The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-04-04
CONGRESS- PLANS
WORLD CAMPAIGN
AGAINST FASCISM
Delegates from Many
Countries

Countries
BERLIN, Germany, (By MaiD.-I
The first International Anti-Fascist .
Congress was opened at 10 a. m. .
Tarch 8 in the great hall of the
rade Union House here. Delega-
ons from all parts of Europe were
resent, though owing to bad wealth
on the Atlantic the delegation
rom the United States was not
resent on the first day of the con-
3ress.
Refuse Visa to Soviet Delegates.
The delegation from the Central
Council of Soviet Labor Unions was
unable to attend the congress be- |
cause German consular representa-
tives in Moscow refused to grant the
necessary visas.
The Belgian delegation had a
similar experience.
Many Leaders Against Fascism.
Two hundred and twenty-eight
delegates attended the congress in
Guiding such well-known figures in
the anti-fascist movement as Henri
Barbusse, the German author, AL
fons Paquet, Manfred Georg, editor
of a German revolutionary paper,
Guido Mighlioli, former deputy in
the Italian chamber, Michael Kar-
olyi, Fan Noli of Albanian, Bittner,
the workers deputy in the Polish
Seym, DR.. Welt, a member of the
Swiss national council, and many
others.
kilograms and letters from all
over the world greeted the congress
and expressed wishes for its sue
cess.
Barbusse Opens Congress.
Henri Barbusse opened the con-
gress with a short speech after
which the presidium was elected. 1t
consisted of Barbusse, ]. Cook, for
Great Britain, Heinrich Bittner,
Poland; Hertha Stassova, Soviet
Union; Will Muenzenberg, Ger
many; Michael Karolyi, Hungary;
Guido Miglioli, Italy; Fritz Heckert,
Alfons Paquet, Germany; Yevreinov,
Soviet Union; Landova, Stychova,
Czecho- Slovakia; Fan Noli, Albania;
Martelli, France and Folli, Italy.
Billings Honored.
At the proposal Of the Rumanian
delegation a number of prominent
victims of fascism and white terror
in various countries were then elect
ed honorary members of the Pre-
sidium, Warren X. Billings being
the American representative.
In his speech Barbusse declared
that the congress was of the great
est Importance because for the first
time the opponents of fascism from
all countries were assembled in or
der to work out ways and means
for conducting a joint international
struggle against fascism.
Fascists Not Mere Adventures"
Fascism, he said, was not the
work of a few scoundrelly adven-
turers, it was the main character
istic of a whole historical period of
development. 1t represented the last
means of the reaction to hold up
the advance of progress and crush
the rising proletarian and peasant
r classes.
: During the last fifty years the
, toiling masses had begun to fling
off the theological yoke of their OPP
pressors and to prepare themselves
to fling off the political and econ
omic yoke also.
The ruling classes in many coun-
tries found that regular armies,
: navies and police forces. were no
. longer sufficient to hold down the
: workers, so they resorted to fascism.
Fascism in U. S. A.
In Italy, Poland, Spain, in the
Balkan and Baltic countries and in
some South American countries,
fascism held the power in the state.
And in Great Britain and the United
States fascism was raising its head
more and more threateningly.
A whole page of the history of the
! world had been written in blood and
terror and the author was fascism.
F. However, the International Anti
Fascist Congress had come, met to
mourn the victims of fascism, it had
met to find ways and means of
avenging them in the only possible
, way, the overthrow of fascism in
all countries.
l The advance guard in the struggle
must always be the workers, but the
intellectuals must also join in.
No Fascism in U. S S. r.
a In conclusion he declared that
v there was only one country in the
] world where there was no sign of
fascism, and that was the Soviet
, Union. In the name of the praesid-
E ium he expressed the fraternal
: greetings of the congress to this
| great country. (Protracted APP
r Iplause.)