Source: Walter Ulbricht, Zur Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung, Vol. I, (1953).
Translation: The Red Path.
HTML Mark-up: Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
My first greets go to the courageous confession of the social-democratic comrades to the united front. Comrade Fischer, who was 31 years long functionary of the Social-Democratic Party believed, that the social democracy would struggle for socialism, and was expulsed in that moment from the social democracy, when he self saw in the Soviet Union, that the way of Russian proletariat is the way of revolutionary Marxism, which alone leads to the liberation of the proletariat.
When before the departure of the social-democratic workers delegation a worker asked Künstler in the district bureau of SPD, if he is allowed to travel into the Soviet Union too, Künstler declared: “That is not coming into question, by that you stand outside of the ranks of the party!” Then he was asked: “When we would go to Italy, would that be allowed?” Künstler replied: “We have nothing against it.”
So, to fascist Italy the social democratic are allowed to travel, but not to Soviet Russia, because the convincing from the victories of the politics of revolutionary Marxism-Leninism in Soviet Russia means to recognize the bankruptcy of the politics of SPD and II. International. The social-democratic workers are not allowed to compare by own experiences capitalist decline and victory of socialism in the Soviet Union.
Capitalism or socialism. Capitalist republic or Soviet Republic. Class struggle or economy-peaceful politics. On these questions the social-democratic delegates have given the answer: For the united front on ground of class struggle! Correctly the social-democratic comrade declared, that the biggest mistake of the German working class was, that she got betrayed by the work-community politics and the National Assembly swindle of the social-democracy, instead disarming the enemies of the workers, let it self getting disarmed. When the German working class ahd followed 1918 the teachings of Marx, then she had today, like in Soviet Russia, higher wages, shorter work-time, abolishment of unemployment, bread and work for all working people, and we would not have had demonstration ban on 7. November in Berlin, but had demonstrated, like the workers of Muscovite enterprises with the guns in the hands. We are convinced, comrade Fischer has spoken in the name of thousands of social-democratic workers and functionaries, when he said: “I do not know enemies left of me, I only know enemies right of me!”
Yes, left at his side the masses of revolutionary proletariat are standing under the leadership of the Communist Party. But who stands right to him? Not just the Harzburg capitalists, not just Hitler, Hugenberg and the Zentrum-capitalists, but there also stands Severing, there stands Grzesinski, and there stand these social-democratic trade union leaders, who counsel in economy-adviser with fascist entrepreneurs about the best method of wage reduction.
Allow me in this context an open reply to the SPD. The Vorwärts asks: “Who is the main enemy?” We answer: The main enemy is the bourgeoisie, the main enemy are the capitalists. These hand full of exploiters can only plunder the people and suppress it by help of their agents in the ranks of the working class. Their agents, these are the social-democratic trade union leaders, the social-democratic leaders, who support the Brüning emergency-decree-dictatorship, Brünings step-wise implementation of fascist ruling methods. Who wants to crush the power of the class enemy of the workers, that has to crush the influence of the agents of the bourgeoisie in the ranks of the workers.
Who wants to struggle against fascism, has to know, that not just Hitler-fascism represents the class interests of great-capital, but that at the moment specially the Zentrum party is the leading party of the politics of the trust-capital, which step-wise implements fascism. Who wants to combat fascism, must also combat capitalism, must struggle against the Brüning dictatorship, against the emergency-decree-politics, but also against demonstration bans and over actions by Severing, Grzesinski and co.
When the Vorwärts declares, that I the opinion of communists the united front would mean joining KPD, so we response: That is deliberately deception. Our party is the only party, which leads the class struggle of the proletariat. We know, that some social-democratic are not agreeing with us in some tactical questions, but we ask the thousands of social-democratic comrades:
We are convinced, that ten thousands of social-democratic workers think like the social-democratic Russia-delegates, who spoke out in this hour a glowing affirmation to the united front.
1. This speech was held on the occasion of a report by the social-democratic workers delegation about the Soviet Union.
Last updated: 28 October 2017