The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-30
ClaraZetkin and Her Life Work

" shall celebrate on the 9Th of July, is of the
old guard of the international workingclass move
ment. She is one of those who have passed through
the "heroic age" through that time when it re
quired much greater courage and herosm to cham
pon the cause of socialism than it does today, for
then there was nothing but persecution and per-
sonal sacrifices for the Upholders of socialism.
Clara Zetkn was one Of that small group of per
sonalities including Bebel and Wilhelm Lebknecht,
which set it's stamp upon the socialdemocratic par
ty or at any international congress and who repre-
scented part of the tradition of the international
workingclass movement And, most important of
all she was one of those few who, when the Ger
man socal-democratic party developed into petty
bourgeois party of reformsm, never sacrificed her
revolutionary principles. In this respect her name
is bracketed with the of Karl Liebknecht,
Rose Luxembourg and Franz Mehrng. When IN
these days we honor the life work of Clara ZetkIn
therefore it is considerable part of the history of
the international workingclass movement which
passes before eyes.
The work of Clara Zetkin in the proetarian
mems movement shows more clearly than any
thing else the great possibilities of a leading per-
sonalty inside movement Mass movements
do not grow from thin air; they develop more or
less quickly under the direct influence of economic
transformations. But the task Of leading person
atty is to assist that which lies in the subconscous
ness of mass movement to give itself conscious
expression and thus to ensure that the movement
itself which might otherwise expend its forces in
dsorganized and wasteful manner, expresses itself
in a united and consolidated form Assuming, as
was the case with Clara Zetkn, that the leader is
perfectly clear with regard to the idea expressed
in the mass movement and with this clarity COM
bines a passionate devotion and prodigious will.
The work Of women in industry in Germany had
already taken a very considerable extent in the
eighties of the last century. In 1882 there were
four and 8 quarter millions of women apart from
female servants earning their living. There
were at this time, it is true, only million and
half directly engaged in industry and commerce. But
in the textile industry alone, 100000 women
were working, and great numbers in the tailoring,
dressmaking, tobacco and paper industries
The objective conditions for 2 growth of class
consciousness amongst women therefore pres
ent The subjective circumstances were not favor
able to this growth. The majority IS the women
workers was petty-boUrgeois in its IDEAS aT1 still
bound to the churches The women who were COM
PEELED to sc out into the world chung nevertheless
to the idea Ct the past, and above ali to tire prin-
cple that the belonged in the home. They
regarded women's work temporary phenomenon
both for TIE individual and for society whole.
No worder The who had become class-con-
scious were nevertheless stir backward and reac-
tonary in this respect. Added to n it was very
difficult to approach the women with socialist agi
tation Many OF them worked IN sraalgcale work
shops or at home and further, the application of
the laws relating to coalition and organization
Kaleidoscope the nap Of the German federal
states-made it difficult to organize the women in
trade unions and rendered their political crganiza
ton impossible almost everywhere.
All these circumstances together prevented the
speedy growth Of conscious proletarian wczaen's
movement Small groups which might act as eel
lectng points for the rest Of the country fGrraed
themselves only in few Industrial districts, such
as Berlin, the textile districts Of Saxoay in Nann-
helm, etc. On the other hand The borrgeoi wcnaen's
movement had already attained very considerable
growth ard did not lack intelligent leaders and elo
quent speakers In its first flush this movement
even felt itself to be the representative Of all yo-
irrespective OF class distinctions, II commenced
to make propaganda for It's ideas and its orgariza-
tons amongst the petty bourgeois proletarant sec
lions, amongst the women working at home, amongst
the tailoresses, washerwomen, etc 1t therefore
of very great Importance that the proetarian women
had leader in Clara Zetkin, Enthusiastically schooled,
manysded, eoqeut in speech and writings, to or
ganze the isolated small groups of proletaran wo-
under the banner Of the international working
class movement.
In the eighties of the last century Clara Zetkin
lived abroad, first in Switzerland and then in Paris
She active in the workingclass movement both