The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-14
MY FIRST MEETING
WITH LENIN IN 1922
GermanettO, Italian Revolutionary Leader,
Writes of Him in Vivid Memoirs

AND now l was 10 see him, TO
speak to him. ,s,.
MOSCOW streets were crowded
H1 with professions of workers. A
forest of banners, greetings, music.
Exciting welcomes in the factories,
the clubs, the barracksl We were
bewildered, shaken!
It was a holiday. Endless pro-
cessions before the Grahd-stand in
the Red Square. The human wave
flowed past for hours before its
leaders, and greeted the foreign
guests. Who of us in the thin
overcoats made for the mild eli
mate Of Rome, Genoa or Naples,
felt the coldl Our hearts beat fast,
our cheeks burned, our eyes Shonel
Then the solemn opening Of the
congress Of the Comintern in the
Kremlin, to the sounds Of the en-
ternational,' sung in so different
tongues.
We waited impatiently for the day
when Lenin was to speak; to see
him, to hear him. to shake his
hand, and tell him of The feelings
that burned in us,
MEET LENIN
And met him. 1t was one
of those countless corridors of the
Kremlin There was so much I
wanted to say to him, and I forgot
it all, and could only say:
Good day, Comrade Lenin!"
"Good day, contradict he held
out his hand. Are you French?"
We had spoken in French. mo,
I'm an Italian" I said in Italian.
II speak little Italian he went
on in that tongue. A crowd of
delegates surrounded us.
Later on I went with the other
italian delegates to see Lenin. One
of us, Neapolitan worker, was
supposed to make a speech of greet
ing from the workers of his fac
tory. When he saw Lenin, he got
so excited that he could not speak
a word. He just gripped Lenin's
hand and cried. Lenin was ex-
tremely embarrassed.
When Lenin mounted the plat
form, the hall shook with applause.
All the delegates rose and ap-
plauded. Then we sang the In
ternational."
I remember his eyes. He had a
peculiarly attentive, sharp glance.
7 saw him once more in the
Kremlin, after a meeting. He
spoke in German, slowly, plainly.
And I did not know German and
waited impatiently for the inter-
prefer to translate for us.
THE " Congress of the Comintern
has a particular importance for
our Communist Party. 1t brought
to light Bordiga's differences Of
opinion With the majority of the
italian delegates. The italian
question was discussed very fully
at the commission. 1 remember
the long night meetings, the strug-
gle, the doubts and at last-the
voting, when Bordiga, who repre-
Sented the ultra left tendency in
our Party, proved to be in the min
GRITTY. This took place in the throne
room of the Kremlin. That eve
ming was chairman. 1t was no
easy thing to keep order at such
an important meeting, especially
with Italians present 1t was then
that our Party, only just freed from
the ultra-left elements, was begin
ming the complicated and difficult
work of new guidance, of the thor
ough medication of CeminterW
principles into the Party.
Nearly seven years have passed
since then. Now our Party, born
out of the struggle, has grown and
is tempered in the battle with fas-
cism. 1t has lost many fighters
from its ranks, but new ones have
taken their places. and the Party
has remained faithful at its post.
1t is the only party in Italy that
has Withstood the storm and con-
t1nueS the struggle with the fas-
cists. 1t owes much of its strength
and endurance to the guidance of
the Comintern.
Lenin took an active part in the
discussion of the italian problem.
From "The Autobiography of
An italian Barber" by Giovanni
Germanetto, published in Inter
national Literature" No. 1.