The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-04-08
- LkH - ~ ATE
The "Pravda" on the Presidential
Election in Germany

Union Demonstrate on May First against War
and Starvationl
bourgeoisie in regard to the question Of the
methods and forms Of the fight for the way
out of the crisis and in regard to the question
Of the methods Of maintaining influence over
the masses. In spite of long negotiations and
bargaining, the bourgeoisie did not arrive at an
agreement in regard to the candidature of Hin
denburg, this main candidate of the whole Of
the bourgeoisie including its main social support,
the social democracy. In addition to their chief
candidate Hindenburg, who is to be elected, the
bourgeoisie found it necessary to put forward
the openly fascist candidature of Hitler, as a
direct threat to the revolutionary workers and
for the purpose Of pacifying the nationalist ele-
ments who are dissatisfied with the existing
order The bourgeoisie also needed third can
didate-Colonel Dusterberg This candidate
presents in the main the policy of finance capt.
tal which is not Immediately allied with either
the national socialists or the social democrats,
but relies upon the one as we'll as the other
without compromising itself before the masses
by an open bloc. Three candidates. who are
united in their open fascist convictions three
candidates OF the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
against the working class must have demon
strated the fascist unity of the German bour-
geoisie towards the revolution. At the same
time, these candidatures offered both the social
democracy and also the national socialists the
greatest possibility of nobiizing the broad mass
es OF workers, peasants and petty bourgeoisie
in support of the bourgeoisie.
The triple candidature of the fascist bour-
geoisie was faced by one workers candidate, the
candidate Of the Communist transport worker,
Thaelmann. Nevertheless in spite of the clear
conformation Of the class forces the bour-
geoisie obtained 80 million votes compared with
five million cast for the proletarian revolution
and the dictatorship of the proletariat This cleo
ton success Of the bourgeosie is due in the
first place, to the fact that the Hitler people
succeeded in deceiving broad masses of the petty
oourgeosie and the peasants as well as a GER
tain section Of the unemployed by radical
phrases, by claiming to be the rescuers from the
Bruening Hindenburg system which is unbear-
able for the working masses, and secondly, ow-
ing to the fact that the social democracy was
given the opportunity Of making a historical
outcry about the threatening fascist danger and
the threatening civil war in the event of a
victory OF Hitler The social democrats thereby
concealed their alliance with fascism, and hence
they succeeded in modifying large masses for
Hindenburg. Hindenburg and Hitler who at
bottom are synonymous were represented by the
social democracy to the politically inexperienced
masses as being antagonistic. The cry about the
Hitler danger was made use Of by the social
democrats, whilst the cry that Hitler would de-
stroy the Bruening system was made use of by
the national socialists
Thanks TO this double maneuver, the national
socialists succeeded in getting broad strata Of
the petty bourgeoisie peasants and backward
workers who are dissatisfied with the existing
order to vote for Hitler whilst the social demo-
Gratis succeeded in inducing the mass of their
electors TO vote for Hindenbmg. Considerable
masses OF the social democratic workers who are
more and more turning away from the social
democratic party, but even today still cannot
think OF a revolutionary way out OF the crisis,
nave followed the slogan of the social democracy
and voted for Hindenburg in the belief that
they thereby prevented the open fascist dicta-
torshlp. Thus in spite of the profound fer
ment in its ranks, the social democracy has
succeeded, with the help of the bourgeoisie in
swindling the masses once more Nevertheless
the revolutionary front has grown and become
stronger
It would be mistake TO compare the figures
OF the presidential election with the result Of
new bill has recently been introduced in