The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-02-20
Social>Democracy's NeeV Role
in Germany
BY BHrek

ton OF the German Social-Demo-
cratic Party that Eve are not the
grave diggerS but the doctors of
capitalism; this same Tarnow
wrote in a pamphlet that the
book OF Henry Ford, My Life and
Work, is surely the most revolu-
tionary product Of all existing
economic literature; Gin other
words, the social democrat Tarnow,
prefers Ford'S methods of exploit
ing the workers to Marks methods
of emancipating them; social demo-
Graf, Grzesinsky, former police
president Of Berlin, declared a few
weeks ago, on Jan. 25, ''if socialism
cannot be gotten without sacri-
fees j am no longer a socialist"
(Mr. GrzesinSki of course meant
sacrifices for the capitalists; his
past practice of sacrificing the Ber-
lin workers to the cause of capt.
talism shows that he is not opposed
to sacrificing workers to maintain
capitalism
The TrotzkyS and the LoVestones
surely must find some inner rela-
tionShip between their conceptions
of a party of the proletariat and
the conceptions of the TarnoWs,
the GrzeSinskis and the NoskeS;
otherwise they could not be so
persistent in demanding a united
front with them. The Communist
Party has no such relationship; be-
tween its conceptions and those Of
the Tarnows, the Grzesinskis and
the NoskeS, is the barricade of the
workers interests; across this barri-
cade there can be no united front;
there can be only war to destruc-
ton.
1t must give the proponents Of
the united front with Noske, Wells
and SeVering a peculiar feeling to
read how the German capitalists
judge their intended brothers in
arms. Der Deutsche," rabid
nationalist journal in Berlin, wrote
on July %, last year, "One thing is
certainly sure: Mr.. Severing has
earned for himself the greatest
praise for his continued and OBJ
stinate struggle against Commun-
ism. He surely is the deadly enemy
of Communism Bruening, leader
OF the Catholic Centrist Party,
former chancellor of the empire,
declared in a speech in Munich ON
July 20 last: WAS it really neces-
sary to remove q man like Sever
ing, who, like no other man, has
fought for IA years against Com
munism and for the authority Of
the (capitalist--MB.) state"
THE proponents Tor the united
front with Noske and Seyering
may plead that the times have
changed and that the iron heel of
Hitlerism has kicked the Noskes
and Severings back into the ranks
of the defenders of the workers in
terestS. Such a contention would
in itself be an effort to re-create
the illusion of a Social
Party fighting for workers inter-
eSts; actions of social democratic
Readers after Hitler's accession to
the CHARACTERISTIC supply ample
proof for this contention. Social
democrat Fleissner, police president
of the city of Leipzig, prohibited
all Communist meetings, demon
STATIONS and other gatherings,
after Hitler'S accession. He did
not prohibit the Nazis from DEM
onStrating and meeting. Social
democrat Schoenfelder, police pres
ident OF Hamburg, prohibited an
intended Communist demonstration
against the Hitler government on
Feb /. Only a few days before
Hitler's formation of a government,
a social democratic police presi-
dent, our old acquaintance, zoer-
gibel, decreed the confiscation of
The Communist n'festo, by
Marx and Engels. Trotzky and
Lovestone desire united front
with the Fleissners and the Schoen-
folders and Zoergibels, evidently
for the purpose of helping to cover
up the united front Of these betray-
ers Of the working class with Ger
man capitalism and with its last
defense, Hitlerism.
Hitlerism is the last line of de-
Tense of German capitalism against
the revolutionary workers. Social
democracy plays the role of keep
ing the workers from effectively at
lacking this last defense. The
Trotzkys and Lovestones help them
in this endeavor. But the Com
munist fire against social democ-
racy will defeat this endeavor and
thereby create the conditions under
which the final struggle can be
fought. Hitlerlsm can be defeated,
and the proletarian revolution can
be made victorious