOKLI llTED, LONDO,

JU£PORT 01" TilE A( nVITIES of rilE. J·.XEfl nVlCOMMITJ'i!E OF TIII

Hul Ihi.1 " •• , th,' I)(). .. ilion not only of officia ' $ocilll-O cmo,r.II," Its IIIlhlt-llI'l'I)j'IWIr,lh'(lt'\'('n into our r.Ulks. II W.t~ th 'U ~hl ,"i m. II'" in till' St'dion'4 of till' (.'OIlIlIlUni!IIl. Ihnl C,lpll.lhsm had sucC('('( ~cd In 1"I:O',1(IJUSIII,18 itself.lnd th.11 thl' dt'wlopml'nt of teduuqm' was creatmg thero-,,,ibilily 01 ,k n('w ri .. t> of capitalism. The Rtghts abo assertedIh.lt all (',ldy \-iclory o( ~ ialism ill the Soviet Union was not'v bt, «IUlltl'f.l on and that a new n:;e of the rC\'olutiollary tideIII tIll' /H'ar [utun.' II'llS not to be ('xpectcd.As iI~,linst Ihl~' Social-Delllocratic and Right opportunistt.'OlIcl'ptiom, ('If tllC course of d~"elopment in the Soviet UnionC{1mradl' Stnhu -b.'ls ing himself on the leninist theory thn.t itj, ~,iblt' for one country alone to build a socialist SOCiety\\lIh its 0 \\11 forces and that the victory of socialism in theSoviet Union is of great international importance-led theSoviet Union along the p.1th of industrializ.1lion and the collec;.liviza tion of IX'asant fanning.In oppo .... ition to Ihe Social·Democrntic and Right opportunistconceptions tllat the capitalist stabilization was a durable andfinn one, that capitalism had triumphed and thnt a peacefuldc\'t'Jopmcnt without crises was possible, Comrade Stalin, inDl'Cl'mbcr J9Z7, pictured the following prospect:.. From stabilization itself, from the fact that productionis growing, from the fact that commerce is growing, fromthe fact that technical progress and productive possibilitiesan,.' increasing. whereas the world market, the Iimils of thatmarket and the spheres of influence of the individualimpcriaJist groups are TCmaining more or less stable-fromthb a most profound and acu te crisis of world capitalism isspringing. pregnant with new wars and threatening thec:xistcncc of stabilization of any kind. ".Comrade Stalin said:.. The filet that the murder of Sacco and Vanzetti cou ldgive rise to the demonstrations of the working class un.doubtedl), goes to show that deep down in the depths of theworking class there have accumulated revolutionary energiesthilt arc seeking a pretext, an occasion, sometimes an;lpP;lfcntly most insignificant occasion to burst forth andown\'11clm the capitalist regime. "t• S, .. hn. Rtp.J"lo 144 FI'tUMtA CC'U''''U 10 au c ps U'1 .1. ~ ' ..... .. .4On tlw ba!lis of thi, corr('(:t Marxillt:l..t'u;ni:s t an'~,l)'l'1of It;~world situation giVl'n by Commd(' St,.,hn. tlw SIXl'.1 WO\ •Con rt of Ihe Communbl Jnt{'rnatlona l~ a"- ag.utl!!1 ,t \ISoci~I-Ucrnocr.l1S nnd night opportunl~15, hud do. wn OIn ~ml'nrtntion to the (.(Ieet that Ilw impending IWW tlurd )l

communism, (rom support of capilali~m to II strugS" (, I ' I •. ,. 0 ,sOCIrt J ~ m .I.IS ~glln.In my rt'P

t.di,,' ,'u'/I(llll", il \\,Ii "uppowd, would 1t'i1~ to socialism byII,I\' uf l1;.uli.,illt·nt.1rr cll'IIlOCf,ICY. nnd Co.'tittlon Ro\'~'rJllncnls.(;uidt'd bl" 111t'~(' VIt'IIS, thl' SQ(UlI·f)clIlocrats "',ro\,t' for ~!i 1J'I ' "I",',."" with tht' bour"l'oi

Hul fltt" (' :.UtTt",St~ lUust nut blind liS I~ IIw .fllC't Ihat in1'111 IIUI", tlw.,,· ladies a l,ltIlIlbt'r .of st~ct;IrI;1Il ml s t'lk~'s weret',Jllllllllh.d Whil" Iht' ((ImmullIsls III C~('

t/I' conscnl of Ihe Illtljoril), of the workers of :I g ~ ven (aclory10 (',h, declaralion of tl strike and 10 creal e an JIldcpcndclitsl rike l:leaden:l tip elcctc(/, by ti le stl:ikcrs 1,llcrnse!,,:s, . ' .Althougll t he CO llllllllnl ~ l s ac t,cd rightly I~ l.,? lll ~n~ ,O~l t .1g' ll/tstthe traditional tlristocr:ltlc altitude of Ihl: rc!oll~ll ~b 10\\';"\ rdsthe unorganized workers a n ~J in fa vour of ~ r.l,\~ ' lIl? Ihe .lInol'.lfol nizt'

'hI' rOlll'se 01 indrpendt'lIlly IradillK the ecoll.omic s tnl ~a:: lcs , theCOlll1ll1luists, :IS a n~ ~ lIh of tonner Righ t Ims tld. ~s :1I!d thl! ill _lldcqU ll ft' orga niza rionll l consolidation of the Mlllol:ll y Mo\,c_1llt'llt , 1I' lnsic' ITI'(I,hr ir main work from Ih l! tradt, '~ nlo ll l)ro llPs.10 individual IlIt'lIlbus and (ro l11 tI, C trade 11Ill() I1S , tu Iheullorganized \\'orkNs, and set up their scallty (orces a ~:rl11 s i tllCwholll trade IIl1 ion 1Il0 \ '('lIlc nL Thf'sC mis rakc.s wen' OIgJ,: r:I\'IIt,cdbr the (aci Ihnr Ihe Commnnists n:gardrd Ih ~ MII~ U ntyand (/ I:o:co lll ln,llCdj\;OWIllC'1I1 liS rIle ~cml 01 new trade \In, IO JI ~l '('Cruilin~ workers for the trade unions, IssUIng :'PIX!,,, I:o: t~ JO!1l!lIe 111111\5 of rhe Minoril" ~l o \'Clll c nt. II mu!'! be bOllle IIImind fhnl Iltcsc misrakes ·were COllllllillcd by 0111" cUl11rades ina cou ntry where the reformist trade uniolls possess 1~ le oldes ttraditions. In such a state of aiiairs, Ihe COm lllUl,lIsts werebound to bt.--come ciltircly isolatt .. "(1 from the tr.lde '," 11011 mOve_mrnf, and the Minority ~l o n : lllent colfaps(..'{1. It ~ s only \\'ithg rt~at difticulty Ihat our Brit,ish commdes, h:wlIlg I't!a h ~edtlleir mistakes and correspondIngly .a ll ~red theIr .trade IItUonpolicy, arc managing to n'gain their mfIuence III th (.' trade•Ulllon movement.1t was prccisely the fact that the strength of the traditi~n sthat bind tIle work ing-class masses to the ol,d trade .Ulllonorgnnizaiions was underra ted, and tilat the maUl s,tress III OUrwork was la id 011 strengthening the Red trade lJn~ ons and 011building fCvolutionary trade ullions, that resu,ltcd III the Com.mUllists for several vears ncgit..'Cting work U1 the reformisttrade unions, allhougil such work was quit~ feasible. It wasmiturallll:lt this should llave very severely hmdered th e spreadof our influence among the masses of organized trade unionists.1n spite of alJ this, the fact remains that in the pre-crisesperiod, especially when the economic strike was the principalfoml of development of the class struggle, the Communistswere the chief initiators and leaders of the strike struggle in anum ber of cou ntries.During this period the CommunistParties gained in political strength and their ideological influenceamong the masses markedly increased, But they still did notbecome a force that was fully able to utilize the new situationthat has come about widl the outbreak of the economic crisisin t.he intt!rcsts of tIle class struggle of the proletariat.~h.is leads JUe to the second stage of the struggle in thepenod und~ review, the stage embracing the revolutionarymovement 10 the years of greatest crisis.II,TilE I(EVOI.ll '/'lONA ltY IoI0 \'I:':I>II:':NT I N Till! Yl!AltS orGHI! A'I' I!ST CU ISISIn the alit 1111111 of ' 929 thc industrial crisis bega n in America,which be(:allle iu tel'wove n with the agrarian crisis in thepcas:tllt cOlllltries and Ihe crisis in Ihe colonies, and whichspread wilh extraordinary mpid it y a ll over the c:lpitalistworld,Th is crisis brought appall in g: misery to the toiling: masses,Many millions of industrial workers and oflLce eJn ployoc"S weredisclla;S'cd Irom factories, mines, and offices. Accord ing to theHuJlctm of rhe Labour Office of the 1 ..e~ l g u e of Nations, the!lumber of IInemployc

IThis polk)' of plul1d1' riliK the 1>C 11 .'; of t hou." • •'" • \'.. " " 'II'" f I(i' f< 'rJOm WI!Sll ds (If 1 )t~as. 1II1 h OllSd lOlds and c o rulcllllllllg 111 1 U ) ~I .'j 0 IOllliC_h o ~~ s 1(lllln ~lI ish in misl·ry. In a !lumber ~ f CO~LI' .t7L~S ~k ln ~: I.ltsof tht, {f' udal :')'SI\-/U h:lvc ix'cn ri ·~[O rcd 01 S ~ ~"c:I 1: 1 Itll,cd: ,II,I,e)()() 1"t'S1 SIr:l HI 01 the » t :I.s.1.ntry have (allen pl ~~ ,to til t.: u :.llrel .'),Jl'he ",:\iliff hns bt!('Olllt' a pc rm:lllcnt .. ~lI e s l ,III ," ,H' l>casall!(nrllls. Famine devours whole :\griculll!f:tI r\ ·~].o ~l s III ~lo l ;~ lld.N OJ'[ II ~ Eastl'rll lap:lIl . ;Uld th e C.upatlu:lII . Ukr.ll ne. I o\ r ~ rty1111 d walll / lave ':"-1'"~"'-V c I /,e 101 o( •" lJr"'c • l'>sect JO Ii of t he A 1Ut:l"lcal\larnl(' l"s. "., I " " I u' th o f' cl tl -Tt ' I orror o f the SituatIon IS CIIlJ) 1.1;>;.I1.CC ) l. :1 ~.ItIt 1 • • II Irli" 'Ire bllrs ( m~ Willwarchou s t~S and corn -bans III a CO Ull ;>;. . p' • ff ' . I~ra i ll, E:rain is being tlSt"'!1 as fuel for l oco n ~o.IJV t _ ~, ~~~ i.'l: ISbt' in~ dumped into Ih e sea, while Ihe producel of Ihe;>;e corn·uuxlili('s- Ihc peasll llt- stMVCS. . . . ", ',' .1No beller is the situation of the IIrbfl1l pelt), oollrbcom t':, \\ lOseIInpo\'('ns , ' I unen IIS' t a keII..',I,''''..nt'l"'c• 0of b)' the trusts l>o' and bif.tocapit:llists in order 10 seize th e property at the p elty . u rgeOl~.The pcny. bollrgoois intellectuals arc steadily /osmg theu'IllCJIlS at subsistence tholls •• nels o{ teachers, doctors. lawycrsand e~pcci;dly engin t.--c'rs and agronomists arc lead il ~ ~ a wrctchedexistence ns unemployed. Kno.wlcd " and_n.bll ity l.ose_ aU.IIlcaliin wIl en the cn it;U.i§t are unableJg deflve proht fronltltem . .- 13ut still more desperate has become the sl.tuatlOn of !he/Mopln of flu.' colollies a,,~ lI~e depell~e"l cOlmlnes, who oW Il1.gto tile still greater reductIOn In the price o{ the product at theirlabour under the pressure of imperialist monopoly, and as theresult o( the high price o( manuf~ c ~urcd articles, hav~ beenliterallv ruined. Hundreds of millions o{ peasant.s In thecolonies arc s tarving. Epidemics: which \~'e re conSidered tolltt\'c bt."'C1l eradicated, break out WJth new vlflilence and exterminutethe physically-exhausted population. The hunger andwant o{ the unemployed of China, India. Indo-China and :\frica,(or wholl1 no relief of any kind is provided, baflles descflption.The avarice of the imperialist bourgeoisie, which has noconcern {or the starving masses, started a steadily rising tide ofmovements of the toilers against their exploiters and tormentors.These movements have become an increasing menaCeto the supremacy of the imperialists in the colonies and thedependent countries.16The Impni(l/isl /JQurgeoisie is seeld"l: (l II/ffyout it. tVar (HIdF(lsc/slIITile illqwria list hOllrs,~oi~ i c cannr)1 confi.nc it self 10 phrnd ~ r­ins Ihe lOililll-: Jrla ~scs. of liS . ~Wll CQlI lltncs. and Ihe coloma Ipossessions it had seized . I he acce ntll a~ l on of the d~ss51 fll l;~ lt·S, I he shrin.kage of profits, .1>:111 kruptclcs and 1I1e .decllneof foreign Jr:lde d rive Ihe bourf: COlsle to make prep:-. ratmlls for:t war in Mil er 10 increase their profits by seizing and pl underingforcig ll cUlllltries. These prcparat ions are simultancously andprimarily d cs i ~ n ed for the destruction of the So \:iet Union, .theJ JO Il It ~, tltt' l).lS IS and the bulwark of the prolct:lrIan revolutIOn .Thus a fmnt ie race for a.rm:unent s bcsins.Jnp:1II se izes l\lanchu ria. in order to create a stepping-offpl;ice lor :-. war a gai n s ~ the Soviet Uni?ll. She raze~ C ha~i.the suburb of ShanghaI. to the ground. In order to brlllg Chllla.under her innucncc. War breaks out between Paraguay andBolivia.III Germany, t he most react iOllary. e ha uvinist ic and na t iOlla li stclements of fmance capital set lip a fascist dictatorship. Theypropagate" th e myth of blood and honour," the" racialtheory," the theory of belligerent Gennan imperialism. Theypreach n crusade against the Soviet Union and for the exterminationof Mnrxism all over the world.Italian imperialism makes preparations for the annexationof Abyssinia, thereby creating a new centre of war. Indeed ,when it is a question of increasing the profits of the bourgeoisie,or, all the more, when it is a question of arresting the decline ofprofits, the bourgeoisie is prepared to commit the most heinous,gruesome and bloody crimes.Nevertheless, the growing revolutionary upsurge and theincreasing sympathy of the toiling masses for the Soviet Union,on the one hand, and the unprecedented plundering of themasses, the frantic arming for a new war and the organizationo{ fascist (orces by the bourgeoisie, on the other, go to show thattremendous class conflicts are impending. At the same timethey indicate the weakness of the bourgeoisie.'Tl~e first symptoms of the approach of these conflicts weremall1fcsted as early as 1930 and 1931. In Spain, the powerfuland spontane~us ~ass mo~ement in the spring of 1931 overthrewthe f~scl ~ t dtctatorshlp and drove out King Alfonso. It~as the beginning of the Spanish bourgeois-democratic revolutIOn.17

I r J. · rt Ill'\\' WI\\'t' of :l Illi-imperiAlist and a g ~a ria n revoh,.nl"",n,. . I I "'0 ' So'tlOIi s ta rfro. whicJ, found ,~ xprc~io n III t Ie orm: II () . VICtsflud tht' l'1'('!ll io n of n pow,'rful I\lx l ..\ nny. . '" "In / mlo-Ch,,/(/ , n n 'vo" o f the l)c'nsn nf m ,I:;SC:- hl oke OutIIKllinllt IllI' yoke of illll>l:ria lislll . . . ," , '"IJ' , '(0 md d is t ll rb."l llc(· of t hi' 11111>O:htlcal, cc~ n oml cand military power of the Soviet Umon was bemg consohdated,The Worki"g Class;s Seekillg a Way O,ft ill RevolutiM111e Communist International drew the attention oC all toilersto the Cact tllat in the Soviet Union the dictatorship of theproletariat has put an end to unemploymen! ~n the towns , ~ndto pauperism in the country, that the condition ~C the tOlh~glIlasses was improving from day to day and that In the SovietUnion socialism was victorious,The Soviet Union showed the toiling masses the only path ofsalvation (rom poverty, want and incredible suffering, This isthe path of salvation (rom fascism and war.The task that the Communist International laid upon itsSections was to make the mighty example given to the toiling18IIlfl SSCS of nl C world, by t he Soviet Union k.llown to th~Jlla ~ ses , to make Ihe great lesson a fforrled by Ilus example p.lrlof the fll's!! and h lO(U I of t hese Inasses, , 'This example was 10 Si/Plify tha i t he tOiling ,ma..'>Scs m ~ l s laoalldOl I ;'t Il the fral li lu lell t I heories of I he bourgeOis a ,~d Socll1 l·Dcmocl'll lic, Iha l inculcate in the working c1as,s Ihe Idea thalsi nCe crises arc natural to capitalism, Ihe work lil t:! ~ Iass shol~ld, , '''kl)' COIl St 'llt to hear the whole hurden of th e c m i lS ; theones11 1,-, " ' I '.Ihal jnc u!c:l te in tht: tOlh ng masses th e Idea t tal smce \\!~rsarc nat ura l to capitalism, ~h ey cannot prcv,en t lb(,1ll ; ,theonesthat inculcat e in thc t oiIJllg , m~ ~ses, the l

against ~ r'I..-xluctioll of relief and of the dur~!i o ll of relic!, andagnins! the rcpl ~cem en t of unemployment lI,lSIlI"tl IlCe by crisis.relief, III the United St~ t cs, where there IS 110 govCrlllllcntIIIlClIlp/Oycd insurancc, the Communists dcveloped a ~~m , }aigllfor the introduction of such insurnncc, drafted an IIlsuranccbill, organized demonstrations, mcc tings ~n,d congrcsst..'S on itsbehalf and gained the support of trade mllons and ~dvanCedintell cc tu~ls for th is, ,In all countrics the Communists led thc fight ~ga lIl st eViction!>of unemployed lor non -payment of rc l~t :Ul~ ,III !avour of thegr~ nting of additional relief by the IlHiIUClpahtles III mOlley andkind- potatoes, coal, and so for,th, ,Tllis fight was an extremely difficult one, , It ~\ as only by thecreation of a network of unemploye

ThaI is why, \\' iIeli the ffls

-..----Of/als ill Ille Orgall /Mhol/ 0./ rlu M (IS :> SlrlIt;J;II' 0/ 1111' To ilej'~'BUI why d id liI!"sl' s torlllY po lilical '.1I0n· Ill~·r lt s ~ f . lhe IOill' rsn' lIlilin hu', a (losh in the pan , pr(}d u(" l1lg 110 HI;!>O! Lilli resuh sin rllI'SlfliSS IL' for !iOcr.u ion ? Why \\, l·~ · t.' " It')' ,tl ill trails.fo rll1 ed illlO II po litica l mass slfuj:SI., as·ltlls t the houl"l{eoi.ssla te ? f . I w(",kl1L'ss" .Tht' causes lit' in the follo wing 0111' mati . .' ll> .I . Til (·s..: 1110 V(' 11 h' III S were I:i fJ:"d Y s 1?O ~ll:'tIl ~ '" :

Altm)'s rm'lIl fire Ainul,f nml nf fll(: Ileall oJ lhl MasslsIn n Humber of cases th t~ COlllmunists al,so o\'t'rcs tilllait'd th .politica l maturity of the masscs ;I ~J(I bdl c \ :c~ 1 that hard all~stl't' IHlOII:; work was 110 longer rc qll~rt'd {O tr,un tI,ll' maSSes fortIlt' polil ica l struggle and to COllVlIlCt' tltl'lIl of Its nccCSSi t},Tlu',\' lwlkv("d thll l it was suflicitllf 10 cnr~y on propaganda i~favour of &)\'it:1 Govcrlllllclit a,nd 10 expl:lln to, tite l11a sSes theprogr.ullmc wInch the ComlllUfIl:Hs would carry IIlt o e{fcc t whcllIhey Iwd scitro power, ill order to persuade the workers tac('ept IIl cir leadersllip, Th es (~ false idc;l ~ I ( ~d , several Co m~nlitTlist Partif's to bt'collle trnnsformc,cl at !lIlli'S mlo ~ll~ re pro.p.,gandn Oega llS tor our programme, 1II.5 te:\(1 of cOlllbuling pro.paganda in f:t\ 'our of our pros r:lITlmc WJth Iht ~ tas k of SlIpplyinthe masses at the propt' r time ~l'ith slog:lIls that would 1lI0bili1.~them for the struggle at the gwen stage.These erroncous ideas entertaincd by numerous COllllllunistsmunifcslcd themselves primarily in the trade union questionand the de\'eJopnwnt of the economic s truggle, The Com.Jlllmists who ha~ 1 been, expelled (rom the rcfom~is t tJ'ade unionsadopted a hostJ!e attitude toward the reformIst trndc unionson the supposition that the more we denounced the rcfonnistorganizations for their p-,ssivity. their sabotage of s trikes andtJleir reformism, the more rapidly would the masses brea k withthem spontancously and go over to the small trade unionskele ton organizations of tllC Communists,Tile Communists failed to note what Comrade Stalin had saidon May 9. 1925. to the Moscow Party func tionaries :., 1f the Communist Parties wis!) to become a real massforce capable of advancing the revolution. they I11l1st link upwith the trade unions aJld rely upon them for support."Comrade Stalin pointed out that some Communists" do not0: tmdcrstand ~hat. goo? bad, th~ mnk-and-file worker regardsthe trade lImOJlS as hIS Citadels, hiS s trongholds, which help himto maintain his wages, his working day. and so forth,".And it was precisely in the time of the crisis, when uttermisery fell to die lot of the toiling masses, that the rank-and_~Jc \~ 'orker felt ,'ery strongly that his trade union, however badIt m~ht be, ~\ 'as n~vertheJess able to give him legal aid andcertam mat,enal assistance even if slight, that his trade unionw~ ~ deJimte power-and he therefore did not want to breakWith Jt,In a number of countries the Communists made the mistake26---- -of ij:;uori ng th ese SSit y o( .. d{!Stroying" the reformist tradeIIl1 ioll S, therehy helpillg to isolat..:: the Communists (rom theorgan i1.cd workers,In Allleri C:I, the CommulliMs for a long lime dcclar(:d thatt he America n Ft.·dem tioll of L.."l.hor was a purely c."l.pita list strikebreakingorganization, they saw only its leaeler. Green, andovcrloohd Ih c workers,In thc autumn of J93Z, the Izth Plenum of the E ,C.C, I.condemned the rather widespread idea that " lhe trade unionsarc a school of capita lism, " Jt was only in the a.utumn of I93Ztha t the Communist Party of Genna ny issued to the Communiststhe slog:tn of defcnd ing the IabOllr organizations a nd the irpropert y. which helped to arouse strong symp:Hhy for theCommunists among a ll members of the trade unions. cooperativesand the Social-Democratic Pany. It was with stillgreater delay- in Germany only even a fter the advent of Hitlerto power- t hat the Communists issucd the clear slogan ofdefending the Free Trade Unions, followed by the slogan ofrestoring the Free Trade Unions, It took a long time beforethe importance of work in the trade unions was grasped by theCommunists in the other countries,On the other hand, a mistake equally as grave as the underestima tion of the fascist danger was the fact that fascism wasdiscerned even where it did not exist. This mistake was dueto .the ~ac t that a. number of Communist writers gave a mechamcalmterpretatlOn to the declaration of the Sixth Congressthat, the bourgeoisie was incre.1Singly endeavouring to resort tofaSCist methods of rule.In Gennany, the Communists for a long time held the viewthat ~he Social-~em?Cratic Hennann Muller government wasworkmg for fasclzahon, that the Bruening government wasalready a government of fascist dictatorship,On the otherhand,. they underra~ed the Hitler movement, by the assumptionthat ,m a country hke Gennany, where the working class wasso highly organized, the Hitlerites could not possibly seizepower, and th~t the petty bourgeois masses who were spon.taneouSly flockmg to the Hitlerites would just as rapidly tumaway from them,

In Austria, :\5 cndy as 1929. the Schober gov~ nlJ~l ~~H Wasdt-x:l:m .-d to be a f:lscist govcrnmcllt. In Cz(:c ho s l ov .~ kli l , theM ~~ryk-Bcn cs /:1'0111' Wl\S branded by ,the COIllIllUl1JSl s as aia ~cis t group. There arc many similar Ulstanccs of erroll eousestimates. I .TJ esc CITo n COllS ideas of the n:'llure of a sc l s l~ . and thefascism~u ll cd in the Communists being unable 10 launch slogans at(aiJu;e- to make a serious study of Iral ian and P~ h s.h:;;, )~ r time calling Cor the defence. of the rCIllIl ~ nt s ofbo~' J eois democracy :lgninst fascism, wluch w:ts a~t1m lll~ tJ,leo ff e llS/lie,

n" b'I'" 'II ,twir tactics, ill ordN . in spite u( the tl .rcat \Ift'XI II} I " / ' UCCt'SS" (orunitiveIIi':\: )t.-'diliolls. fO s('Curc 1.).1.1' HI !5 0.;:; h' lle:t.~ n l ' snd; :.s a part inl n'tiliciioll in Ih ( ~ ralc's t,f forced la bolLr:I~d~' fI'('luclion of th e road buildiilJ: ~on'.~ ~, l!I C .•. : .I~I ( ~ thus to1't"lIill thcir illilUt'lIce a lllOn;:: ,'htl pe a s.HIIl ) ,uHI PII':SCI Vc theirol'l:O niZll riolis for Iht' futu re lig ht. . ".In COllntrirs where Ih(~ 1 l\~a ~ llllr)' . dlln ll~ tI ll: l 'n StS. III COn.Si'qllt' IlCC of the misery Ihal .h ~d atl1l c l ~'< 1 t helll: , b~·~at. ' . to (h .-n,I,d " lm(' ks 0 11 the bo llrgo.;,() l sl~ : •. ~hc C~ II.lIII\l Jl I :;b. ,1tl1);sl'(1 Ihe0' )()rtul1ilY of furnishing the I'ISlIIg pc.I,:.a U! Il~~\ o.; ll l (' rl( wi thti1f.,ing slogn lls din .. "Cled ngainsl the O IlIl.I ~ I~ t ~. II.I.;C. of 1II~1II0 1~ lycn pil:ll, which wns mining the f,Cas..'lntJ} •. 1E-;.lIll:,l 10\\ pnccsand the" thralldom of il1t ercst.1 n G I crc ,1,.- d,','contcnt of the pcasa ll t maSSes h"'1, (1'11/("'1)', WI .. , •assunw(/ vast proportions, as a rcsl,llt of ro b~ cry prlccs, taxesnnd usurious interest, the CO IIIIIlUl~I S I Party JU the :lU,tlllllll of193 1 publisJuxl its prog rn l~lllle of ~\ld ,to th: l )c;~ s: lIIt s , I ~l "',hichit advocated the cancellation of debts, the ,100bt101l oflll(lirecttaxation and the expropriation of the large esta tes and d cmandedgovernment aid {Of thl~ toiling peasants, On the s t rcng th ofthis programmc, a group of NOrl h ,Gcrman J>C,asant Ictld ers,who had been {omlerl}, connected with the fnsc is t movcment ,in 1931 turned to th ~ Communist Party, 13ut the .CO,'.lllllllllistParty, by rcason o[ Its lack of cadres ? ~ flI :-J.1 O: ?" lIl1ZCrS andpropagandists, was unablc properly to cxpJalll t111 ~ pr~gl'amillcin the rural districts and thus counteract the h'TowlIlg mflucncco[ tIle fascists, who made wide play wi th thcir "

undt'r Ih(' b.."IIIII.'r o{ "lll rxi:m l . lI'('re ,SlllllslJI'd by n band o f I " .b " 'rs OU(' of lilt' 1I10S i proj.:: fl.'S... 'Vt' ;lIId cultural", (I . )l:sllillru ~ , ( I . J (;\,\-10""'flpl.,s f"/1 limier tl u:: S \~ , . I)'0 Ill' ',110:. 1 n ';u': llollary and I~'dchll uvinis tic r~arty of /!naucc ('31'11:11. :\ cultu rally l ,n,IOstcil-w/npl'cj COIII!!ry Iwc.'II)I' a ho~b~ i:~ ,~f I : llro~k.· .ln 1 ' l'; I C li ~~ JII~" r,,'SOIll ' l o rfLu'c chnmllt'r, tilt" IIb l lJ.:.II OI of.\ Ilew \\'" " \• ,. I 'I ' ( 'UT'It' qu('slioll of w/lc [lU'r I Ie ~Ol U1J.: lII a!'> ~i'S (l ,GennaIlY '.hu\'!' (1\,1' 1'1('(1 this Ctl ltls trophc IS Ollt' fralll;Iu with sil::ni li ~Ol ild1'1I('r(,'c:111 be 110 doubt thnt Ihey could ,have dOlle so, Bt~;tJI C~ .\\'0 11 1

• z•struggle and 10 ,prevent t~I C fascist dictatorship. In th is tlCOllllllunists aelueved comw lcrabll! success. But I hey were ,,'e. I ' f f ,., . . otable to clulngc the. relations IIp 0 . orees ~ v aUlIng at ~ hat till le:'IS /00.1::' .15 the Soclal·Democrats (ltd 1I0t ,I oa ndoll their hOStilenttitude to the united frorll :l.Ild the struggle .Now let the workers of Germany. lei the world prole" , 'If"1;\1judge who bears the blnmc for the German (c e:n. Let IhernJc.-.rn the bloody lesson of the German evcnts: that this defewas possible only because the maJOrity.',0f ,IIe wor'm!:k'classats till blindly followed Ihe Social-Democratic Party, allowed thwarnings of the Communists to 1),155 tlJlhc~l cd a nd rcjcctcJthcstruggle. There arc " l~c { t " also-r CV?'Ul lOl1nries who COIl1forward and maintail1 that the COllllllUIlISls should have con,:menccd t,he ~ Iruggl e, regardless,o{ th e (ad th:H such ~ struggleo{ tile mmont)' of the proletanat WOt!ld have end ed III defeat.TllCse llCroCS of the pseudo·rc\'olutJOnary phrasc refusc tounderstand that this would have involved ~ n even greatedefeat and the total annihilation of the revolutionary cadres o~the German proletariat.The Gemlan proletariat lIas suffered a def~at, The Corn.mu?ists did not and do ,not want th~ revolutIOna ry cadres topensll out of pure llCrolsm. That lS not the finest kind ofheroism, They want them to organize new struggles and newvictories, (Applause,)Tile Bourgeoisie H(ls Fm'led 10 We«km lite Figllitug Spirit of theJtfassesThe defeat of the proletariat in Gennany, olle of the mostimportant strategic points of the international class struggleTCSulted for a short time in retarding the growth of the revolu~~ionary mass movement and in temporarily halting the matur.mg of the elements of a revolutionary crisis in Poland as well.:rhe defeat in Germany emboldened international reactionIncreased the menace of war, intensified the pressure exerCisedby the bourgeoisie on the working class and multipJied the effortsto estabJish a fascist regime in other countries too,At the same time that the fascists were attacking the toilersof Ge-:many. t~e J?roletariat succeeded in achieving a numberof major vlctones III other countries, The Chinese proletariansand peasants established their Cltillese Soviet Republic. In themd~tary campaIgns undertaken by the Nanking governmentgamst the Red Anny, the masses of the people displayed34illspirillg exa mples of heroism and devotion to the revolution,In view of lhe altac,k of the J apanese im perialists and of therefusal of I he Na nklflg government to resist this attack, theChinese Soviels misc

o cap''In','"." bul ill (avour of socia lism,, "1101 in favour o f I'Iebour~I'() is ii '. bul in ((wo,lI r of " ,Ie pro eI ~ n . t .t :.I now come 10 rl H' "ure! S ( 'c tr ~ n ~f tlu ~ -:~~()d ',',nder revicI\'.w1l iell roW'rs t '/(' swi 11K u f ,Ilc' Socia lIS I worhr ~ I 0\\ ,I I (Is a II II i [ \!olroul ,dIll the COllullullis l S.TIfE silwr OF TilE SOCIALI ST \\'OHIU: tcia lism isinducing miHions to change their views and opinions completdy.In this situa tion a change is taking place in thesentiments of the vast numbers ot workers, and especia lly in thesentiments of the Social-Democratic workers and the workersoq:ra nizrd in the re.lonnist trade unions,The first expression of this change was, firstly, the unitedn",J ot the world proletariat, spontaneously created on a widescale tor the detence ot the prisoners of Leipzig, where theourageous delence of Communism by Comrade Dimitrov was36-of gre;lt historica l importance for the achievcmcll.t o f a .unih:dfronl. Seco nd ly. tbe resort of the worke rs to ,tc::tlVe rcSlsl:mccagainst fascis.111 ill ~h ci r OWIl chlllilry. The pro lt ; tar~at no longer)' idds 10 fa '>Clsm wlt lLl;'1I1 a S I I · ll gl:: ~ C. a !'. was the ea ~e I!I G~rmall r ,but replied to till' fa SCist altae k with a grlleto/ sink" III J'ranee IIII:ebnlary 193·1, and a n (lrmrd :.Imggle in Austria in FehruaryJ ~J:H. and in Sp:dn in O~lob c r 1 9~4 . .T he armed s trl1Sgic In Austria and S p:l1Il rcvc:tled tiletrelli endous fighting' pOwer of the \\ 'o rk i n ~ eb ss, the boundlessheroism alld sclf-sacrifll:C::, the revolut iona.ry firm ness andendurance of the fibhti n ~ workers. The brave Schutl.biindlers.th e heroes of Floridsdorf. thc defenders of the Karl ~la rxHouse and tllc Goethe HOlisc in Vienna, Kolomann Wallisch ,Engineer Weisse! and Miinichreiter will for ever be rememberedin the history of the proletaria ll struggle for emancipation.Th e heroic miners of Asturias. the first Sp.anish Red Guards,the dcfelldcrs of Oviedo-Communists, Socialists, anarchists,and non-partisans-ha vc covered thcmsclves with immortalglory. We send our greetings to the thousands of Spanishrevolutionaries who a rc pining in the dungeons of LerToux andGil Robles, to the leader of the Spanish Socialists, Caballero,noW languishing in prison,On the other hand, those Soc ial ~ D emoc rdtic leaders who fledthe field of battle and forgot the elementary duty of ba.ttlecommanders, have covered themselves with shame and disgrace.The leaders of the Spanish anarchists, who betrayedthe struggle from within and acted in conjunction with Lerrouxand Gil Robles, have covered themselves with eternal shameand disgrace.Comrades, let us recall the tresh revolutionary breez.e thatswept through the working-class quarters of the cities of thewhole world at the news of the events in Austria and Spain!How the heroic struggles of the proletarians in defence ofOviedo stirred the toilers of a ll countries! What enthusiasmthe banner of the fight for Soviet Government raised in Asturiasinspired in the heart of every worker IThe Batlkrflptcy of Social-Democratic PolicyBut why, unlike the armed insurrection of October I9I7in Russia, did the anned struggle of the proletariat in February1934 in Austria and in October 1934 in Spain not result in thevictory of the proletariat?37 F

-';;11 ' fh e mOJIIH"('hy was oyurthro1W Il ill J\ pl)t"! 193 1 , ali it~ n OV"rlhrowlI ~ raln . ill l ~tJ ss.. w lI III 1- ' c " urti. " I '" , Inl7 "{' C S • I)'l.uisl lW:l!; "" d - tic rc\'OIUlioli began. Unllkt- IlLe Bol :;;hcvik s1>0111"1;1'0110- ('1110('... . ' I ' I ' ' .. tl " -"""" tou ,·ht (or fOl lllllllJllg tIl' 10,; \ '0 III IO U II,", I Will IC;X" r- I r . "r '_I < ....' I'-"J'oil1 t> e , . ~ t> ~ , _, ..'.' ,'I G ard Ihe Sn.'lnish SocialistS \'01";(.1 fOI tlil applOpllallUIlSC ,\ I ,II., r' ) r I r ' 1"",1 'a " from 'fOT its fllrthl~r cx tellsioll , a.nc a tel' I :; t ,";, :;.,;, pnSOn,'\ )OinICd the monarchist General Sa n .JurJo, \~ h O . h ~d takell• PI , . s, ,I'e r"p"biic commander of dlls CIvil Guardup nnns agalll .... ' I 'which wns charg(..'C1 with the ,du.t.Y ~( protect.lII £: t 11:, rc p\ ~blic ,IIl

l){lnniI 1t'

•S"ra SSff oj 'nr I 'lIilrd FrOIl! (1m/ tlu A I/ti":,H( iM I 'NIl)!,' \ Fr01,tTil(' s tru~le in F"",a , wh ich assume',1 biJ.:' d i, lth " ' ~io IJ S illFebruary 193./. in i,ts ~ ,~I ~ nl rd :lSpCCI !:,t",n:W 1t:rI 0 ,',1 . ~ I')\\'cr IC\'

•1934 II I/HI" 10 I~I (' uuiled f ~o ~ 11 :)f the, Comm L U\i~ l ~ andSo C'iA ill" IS, lIud whlt h !,f(cclL'd 11 :-. gu 'at 1I1.lfCh ~)U ( •• SCISIIl OIl'I I ' 'i 1i')1 'i, has shown I hi' toilers o f :'t il COI.ulInes fhal only a.;U\';i'NI fi ~ h i of Ih(' loikrs bllsecl on n',:ohtll t1 l1 ar y y ,ctks Cann'pe-' dl(' (lff"lIs;"", of capital li nd fascism and foil the war.1l1(1 l1gL' rs. 1 1 'ITh,' fight o f the Frt'llch p,rolctar.i:tl ,has ~ 10 \\",', ~ ,II', 101 ~ I "s IloWIhl' prolc rnri:1I IIlIlSI ne l III capilaJlSI (; O tlnllh ~ III old er torrpulse tIll' a llacks of fascism :111~ 10 iii 1. I St: ~f . f~ ' t l l ~, COllq l,'{:stof Ihe dictatorship of the pro]cta nal. tor SocI,II! .., n," I he ',lnHed(I'Ont agff't' llIt ll l h{'f wccn t ile Socialists nnd Ihe COlllllllllllSt s inFr:ll1c(', whit-h II,c Socialisls accept ed on1r II lld ~ r the pn:s.surcof Ihe masses a nd aga insl the will of .the bxcc utl \"t! COllunutCf!o f the Second Jllt ('rn:lIional. has I>OUlI N I tIlt' w~y to be fol.10 w L'{1 by the LeI! Sod :d· Democrats of !l1~ ,~ OIll~tI · !eS. ' "United front ah" I"CCnH:nts have ~'C n :e,~ c h cd bCI\\eell th eCOIllJllunists a nd Socialists in Austria, ~pal!1 anrl . ltaly, whileImilcd front mass action of the workt' rs IS ta~lfl !{ pl ace in/::"g/alld, the Uniled 5Ia/ts. }JO It~II~, C:~c" o~/ot' (Ila(l .:l ll{~ .manyotlwr cOlJ lltri(·s. where the Socl:lhst I art) .Ieaders , h.ke theEXlx:utive Committee of th e Second In t.crn atlona l, cont lll uc ton·jcct all ai!l"C

• 10 c/h.'Ck the tremendous influence cxc .. ~isl."( 1 hy the•IOll'ycra0 I on )c . f" -0" 1·.·.· ••" ."belwl! of the fig hting 1I1lt!)' 0 :\ I!' t;. , .. :.I G ~u n s t('~Il and wa r. Stilllcss arc they succt.·cdJllS III chcd\lll{,;' Iheg~in~ influence exerted on t h ~lOi!ing nl S'""~~ -. of U l h,c wholeworld by the victory of Socialism '0.\ III t!IC lei " , ilion.I cl the Social-Democrats hold posts III the go,\~: IImCIl!s of, . I ' D . k Sweden an( j, orway 'elCr.ccl!o;;]ovak,:l l3eg-lllm• enllur . t' " •th~ L'\I~ur Par',), leader.; lake over the S'o ~ ' c rnll,l cnf l~l ,,!o llSland.' I ,t ap:1IJ1S1 t Ie :1:5CISIS_ th- the Communists Will support t ie' . u' I C;~~~kit~fei~l~~~~;~ll!~~ ~~~~n;;~C!lIh~~'bi l~:f;~ sll~ ;~llll~ c~t: ~I,~~ .un~~ f;l~~t ~;!i_Dc lll ocr;tt icministers in ~zec h oslovakia,DCllmar k " S \\' cd en an d No ~ " O ) ' arc not conductlllg a real fiSht! ".... '~~;~~!~~S~ple are alanne

st'("u l ioll . the II nilNI {ronl lx'aN witu t~ 1>.'" tu tilt' Ir~ l ll e ll .... lIIa' :>I'S and thl-irtlll~ ~~\ .olllljon jzillJ.: o f tilt' \\'orkill~ . cla s.(011 "';, c_ 10 l1Ia h ' sacrifict's for the rt-' \'ohllionary :- lrll ~t.:Jc .r,'lI( 1 IIII'SS f I British I Ih(If ,III'I''h 'rc l~ million IIlt' lII bus 0 I Ie _ .' .11, a rtyh'nd IOwar(ls 11 IInitt'(l (nlll i with 11,11' (0111111111 11 " ~ ).. rt.y. thi!(. 1' ;>;< Ihrlf WI' hl\\"(' h,'I'(' S O I11 C lhlll~ !Illlch IlIl Jl \ Ih.1I\ theIInp 1( ", • f I I '0 II.'trt i,''' · it ' I·llrilhnlt'liral sum of ,h,' {o l'r cs ,0 t \I' II" . '" • . ','IIP ICSroclw r ,ha t the m a.sst':; arc tUrlilIlS {ro Ul It (01 1111. 111 to .1 1\'Vo lu.donar)' policy. . . I' . . . .The unit('{1 /rOIl I is tlh' iirs l slrp (O\\ 1I1< .li O\U COI II,1Il1-! theS[llil i;l t h I' working-clas ... 1ll 0 , 'Clllt' ll t , tO II·II I ,'ds. ' ," \Crc.lI lO 11 of a.. I I ' " :ul,' of III

evolution in which the ideologiC'll an~ :lls.o, in it,s initial formthe slate hegemony of the proletanat IS ,realized, In th~Chinese work inS' class the colonial, pro,letarmt has proved illpractice its ability to se ttl~ great IlI s~~nca~ problems, to main_tain [he complete econollllC and poh llcal 1,IIdependence of thecOllntry, to com pletely abolish {cud'll ~ urvlv als, to put a u endto large landed proprietorship, to c ~ C l se the cancer of USury,and to undertake revolutionary changes that clear th e way forthe victory of socialism, ,The policy of the Chinese So vi e~s , the pra~ tlc~1 measures theyhave taken , which ensure a defimtely tangible l111prove ll~ e llt inthe conditions of th e workers and pcas~I,lt s, ~re helpIng toawaken the masses of toilers to act ive pohtlcal,h,le and rapidlyto raise the level of their organization ~Ild political conscious_ness. Among the toilers of the Ku~mllltang areas ?f China,who live under condHions which deprive thel? of. all rlgh~ s andreduce them to ruin, starvation and extennllla~lOn, whde thcKuomintang regime condemns . them to contmued ,colonialslavery, the conviction is growlIlg that only th~ S?vlets ~a nsave China. Wider and wider masses of the tOllc r~ of CIHnaare coming to realize that the Soviets are the on!y fo rc~ ~a pab leof defending the unity and independ.ence ~{ ~ hma , llmtmg thecountry, repeHing the attacks of !he Impenal,ls.t co nqu e rors.~ ndensuring a radical improvement m the condition of the tOilmgmasses, .The successful development of the Soviet movement III Chinais arousing enthusiasm for revolutionary s truggl~among .thetoilers of the whole colonial world, for whom the Clunese SovIetshave become a model and a banner of the revolutionary strugglefor freedom ,• • • • • •Comrades, tllis brings me to the conclusion of t~e analysis ofthe three periods of the struggle. Let us summan7.e the resultsof the development of the international labour movement sincethe Sixth World Congress.The insufferable economic yoke, the absence of all prospectof improvement in the condition of the masses within theframework of capitalism, the direct danger of war, the blindfury of the offensive of the bourgeoisie against the Jast remnantsof democratic liberties and parliamentarism, and the attemptsto establish the fascist regime of blood and terror in more andmore countries, are causing the wave of the struggle of theproletariat in the capitalist world to rise higher every month.50•I•The Soviet Union is increasingly becoming a. centre of attractloll(or the loi li r>g: m,ass{."S, \~hi ch means that the idea of theIcCCSSity of estabhshmg their own Soviet Power is maturing:11 the rn i l ~ds of the m ~cs.No passlll g: ch a ng~s III the economic situation, no manceuvresof " Left ,. a~d Soc l ~d - D emocrati c govcrnments can altcr thismajor trend III the development of the international labourmovement. ,This upsurge III the lahour movement and the increasingdesire of the n~a~ ,:s to fi g: ~lt for Socialism, show that therevolutionary CriSIS IS matunng: all over the world,J n OW come to the part of my report dealing with the stateof affairs in our Sections.IV.T il E CO)IM UNIST I NTERN ATIONAl. AND JTS SECTIONSTo-day, more than ever before, the development of historicalevents depends on the degree of consciousness and the state oforganization of the wO,rking class, on the skilful and clevertactics of the Commulllsts, on the might and strength of theCommunist International.In his report to the Seventeenth Party Congress of theCommunist Parly of the Soviet Union held in January-FebruaryI934, Comrade Stalin said :" Some comrades think that as soon as a revolutionarycrisis '?Ccurs the, bourgeoisie m~st drop into a. hopeless position,that lt~ e l~d IS pre-determllled, that the victory of therevolutton IS assured, and that aU they have to do is to waitfor the bourgeoisie to faU and to draw up victorious resolutions.This is a profound mistake. The victory of revolutionnever comes by itself. It has to be prepared for and won.And only a strong proletarian revolutionary party can preparefor and win victory, Moments occur when the situationis revolutionary, when the rule of the bourgeoisie is shakento its very foundations. and yet the victory of the revolutiondoes not come, because there is no revolutionary party of theproletariat sufficiently strollg and authoritative to leadthe masses and take power,I t would be unwise to believethat such' cases' cannot occur."Comrades, we must confess that such .. cases" frequentlyoccur, that such .. cases .. may be repeated if we do not take51

FaM'1 by Ihe rapifl llblllldOllllH'nl of rt' (on~ l i ~ 1IIII)' l ilt.: 11I:ls'it.S, 0(1 It , "II' dn n~ I ' r of prolclllria n rt · \ · tJ llI lI.~ II , till' I )(H I.r~ , ·o i " i ~fI~~IA I I(l 11s tl i ll J: ,Itt' In:;:1 1'I'l1ll ll1 l1l s of 1 )() l lr':':l.'OI.~. cl t· II ."l(' ra . ~e lih"I'., I " nN~ "" " lt inIl S of fhl' I'rolc l,LlJa.t. 111. P , I ~S I ve :tlld ~ 110 a rc turn i 11K a wa y(rolJl rd ol 11 U:.III ,I lid fo r. I II ,,; [11:.t III IlC a 1"0; bc mg s t i rred into act iOIlThe m e l hods II I a J.;l t a tlulI ami prupaJ.(:tnda adopted by lh ~fa scists ,tilt! m;m y other l~ lI r~eo is parties and their leaders 6 0s ho W I h a l' 0t he hourgcol:' l..:: IS I..::cl ilw its weaknc •• 'I I. .. " ,"" an d " lal ' Itis nO 1011/-)cl" a ) e to tn a ll1 tam It S rule by openly cumin' out forcapitalism hd v rc .t h\: m a .. ,>scs. . gMany o f o u t" ag.lta t urs :lIld ed it ors hclieve that it is our dUly'0 co.,iVe ;\.theuretlcal•proo f.that tlte slowu,,' of , " bo ' ,0 ' c u rgCOISlcarc lI nSele n t lfi c am.! not 1/1 ltannollY wit h \lar,',s, - L , ' , ,'f'l .. . , . cntmspolitica.1 cwnolily. . lat IS qultc useless. It is o ur duly toprove .'n every po:'slb.ic way th at the bourgeois leaders aredeceivlug t he masses ,,".Illt these slogans, tha t no bourgeois Xlftc.'UI pu t t h ~se slogans m ~ o effect, and th a t only Soviet gdver:ment call IIber:lIe lhe toilers from the domi na tion of lhe banksand the trusts, f ~ ·o tn the yoke of capital and from IlOV ,starvat lOll'au(Imisery,cr y,I! i ~ our,?uty to prove to .the m ~sscs that Germ an " National.Socialismdoes not con tam a slI1sle grain of socialism. Th(ascist d C lll ag~g u e~ arc endeavouring to dl'Ck themselves in th~toga of peoplc.s trlbullcS who arc protecting the" interests" ofthe whole Ita lion.It is therclore our duty to e x~e them as agents of thepowerful trusts and the cannon kmgs, to show the masseswhat lies behind til e legend of national unity and how a handfulof C

TIlt' Communis ts. who ~rc org~ lIi zi nb a cOlIsb l?1II fightn,r:nins l IIii' capitalist offensive, fa:KISIII alld, W.'lr, arc III favOllo f Iht' !!lIitN I (rolll as n form o f tlnity wInc h call h I' r o..:a li ~t.~i 111111 (">(1 i(lIl'l)" ,But IInil)' of :H'lion is IIOt ,elloll811, " ht~ , ~ hall ~l' that h,lS11Ikt' IJ pillct' nlllon~ tlu: IIHISSeS III COIll~l!c tlOlI \\lIh t,he, C ha ~l ge illtilt' world si lU ;1 tion callS(,:d by the \'lclOry of suclallsm ill theSoviet Ullion lind tile facl that in 11101''': and 1I l(~ rc C ~lI l1lri es thebourgooisifl nrc ildoptillK the Illcrh?,'s of fasclsI, dl,cIalol'ship,hilS rt~s \llh'd in Iht~ Soci:!.I-J)cmocratlc lll a ss ~'S bt'g m '~ IIl K 10 hU'ntowards the IInih~d frout spoutallcollsly , , Bllt 1111,s do,cs Ilotmean that If It: masses will cOllie O Vt'f 10 COUlIllUlIlSIll Jllst a.1ispontnn('ollsly, ,The workers :':Ire in favour of a Ulut ed party,. ~HII ,ltey oftenpicture the creation of s ti ch n parly in too si n,lpltll ~ d a form. Ifnl/ the rC\'olutioll :':l I'V workers arc to be mnted III Olle party,tfw masses thelllse.h'Cs I11l1st widely discuss the prot; ralllllle andtactical (lu C's tions and [he aims of the s tru g~Ic ,A rcal united IXl rty of Ih e prolelariat C;1 1l be c real~1 Olll)~ onthe basis of unity of programme, slrategy an~t ta c lt ~s. rheprogram me :mcl tactics of the Social-Democratlc Parties ,havesuffe.red bankruptcy, The programme. s tratcgy and tactics ofIhe Communist lntcnlaliona.l have slood cvcry t est. We havetherefore evcry renson for cxplain in~ our programl~le , ~aclicsand strategy to thc Social-Democratic \\:orkcrs, lor hghtmg onthis basis for the union of all revolut IOnary forces and forassuming the offensive ~Igain s t reformism along the. whole. front,COII/llct wil}1 the Mftsses-a LaUl of BolshevismJ now come to the condition of aliI' Sections (rom the pointof view of organiz.1.tion. Our Sections in all countries havegrown Ix>litically and numerically. But their organizationalgrowth does not correspond to the growth of our influence, andthe result of this may be that the Communist Parties may notbe equal to the tremendous tasks which the political situationimposes on them in the matter of leading the masses.The organiz.:1tional growth of the sections of the CommunistInternational in countries where the movement is legal is atpresent being primarily hindered by a number of shortcomingsin recruiting new members, in the work of educating them and inbuilding up the Party organizations, This is especially borneout by the SOe I1; lra lc 1Il1 ~ ~h.c oq,;anization, Yet in the illegalSect.'o ,~ s tli: ]11'\\ m : :Jlb?I,S ,li e as a rule better trained , betterdi SC IJ)lInl'd .,tll d more ,Icll\ e. But here, 100, big dcfects arc to beobserved,Very oft ?ll lite ,c ~lIs arc nyt }xliitical organizations whichdiscuSS various P,oitllt.:al questlo,ns, nnd this stale of nffairs is b,0 IIlcnns aCGISIOlled by mo t]Ves of s ~'c rccy '\'\ 11 Y, ,,' , '. ~' .r efrequently merely orgalllzalions fo r COllect ing m"",be l ' dor for (Istn \' 'butmg' \,art yfIIl1 ct]On's,... rSlIp uesIn many,organizations,.both in,'"the lc"ul an(1 ',1\eg"'"Isec"Ions ,a vcn tablc sec /a rulII f.car of an mfiux of fonner Social-Democraticworkers prc\'atls, In many of the organ,',a,' ,1' , . , ' Ions 10Germany I liS scC l:':lnan Spirit reached such lenr' ,i" 'h , ,' t1, d' , f d ' , ~ a CI lerspecwl call I lions a a miSSion ~\'e re drawn up fo r former Social-Dctno: rats, o ~ ~h e.y were orgal1lzed in special cells; frequentlyexcess,,:e political demands were. al50 made on them, Suchan attitude towards {onne.r SOCial-Democrats bears witnessto a co~nplcte.. lack of understanding of the change ofspi rit that IS lakmg place among the Social-Dcmocraticma sses,This change of s p~rit is borne out in the case of our AustrianParty, over two-t1urds of the membership of which to-dayconSists o~ comrades who only a year ago belonged to the Social­Democratic Part ~ , but wJ~o are now faithful, devoted and activemembers of the Commulllst Party of Austria, And this is truenot only of former rank-and-flle members of the Social-DemocraticParty, but also of former Social-De.mocratic functionariesIt is with particular pleasure that I here stress the fact that th~d,elegation of our Au ~trian Section to this Congress to a constderabl~extent, conSlsts of, comrades who in February 1934were stili promment functionaries of the Social-DemocraticParty, (Applause ,) The composition of the Austrian delegation59

, . r ,I" I"';>' "" idl'm't'''' of the (kdim' of rdorllIisllI 'HIII th.-,J.'I Ol1t' 0 I " · "S H 'T I·S.~ (I f (lUI' slogans. '... '. I . .. Th(' ha sk I'r i lh~ ip l c of our 1',lrI)' o rg- all lz : ~ \l O n t', t 1' ~I . ~I III l iS!'wo w ho \\' 10 IIlll inwin r!o..... ,'s l ('anlac l ~ \ ~ t h I It 1l1 . 1 ~'St:S ;Ult.!11\,;111 ibt,J( of \'\'1' 1')' tl pJlOrl llllil ), (or or~ :t lll z IllR II I .I~ ~ l ru ~~ l c alldI' . < the workers in t Ilt' S l rUl!~ [ C . In I liS II mlt ~ t base:~I,~ ,'; r~ : ; ~~ I,:~dt ' ('is i\'t' s t l " ~ l a ,of the \\'orkl'rs of th e Ill"." impurt ,LlltInc lorics :lIlei br.llu:h,'s of iIlc1 UStfY· ' . ' I ' . ' , .I should like 1\I're 10 sln:ss IWO pa rt U:lI l .~~ I .~ . 1~ ~II~ I .tt ll l ~'O Up sof t!lsks in I ht' orsnl l iz:l 1 ional work of our I ::.') t I,' ;": t: ~ s,s 'k l • Lt

,~ix lh World C(ll1grl~ss \\'a ~ a sec tarian ~ '.'o up~ ~or~ s i" lill ~ prill.. nil I o f l)('Oplt' li\'iu1: a hmad. has b c,CO lih , I lll." ~ pac t alit!(" 11); ) 1- 1- 1 ,'" IIii' Itf.h, a lld a po we rful po ht 1('.tI fae"III'IS." 1l;lrtV !\ u .'

11':1(1 o[ hiR mnss TlltWI'Hlf' UI S, (Apphw se,) The unit ed fr1m:, 1'lIahkd thf' I'ar,' r 10 come jllto still clost',r COli tact With ~~~1II1lSS('$, II Blust 1I11ItZt' I'Vt'ry !"R,~I oppol' tlll ~lIy ; ~t1c1 ddclid tt. ,11:.1 ,,'mnnnts of tilt' c!euHx'ra ttc l'I ,L:hls and II t>crttt.:s of the t Oi l~ing p('I;lplr in ordel' 10 n' n ( Ii-~ ' th ~ masses ,mature for lite fi"ltt[or tlir o\'erlhrow of the faSCIst dIctatorshIp aud to !'Otlse til ,to tlH' fi~ hl for n $ovid P?'ancl" , t.: /ll111\' CO/llmlllliJI P",ly ol( :j 'dlOsIQ~'{/kl (l, l la s 1I, II~ ' l n !; Ih ese Yea~led big mass 1Il 0 n~ m cn l S and h:l.S ga med III pollllca,' aud orga ni.uuionnl s lrc lI~th , Tha nks to the g~ 1ll ; ~SS \~'or k II perforrlll..'(l.it was a blt:. ill spite of the ca lcgoncal re J e~ lt ol\ by the Soc ial.Dfmocm tic leaders of all propos.:lls for:l UIlItf all the morc or less large Sectionsof the Commllll1S ~ InternatIOnal should take,a more active andpcr~a~l ent part 1Il the ,work of the Execut Ive Committee, itsprcsld1Un~ and Sec r?tanat. "This Will result 1Il further strengthening our Internationalleadership and will raise it, and our entire work, to a higherlevel,The style and methods of our work change in accordancewith the changes in the political situation and with the growthand increasing strength of our Parties, While at the time ofthe Sixth Congress many of our Parties were tom by internaldissension and factional fights, we arc now more united andmore solid than ever before,(Applause,)We must give considerably greater scope to our work andnoW there must not be a single question either of the home andforeign policy of the countries or of the mutual relationsbetween Parties and groups, to which the Communists do notdevote their attention and do not adopt a defmite attitude inorder to exert their influence on the whole course of historicaldevelopment.An exemplary instance of this new style of work is provided65\

y Ih l' l'h 'lIdl Communist PllrlY, widell , lh:mks to !llc 1111 ' ,(ron t lIud thl! Pt 'i) I ~ lc ·.s frl)IH, has sl,lccl'l'{kd ,i," or~a lli ~ i ll J.: \ f~Lefl p.irl il's for 1'1 · :-' I .S IIlJ~ the fonna l lOll of a 1\ lb ll l ~OV I ' nIt IlCIi Ilind ,dlld! hns r.l l~I t}( 1 l:lr~c 1lI11 !>.SCS of thl! pl'uple III thc " nti ~fascist d t '1lI0Ilslr.1I 1U1l of J uly q .The S l rt ' I1~lhc llill !: of 1,II,e (1'1)111 of tht: loile,rs a 1;:li lJst the frOlltof th f' frt'lizied oour1;I'015IC. the sl rt: II l) ~h c lI lll J.: o f the froll t of(omlllullislII a~a i l1 s l the (rOIlI o f capllahslII llOW dcpends 011 Iii .tlc ti"il), of Ihe COllllllun ists and 011 ,ll,ldr abili.l}' to IIt i ~ i ~e cvcr;cillt lll;t" ill Iht' polic)' of the 1)o~ l rl) l 'O I S l e o f t~l eLr CO Ullt rles, c\'erycontmcliclioll arn on~ I II(: ruhll~ c1asscs, 11\ ordt,J' to rcp ulsereaction, fascism aud the warmongers.Tllr Em of tI,e Suomlllllu}/(lliolltll l s OI'fTn lC era of tl l\ ~ SrClJ/ld Ili/analiollat is ovcr, The situation inIhe capitalist coulltries, the posil ioll of world capitalism, whichis II l1ublc 10 fi nd a way out of its diflicu hics or to ail?viatc thewant alld hunger of ( lit.: masscs, :"I O \~'S Illat,a n C\\: .rlse, ',lllCWblossoming of rclonnislIl is already IIll posslble. I rue, III in_di\'idual countries til e Social-Dcmocrat ic Part ies may be able10 strengthen fhemselves [or a brief period: here and !here theymay still come to power :UJd take p.1rt III bourgeOIS govern_ments, But this would JlO 10llger be because the masses stillcherisll the illusion that this \\'iII1ead to socialism, but bec:lUsethe mnsses do not [ecl strollg enough to overthrow the rule o[the bou rgl.'oisie and therefore think th~tthe .onslaughts ofreac tion mlly be restrained, even though It be With the help ofSocial-Democratic go\'ernmcnts,The Second International is in the throes of a profound politicalcrisis. It is the crisis of world reformism, provoked by thenggnwation of the entire world situation and caused by theregrouping of the masses which has begun, by their swing over10 the light "gainst the bourgeoisie, by their swing towards therC\'OIUl ion.The crisis (rom which Social Democracy and the entireSecond Intemational is suffering confronts the Social-Democraticworkers and all honest Social-Democratic functionaries withthe Question : Whal "txt?We have repeatedly proposed to the Executive Committeeo( theSccond International tbeestablishment of a united front (orthe purpose of combating tilC capitalist offensive, (ascism andwar. Striving not (or mere declarations, but (or a genuine66-II. rugJ; le, \\"e propoSl.'t1 ill, 1 ~3~ that lI e~otia. t io ns should he" ",k"11 belw.!en the LI1dlVld ua l 1'"."',,, ""'" C ,del" - , " .." , IC .-x;COIl(t11\ O::(llat i()lIa l I'!'jt'ct('d (,m pr(J po~ 1 lIlIt! declared til;lt lIegoti:l-III . .-oulrl l)t· conducted {.nly lK: lwcl.: n thc Iwo In, ,,.. ' t ' ,'QII:O .. ",,,' .... 11.1 Lona s." J l w..:prfl pos,'( If/ l ie . xccllt l v~ · Commi ttl.:c o lt ' , c . dIII 19 • ,\' , , IC ,-x;conIlt crllatil)nal t lal I ln'CI 1I('f)O,lla t lons should be sta rted in1 (I to COIlCr!:te corll lllon acti O/] , A"ain our l" o,lO'-"rcg:\r I f M ' ~'" " , were'cClcd , I,n IWS:'i , )~ ore , ;'}' v ay. we " nec more proposed to~fL~ I ~ x: c~ utl \'e, CO Il1I ~\lt~ l.:c,of ,t~u ' ~C,()lId Ill ll.:rnati o~ alt o cstab­'.h a ullI tt.:d fiOIlt. I Iw. tLlnc I,t ul.:d.lred that lIegollationscould~~:k e place bel\\' \,.~ 11 the part lcs, and not bClwecn the Inter-, tionals,u'Whld lloes the Secolld I lIlenmticmaJ Wim! 1 Whither is it suking10 Icad lilt: lJIa,~ses lO, le or the otiJer ; il is e ither al ready unable to act 0" " ~'n, tcrnat io l1 :l.1 OI'r;;! IlIZ3tlon, or It IS sabotaging the unity of thelI~oJ (: t n ri at: I~ ~h c I cadc ~ s of the Sccon,d International hope tofurvivc tillS dlnKl,llt p~ n od for rcfor,nllsm too, if they believethat a [avourblc s ] t uatl~n for reformism wi ll once more return,we declare to Ihe. workmg-class .masses that every manc.cuvrcmade by the Soc l aJ ~J)emo~ rat s In t~I C h?pe that a favourablesituation for rcfonlllsm W IU return IS "am ~ far as the refornlist leaders arc concerned .wd catastrophiC for the workingclass, We propose to a " SoCia' I'l!)t5, we propose to all SocialistParties the only co rr~c t ,~nd pos,sible way, namely, to marchwith us, the Commul1l ~ t s " til a Ullited fro nt for the fight againstfascism, war and cap l ta h ~ m-th e fight for socialism.We propose that all the revolutionary forces of the proletariatshould be united in a single revolutionary party based on thetested theoretical and organizational foundations of the teachingsof Marx and Lenin.We, the Communis t ~ of the entire world, are confronted bya task of the greatest Importance, ~amely, to see to it by thework of our own Party tha,t no chlcanery of the bourgeoisie,that no demagogy of any kmd whatsoever should be allowedto dupe the masses who have become disillusioned withrefonnism- the task of leading the proletariat, on the basis ofthe united front, into the fight against the capitalist offensive,fascism and war, and of winning the proletariat for the revolu~tion and for the fight for Soviet government.67

COlli raeit's. I now eoult' 10 Ih(' In i'l l p:lrt of Ill}' n :p0 1't . whi Irlt'~I !O with liI(' p .. nspl 'C ls of \\'orld lh ~ \ 'd o plll " 11t awl Ihe Wo r~J1)'\,01111 i (lll." ,1 ' ~ OS I '''C l'S 0 1' WOR1.D I)I.: \,EI. OI·;\I,,:-'·T ;\:\'1) TilE WUI(LI)N I': \'0 I. UT iO:\'Whal aft· Iht' prospcels of world d~ ~ 'cloplll ~ nl ~Is of Ihe world rcvolution ?wha t arc theI he ca pitalisl S)'stCIIi has~r:.II ~~la kt' n to its foulICiations by thc .. d c ~ · cI ~ ~)I~ I.~'_~~~ of theI ..... of C' I"',' I,'" ,, b)' the world econollllC I,; l l:s b, hl' 'I,.#,:'CIlt'r:l ('rI!>.... ... .., . II I "" erc'l-ing revolutionizing of th e 100It'l:s :In( >y tIt: sym.ptoms ofa II pOI "1"" .lca I co',',,', ,10'0' arl~ ltl:luiks llIlg Ih l.;ll\se!vcs III many!>:-; , , .("c:nllllriCS. .. I , .,. I., . ,I ' f1'1 I " of ,10' lx>ur""(''OISIC \avc gro\\ 11 \\(:•• I\ l.;r, Ie orcesiC oren; t. l> '1'1 I ' f fof tIle proletariat ha ve grown strongw: I,C rc a.t l ~! .1 ~ . orccs onn \\'or II < scne I I 'S elo 'o,,"cd to the ad\,.lIllage of soc l .lh~m and toI.. 'eothe dis.1.dvalltagc of capitalism.The U.S.S. R.- the Pride alld Glory of Ihe World Pro/dariatThe Soviel Union has become the m o~ t .poweret," .and illl.)()rt'ant factor in the world struggle for soclahsm. \\ 1 ~ ll c at the:irne of the Sixth World Congress of tI ~e ComlllullIst lntcr.Ilational the U.S.S. R. was still a comparattve.ly \.\"ca k state, possessingno large-scale industry worth .n~c ntlOlllll g, to-day thcSoviet Union has economically and poittlcally become .a strongsocialist world power, based on a dcveloped heavy IIldustryand the best modern technique.1'o-

~ inl! s lll , 10 ('lIsufl' Ollr . viCIOfY on a world sea lo.; ill a n 1 1i ~ .. II ' s h Orl SI)'l('(' o f I tllW.lone" ) h' lift )' )'l' M:o; \ \ '( ' f(' rt'{pain'O"'''l'ois r,'\'olul lo u ,,; ~ w "I" "VI " wh{' 11 II W,I\', ( roo ''I'I~ I I' lillie .in ' " It ){)wer of feuda lis rrl . 110 1 a lon~l· r. bUI 'II!.UN?lr ' (~~~~s~;o r~ ' r pt)iod of tin,.. ,\'!JJ Ix' T"t .qu' ~ · l'd frollt th ~.~?ns l( ~m f ~Ih t: fi no l socialist re\'olutIO Il: !hc j.:1\';ll (ktol>tT\ ICloryl ,0 r ' 9 ' 7 to the vi r-lor)' of socialism Ihrou/-: h'Jut theRi"'O nllo n 0 •l'lllire world.T/I( Rn't'/lifiOlw f'Y Crisis is M tl/lirillf,:IIIIIo! a7 0Bill the rapil :tlisl systelll will nOl (Il lil the i'I:I)::l' of worldhistory withou t n struggle. . r IThe C:lpilalist system is c n ft.,,~ blt:{ 1. but ,capita, ~:- n~, ,I,as ~II C-, ' ( , I,e trough of rh e- l~ononH C ('1 1:-1:-;, \ 1.:1("C('(IN:lm emerg ing rOIll " " ' " I ' I "I (, ,I (ell o( the ensl:; 11;1 :- p.L

111,(' idr,1 of il lOl"ll1in,l.: Ihe cilad", o f Capil:l li" m 10 III:UlU c illlIlullls (> ( ('n'f InrI" '" massI's of prolc'I:II'i:trts.If m .I\', 11t ) ~w \'t' r, Ilappt'lI fha t i,,' .c c · n ; ~il~ 1 ·~ lt tl llril :S C, tpil;lli _l'('f)II"IIl)'. h .1 VIII}..' n 'IlIU \",~d lite c Olld t IIUIiS Jllli m e.d HI I f S d ~. \", "1Il\'III , ilia), s ir ""j 'XPi'rt'll' II('(' a (('mpo rar), I1l1,l'r""\ 'lIh'lIl"' '"•? lit· ': in It, f 11(' (" lucli f ;011 o f ,"I L' bOil r~ l.-oi .. iL' jilt h t'.s~· l'HIIll I J It'S. i ~ll:dIII "It'\\' of tilt' a cn'UIUill! Cl I! of Ihl: /.:"Ut'rai e n s is (, ( cal ,i tal', t, " ( . • lS I II:-o tiC I 1111 IIllpro\'c 'IIWnt 0 capll:.!ISI . 'COIlHIII), C.lllllni "'atl 's ' . , b i lj 1. 'l i t~1l rli ~d "ie ',0 fhe .I'hh (I f lid,' of ""\'Olillillll. On I/: ~('(\fllmn', II Will 1Itli'Il SJfv Ihe s trul·,'k IwlWt't'1I rhl' " '" ,,'• .' oU f J..:, UIIU· forcil,;l , P lIil( crill!; thcmas:, 'l'llc o ril 'lll a lio tt I'.wa n l,' " I Ira( .1'. and currency " ,'"lOre::· . . . • rcp:tn I .!' 'lsi f),jlll,; Il w Illlht :lry yuke ii" ... I lOll of Ihe ..... orld i"IlIle , ' " , c r c' I IIl ly , "!lees reS\! Ill ig III :111 lTI l'r"t'asin" ,)' ~ " uPS(;ttltlg' Sohtetill:! : , ' , - " .trlof lhc l . ,·.· ,',1/' ,,\'1 ;(('1 HI O i l Cl" 10 !lnance ,)rc,,"" "1.1 lonal mCOlI1(;bt'l t- " ' " (, ... 1/1

If if bt!cOlllt'S 1~:l~ il.Jle.Ullioll lind the tOilers of a ll coull i n cs, to pre vcllt IllIllcri:1lisllIIhis willby 1Il C':IIlS o.f tlu:: s trllSS'c o! th e SO Vietsfartillj: a new world massacre, and to preservc ,I~a c c,nol only be t'\:ideIlCl' of,a tl'c l1l c lld o ll ~ II1 c rcas~ 11\ the streng thof the pl'Olcta rra l, htlt w ill a lso res ult /II the ~ac I th ; ~t tlte huild.ill/; of social ism in tht' Soviet \)lIioll arl(~ I h ~ IIlCreaslng, contrastbc(l\'(.'t!1I Ihe Soviet Unioll a lld the c Olp l,tal ~~ world \nlJ ensUrean enormous advance ill the rcvolullOllIZIll f,; of the toilinl;masses,J{, thnnks to the strugs 'e (or peace of thc Soviet Un ion andthe toilers o( a ll COlpil Ollisl countries, wOl r ca n be delayed e"('n(or :1 certa in time, this Ol lso will beller enable ~h c proletariat tostreng then it s position in the capitalist eoulllncs, to slrellghtcnthe power of t he Soviet Union and to crea te IlIor,c (a \ '~lIr~ b lc COl)_dition:; for tr:lIIs{ol1n ing the wa r be t\~'ee n "ye 1I ~\I )c l'lah s t s, Or awar of the imperialists aga inst the SoVlCt UIIIOII, mto a succcssf IIIand victorious revolut ion,Howe\'er, should the proletariat not s l,l ccee~ i~l prc'.'entingwar, the He W world war bundled by the ,Imperialists will be awar of the imperialist bandits for plundering the peoples of theSoviet Union, (or enslaving the s lll al ~ ~n? weak peoples \~'h o arcto.day independent and for the redl\'lslon 01 the COIOIlI CS andspheres o( influence of the imperialist ~rea t Powers. ,Til e war will entail unspeakable nllScl'Y for nil the tOilers,Will th e roilers tolerate it ?If the war waged by J apan against thc Chincse peoplc hasalreadystartc

In a I1UIllIJC. .- •• o( clrtss . . '. sfm 00 ...... lcs the pro/c . r lariat I provl!d I '''. to I .....-.!-, '" 100 WI!:ak, uecatLuli{'s the IC~ld c rs in the fi~ hl for Soviet gOH'rntlu,'nt. I hc\\';'rld ~i luat io n is extremely acute. Any clay \~·c may be facedb ' great revolut ionary C\'CnIS" I~'y the n cccs~ ll Y of ;.~';s llm i ll~(or the ir ClIla n_J~d'rs hip of a movement of 11111 ha ns of ~p lcC ii );l~io l1 . \\1(" th e COllllllunists. :lrc slt?W,;',!; . t~ ? : n ~~~s theonly road out of the crisis. the fO;)'(! w~lIc hu l ~ CC11l t,t ell byt I Ie wor k 'Cr'S a nd r n''''''''''n' ¥" "'" ,- ' o( the Soviet 1lI0 l1 , t Ie road ofSoviet government. . I IOur task is no t only to point out thiS roa< 10 I Ie masses,b Ilt 10 ta k 'c tl 11::5 -- roa d to"" oC ller with Ihe masses alld at Ih e hC;ldof the masses. I f.Wc are launching into the fig ht for .fr~ l ?m , o r peace, fo rbread. for Sovie t government and (?r SOCia Ism . "Ou h - 1 I, -s 1"-gl,1 (or Sovie t governme n .r C IC S ogan - - L ' d S 1_O ur L_ I.);..llln cr IS "h e b- .. nn'" ..... 01 . Marx . , En"'els, 0 cnlll an ta ill.Our leader is S talin.IU n d er t h l::s -· b a nner. \,'e mus t penetrate to t Ie masses, b d Wemllst establish closer ties with the masses, we must roa enthe united (ront of the proletariat. . .C OIlUUUnlS ' , s, we Id ",e revolutionary class mto d' a vast. ) smgle,orgam%e - d po 1-, I IC - aI a rmy . (Loud a"dproumge c,utrs.WILHELM PIECKREPL Y TO THE DISCUSSiON ON THE REPORT OF THEACTIVITIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THECOMMUNIST INTERNATIONALComrades. the discussion of the report of t~e Exec uti~eCommittee of the Communist Internationa!, which la.sted SIXdays and in which sixty speakers representm~ forty~s lx Coun~tries took part. showed what a tremendous ~Istance has. beentraversed in the development of the Commumst International,the vanguard of the world proletariat, ~ince th~ Sixth \VorldCongress. In all countries, the Commumst Parties hav~ grownstronger and have placed themselves at the head of bIg mass76p, ellIS of tI ~ c toil ers. While a t the time of thl.: SiX ll \V II." O \ c (ll~" '\ fnct JOlIa l strugglc was !H ill hdn •• w -.. •• ~. , ',,?r (r.,rrt"C"" • c ..· . , -', Ie ' 0 ••,.;..'( Wit..... ro o f tilelin a.;>..:c tIOIlS, o-u .ty t Ie ornmt cm an I ' c ._ .rnl>C r ," ,0" cnCO llS, S "te-,-'(-, • U , !S-, ,II( -, I' united ' IS n"" ,\ ( lis \ V\."'\;tlOnsholl 0 . ' .... C }(.: ore Th3 fC 'on bore eloquen t test imony to the i 1-" _ ' \ 'd·,russ l ( ( ' II c . ' ( ... "0 0gICOi,~- I "!Cad aslncss 0 .1 ollr JCct\ons and'iIl" to ,\ 'Jj[IC;J. :. , • U Ie Increase ofpo - ' flu enee :unong I IC m asses, (Loud uppla, ) _I lr m I I" - C· I,,"C,fie "lOrt of t Ie !.XCCIIIIVc OIlUnlttce has m e, ,',I \The r k ( - \' 1 I t Ie full"1 of the sperl 'ers rOm all the ComlnU" -" t P _,p Pro"",Ilill'1 _. \ I ~ an,csl ' descn )Cu ly t Ie comrades who took p_ t - h ­c 'cry ., 1- I' .ir In t e.... ~ l155ion regan IIlg t Ie experiences gained in their Slru lcsdI SC Jetcl)' ~orro bo ra tc~ the ~o r rec l 1/ tS~ oj ~" , Bo/'shevik li~~ o·"''''e P ,mullfS/ I lIlcrllaholl(fI, It s ('IIIfllYS IS 0 ' IIllunal,'o, I d __ ._ if1M 011 ( ,,- I . 'j la t:T;c.-wp.I at, d Ihe prospec S oJ HI enltlltol/al (i eve/oPIllelil ,', 0 'I ' d. ( I '· II I IU .T IC ' . \ I . , opes(tl~ I eren tlo n 0 a pro eta n an 1II11ted front a nd 0 \ a pe l't of all the toilers or t le fight agrlmst the capitalist o ffen~f~~,fascism and war has been .made the chief task by al1 the51 (ions, all ( ~ a numbe r ?f Sections have a lready been able to~istcr certam successes III the fu lfil ment of this most importantn:gk But we regret to say th at the speakers in the discussi~~ ~o t sufJk iell.lly d ~ fine their attitude to the int e rnati o noa~pc:rience d eSCribed lII _ th ~ repo.rt, but for the most part co n ~e;;ed themselves to d c~ hn s with · th~ eVents in their ownfintries and the e;,; pcrlence the re ga med.COrn the report of the Executive ~o mmitt ee of the CommunistIntemational, th ~ ~\ '~ rk and t~e mistakes of Our va rious partieswere earnestly ~ rltJc lzcd: It ~s tru e tI~ at most of the comradeswho took part III the d,SCUSSion admitted t1.le justness of thiscriticism, but not all.of th ~ m by f?-r dealt .wlth the conclusionsthat must be drawn I.r thell' ~\'ork . IS to be I.mproved. We hopethat the comrades will repair thiS defect In the discussion Onthe second point of the agenda, which will deal with the problemsof the united front.It must also be noted that the speeches of certain of thespeakers reve~ l ed a spirit or ~e 1f. sa ti s fa c ~io n with the successesachieved, and It was not suffiCiently explamed why in spite of thefavourable conditions our influence among the masses was notmore finnly established.Comrade Caehi" spoke of the great work performed by theFrench Communist Party in the fight for a united front of theproletariat and fo~ a people's front of all the toilers againstfascism. TIle tachcs of the French comrades have been jus ti~lied and the Party has achieved big political succes.

• IU,' ...".." ~ lllll l l" .. II(' h", nlll,>(lllti:t1 1 I , I'h l' ("" "i~1 ,l.lnKe r 'F, ., ru,' I~ ,·, frt·IIl,·lv 1'" ' .11 .1nd I~' l ' ,Ill' II 'l'I ,' f'"I' "Il f i tll:d ;11d",".11lI1 fUtll wl' :. III 'r\ ·~ , '~ (If llil' I" "',td, " "111 .•,1," III I hl: It ., ('ng,lIn~1 f.I'tI.blll o n IIII' h . l ~h 0 1 Iht, 11,(: 111 1m" "Indl tit" 1 " '~ l ltIM_' 1.1/.. 1' 11 ,11ll1 Ilhldl '1' 1' .1Il1'xallll'k (til , hi' 11/1(,1 .. ( l' l/lIlll"' i ~IlIft'II lation,1IIn F ro m (l' Il l' ,,1'.' n il ,hi' 1' 1', ' n f (rl'I IWlld'"h ... tnl J.;gll.''iII/lid, Ih(' (,l it.' (If Ihe TllIrd Ul'pulJlk Will be "" (' I,II-d ,''li.,;;'r .lmp~ ,'1'1' Il u.bilizillj: (or Ibt':'" -" l ru,~ l l''>. ami th., ViClflly 0:ddl".1 of till' I")t'opll!':-. (r('nl II'dl bc of tr,'IIIl'IH!Olb lI11po rt fur th e\\ holt, illl('rna' ional 1\'orkillg -d:lSos IIl 0\'elll,'1I I a lid (,)/. lite Cill ir(,oIl orid :.I t 11.1 t lOll ,The 1I'0rk o f Ollr Frcncll ParI)" whiclt II . , ~ sutTn'dl'd lit an,tls.ill~ :l lld org:lII i7 ing Ihl' will to resist 'II\' faSCIs t barhari' llI ;lIn nllg' he bro:ldcsi :-lr:IIOI o f t he Fn'nch p :1 ) , IC luf\' I,f Ihl' fl'-h " t: Icre1\ !lei .. III,WI'( II), I' ,\\' t II' hlllt·~C " an y " toCl , f r -, ~\' wt ,OI', ' nU I1I'I1 \ IInd"r Ih e vt:ry I' ffi I ' .... \I::figh l 0 o'f ~h e I I~ht :' f.:,.in ... 1 t!tell' " wn 'Illd f( .{ .1 'cu I circuTn_!lnces '(' ,rl' l ~ 1l opprt.'S50rss'· jr s peecl~. ,... f.::1 \',. Ih :,1 n II "". () I It, .. grca t ro .. d Ihe f olnn .''f he of ('Inll;!. 11:1:- tr,tl cr:"ed In tltt· IIlI(:rV;11 bc: t ..... een th l~.IlJS ttpar ~c s." :lIld till' St'\,c nt h , a road t hat iL IJ ~ the hC'lrts e SixthCo !l~ tluni 5 t s of all ti ll" 11 ·,l'Id with prid t: and '0' ' ~~ theCO", ' ( ) T he (,Olllr,ld es 5IH ,\\'\:

1\ /1 ,h., c(ullrad.,s ,d ll) lun k, P;\I,,' in tilt, di ~C Il ""in ll ;~l; kJlvl\" .I,-(/,...:r Ih is work 1I;IS pruf.: It,,,,,,'d "'-'Y ~ J\I\' . '.. .. " )''fhi:. CIII1 o rd.\' b.' .~ x pl ;)iJH ·d hy ,III' {.Il: 1 ',h :lt, lilt' rutr llnlllli s , ~pr\'fc'l" 10 work on!,\' in rL'I'o/ul ionar,V or1:';~ II I":I'l1'JI " a lld cv n s i d ~ r,li t' small. daY' IO-day work in lit.' o q.;anrl. :'tu~ lI s (T " ,II~'d by tIlerc'ionnist, boltr,:.:ro is d t'lllocrat ic a nd (:tSCtst p.L1llt'S as ofSI'('(lI1 C/:i ry illl pOri a 11 Ci', no I \"l' r.v sig n, i, i ,ca III , tit" ,:' .'1.: II Ilu t hl' Ii t till!;:a Communi::t. ' \'C IIllist vcr" dd'lIIl(:ly Jlut .111 cnd 10 Such•vic'ws and ideas.Thl' r(,port of the E.C.f. 1. drew attl'lI lion .10 Ihc .... XiS ICllce ofn !lumber of scrious silorlcomin,f:"s nOI only III !Ill..' \\"or k of theimlividu nl Sections but also ill tltc work of Ih ..: Ex .... cutivcCOlllm itt ee of the COlll lllunist Int l' mation;!l. ·1·llc 1':XCCll livcCOlllmitltc of th e COlllillteru considers :I II imprO \·clllclll ill itswork mo.st esse-m ia l :Uld import:t m . :\ IIll1uhcl" of Sections h,tvcsubmifloo pmpos:t ls designed 10 i ll~ pmvc the. work of theEx('(:mivc Committee of the COIllIIUIII ISI Internat IOnal, SOllie ofwhich f h:tvc already mCllt ioned in Ill)' rcport. The draftresolution drawn up upon thc b.:lsis of the proposa ls of thedl:/!'g:ltions \\"ill submit tJII:'SC proposals for .your :l1)proval.TllCre have been a /lum ber of defecls III the work of theEXt'Cul ive Commit tce. I t is not. o.f course, of serious illlportanccif in cert:lin cascs the Exec ut i\·c Committee did lIot pUllctuallyanswer some letter or 01 her 110t dealing with any fu ndamentalpolitical question of our movcmcnt . It is vc~y poss i~ l c thatsudl cnscs llav(' occurred and that the compl:lJ nts of ComradeMu eller of the COlllmunist P,lrty of Luxemberg in this COllncc.lion arc full y justjjied. But far more important arc those caseswhen tile l~ xcc lltive Committee delayed in coming to thesupport of a Section a ll importan t political questions. ComradeC.l mpbcll particularl y. the represcntative of the CommunistParry of Grea t Briiain. dealt in the discussion with th esegent'..ral polirical defects in the work of the Executive Comm it tee.We want explicitly to state that we entirely welcome Comradec..unpbclrs criticism. But the criticism docs not quile hit themark. If 1 dweU on this criticism in some detail, it is o nly wit hthe purpose of giving more prominence to the questions whichCommdc CampbcJJ has raised.The Executive Committee bears the responsibility for all ourshortcomings equalJy with the Sections. But in its efforts to80'IIL(' II alld i!npfon· lI u: work Ibe F xecutiv . ' .sl(t>ll g "" . 011 till" Secl k.ns Ih c rn ~dv~s \\I.r.; ,Collltn llI L"(; canre,,'·0•\11,(1 II II.' :-.N.IIHI", f . C laVe ex , · ,c (' '·"1 tlt at tit . Fx... II f"SS yIllenl'. 1 sufliciently support ed in it s W(~k ,. ,cl,nll ~~_ COfrllnillcc'IS II . . . . , IY){: ..>. ...",,; t ioll ~ ',.,II·, . 'Illd silOl"l l'OIUUlgS J!l C.U I" wo rk can 1 . ,. '. · !e(ron; • t · f' S • J C r.; HllIn " lcd 01' .," , "'"" I rC,lfCl->Cn ;c llves I, tic. ('cl ions " .." "•. , . ~ Y Ithe )...., ,.. r '" .!!lell l Y ,)·"·tl. he work of t II.· .:.xcc n~ IV\ · f,mllli tt(:c aud if lite Sc . .' . CIP:\lClill " brnit tlll'J"(·SP,·("IIVI· IIl:ltt crs 1')1 1 ,- . (:110115 them_[I·es sll d ' · Ie ~ x eC lltl vcCo m .Sf: r", Ira

III il s loc'solurion, 111(' ~: "'\"o' lI lh " lenlltll o f, t lu:: E , C. l ,~ . I. ~ lec l a"e l.!t hn t 11 major wl'a klws," I,ll lilt' work o ~ mo~ t .) ~ ,I h . " S " I.: ' ,IOII S lies" in Ihe oppor lUillsl o r , St'CllI n a.1I UI ~d.~" '~ l lII la l lo ~ 1 'UII.!1 1t .~ 1 ll'~ lt '\ ' 1 o f I h.· .,,\:cellllo ll.tl ly IIl1p0 11,1II1 wor k III til ', .. en .. /ol"lll i:H Ir:lr!c umons.TIll' Twe lft h PlenulU of Ihl' E,C,C. !. abo t o,)k a sha rp standnl-p ins! tl lll i-!rnd e Ull i(lIlll'lId,CIlCics, I 'I!lute Ilk r"I)' Ih e fo llow_i ll ~ pass.llgc (rOIll ,lu' reso lu t io n ; , . ' . , ,.. O ne o f Ihe ,'hid eaUSt's of the IIlSUt1I CICllt 1Il 0 blilza tlo n o fthe lIl a ~seS by thf: Cnm nlllllis l Pa r i it'S a m l, l lll' l ~ l : \ ' ollJ l i ~mal'yT.U. or~ : lII i zat i o n s in l ilt' s trubg le a b a lll ~ 1 Ih L' capita iis lo {f.' llsin : is th l~ im pe r m issibly wC;l k, rl"\ ·v I Il Il On:.t ~'Y \ ~ 'o r k Ca r.ried on i nsidl' 111(. r,-f ormisf /nldi' 11Il101IS. , •• I he IIl tt licllceof th e re(onnisl T,V, bUI't'a ll cr:u:y , , ' C : 1I 1~ ' Ut be brokl.: l1do wlI bl' sholiis abolll wred:illf:" !l1C trad e 1 1ll 1~) Il S , for whichCunmlu;l i.'>IS an: no t slri"inS'. not by desc rr ll ' ~ lil t:' tradeunioll s, but by pers i~ [ {.' llt work inside t he reful"lni :-: t , tnldeunions. by /is hling hard . ' , for ( va), d a ll.'d p uM III thetrade un ions."I therefore think there is no f:TOII Ud (or reproaching IheExec utive Committee willt not h"vill,L: ta keJl thc ini tiati ve incom b-'Hillg scctaria ll tendcncies in trad ~ IIlI iOl,1 wo~ · k . .N('\'crrlteleS$, it is possible that the EXeCI Hlye COlllllll ttce incerl ain cases actu::t11y did not take up the ~ \ld g cI5 pro n ~ ptl y andwith the necessary vigour ab~ in s t sec,tanan tCIHI::IlCICS manifested in the Pa rty, and I)''lrticllbrly III Imde 1I1l10n work.Also, in corn .. 'Ctillg rhe resolutions of. the Srrassbll,rg Con.ference the Exccutive COlllmittee was gUIlty of a. certa lll delayill 110t immediately changing the ~o rrntl ,lat i o l,lS which wereerronCOIIS, which occasioned grea t dIstortIOns III the work ofthe Sec tions and no longer corresponded with the changedsitua tion,Com rade Campbell complained that the Strassburg resolu.tion. as he Siales, was " forced " Oil the Communis t Party ofGreat Britain as pcrecftly correct in all it s details and formula·lions, But tlt e E xecutive Committee has always given heed toIhe peculia r conditions prevailing in Great Britain and hasdra wJl the special attcntion of our British comrades to the (ac ttha t in their work the deeply-ingrained trade union tra ditionsin Gre:!! Brita in must be taken into account and that pa rticularemphasis must be laid on work in the trade unions and 011 maintaining the closest contact with the workers organized in thetr.lde unions. If Right errors were committed in the work of82I!l )llIlJl i ~ t 1',11'1), I')r (; ,:o..:a t Brit a in a nd Ihl ~ r on ' .tllll c:o~ i 1. I' Ihese, t"l · I · f) r ~ . t illS I11 I1 SI n ,,t.llal " ' t o till" )'ulllh /1' ''' ~ / I '' '1. Corn r',,' . I' dt \\, ' • , . , e ~ " (jw e r or "~ o . II d c lt:~ ; l t lO lI cmHp a llled t il;l! Il lI' yr ll ll ' Ie"ll le r:~'1th 100 briefl y in tlt e repOrt of the E xe~ u l i\'~ ~~ll lo n, W:L'I.Je:11I " '" \ v .' s ho llid ha v.· d eah ,n"c' , , nmillce,v ' n ~ ' , I lIl ure II Y ' I)-Ie IS ,,·,h the h l ~ (iI·fect:> hCl r:l yo..:d in Ille wr"k , ~ In .t I erl \\ . ' " 0 our ScCtioIhe In, , \ ' C , C 0 1 IIlg youll,,~ ·,t l (;1" o f W IllIIIll ~ {)Ve r t l h" masses n' t', t .,. . nsjll , supporting 0 11 1' OUIl !; ommun ist I.ea g ues , IIlPo I,n '" f' over Ihe m a SSes o f t lt e loilin" yo, I' . .\\'111111 >:> ' " ' .... I I h a m os tani las k , eSIx:cl:t Y III Ihe flSh\ :'sainst h sc i" " ., \ ..,,.r',. t w:1 r. 111 .7\,:C lO llS III \ IC COlint ru.:s in w',· I I ,..... nar 0 . 0" . ,. , " . n(lIn _'ri:t IS ' , . .. , ' k ' . . IC I ega andP' t', cOnditions 0 \ \ 0 1' p re\all II1 li5\ d e v o t e",ctct ' " Ie greatest" b"lion to W l1l1 11 tlg o ve r I I e youth and nlllSI adopt ' .:ttte n r"" which, t a k ing in t o ;lCCo llnt the d esire 0·' yo p rac t Ical':tSU ""', ' . IInS r eop epie. kC :\l1 acti ve pa r t 11\ SpOrlS, culture a nd l)Otitics a . 1,0 " ,'t' . , , ' , re C.I -cdto draw It! YOIl I 10 0 I 1e unt ted front an '\ tolat .' f ' ' ~ 0 preVentc falling ytct ml:; 10 aSClst demagogy,IMonlr Am erican a nd French $ccl ions have achieve l 'u , . , k . mo ," " " .,., ( greates ults in t IClr \\ o r . • 1 , I ?, I C y~ ut l. Ie delegations to ther Ih Congresses 111 thc UnIt ed S tales rCllresl.:lHCd 1" 0 t hYou . , ' d ' . . rc anone ,,, _,'ll1on young m en . .tll L \\ o m e ll , I he success of tl,e\\' o rkof the Young Com ~ l. ~ lIl1 s t eaguc of the U ~ , A . is so great thatit may serve as an C X . l, l ~ l ; l ~ to ~I h e r young Communi st organb:a_dons. \Ve must, '.lO\\ C\ el , POII?t out- a nd herc we arc in com.leteagrceOlent With the Amcn can delegation- that the Ameri.~n Party must make evc!'y effort to have the success consoli.dated SO tha t we should not have here what we had in thecase of the once po \\"~rful unem ployed, movcment , over whichthe Party had great lllfiucnce , ,bu t w hl ~h declined because theParty was unable to consohdate thlS movement organi7.a _tionally. ~ .In the report of the E xecutive Committee we mentioned thesuccesses achieved by our Section in U.S.A.But we wouldnevertheless like to dr~w a ttention to the fact , as indeed, theAmerican comrades dId themselves, tha t these Successes arcstill entirely out of proportion to the tremendous tasks whichconfront the Party in the matt,er of preventing the furthergrowth of the fa SCist m ovement 111 the United States. We areentirely in agreement with o ~lr Am ~ rican comrades when theydeclare that they must exam me their work even m ore criticallyand must find m e thods which will enable them to perform83

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J'arty of Lenin and Stalin, have shown the way to the workof the whole world.et3111e victory of Socialism in the Soviet Union clldows us tICommunists, and the masses with the strength to follow' th ~eexample. 13TIle contrllSt which Comrade PQ/J01I drew in his impressispeech in comp.'lring the development of the Soviet Ukrai Vewith the development of the Wcst Ukraine, which is under tiCsway of the Polish barons, demonstrates in the case of o/eJ>.1rticular sector the contrast between the two WOrldS_ tl:cworld of Socialism and the world of c..1.pitalism.eThe bourgeoisie is driving towards fascisT? and War, in ordcr10. ~pe the cncirc!emenl of the fCvolutlonary f~ont of thetoilmg masses. It WIll depend on 115, the CommuTlIs ts , it willdepend on the working class whether the bourgeoisie s ucceedsor not.Never was the responsibility of the Communist Parties Sogreat and serious as it is to-day.TJl e Seventh WorJd Congress of the Communist Internationaland its Sections calIon the toiling masses to engage in a jOintfight for freedom, peace, bread, Soviet Govemmcnt andSocialism.Our slogan in the fight to win over the majority of the pro.letariat is: widen Ilu Iront I Pellelrale deeper into the massorga"izatioIlS!Our task within the Communist Parties is: Strengthen theParties and raise lhe poIilicallevel of ottr Party organizations .. Comrades, let us fight for the accomplishment of our greathIstorical task: namely. 10 achieve the emancipalion, the welfareand tJ.e happiness of tJ.e whale of «>iling hfl1lUlnity! (Lol/d andprokmged applause. The" International" 1'S stmg.)•86