Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-12
BY JAN VALTN

it was my business to fight II,
at meetings, in the factories,
in the streets and on ships, !
studied its methods.
The Nazis waged their cam
paigns with unlimited cour-
age and ruthlessness, with de-
votion and cynicism. They
promised higher wages TO the
workers, higher profits TO in
dustry, and well-paid jobs to
the. unemployed.
They promised the liquida-
ton of department stores to
small traders. They promised
land to the farrnhands, tax
exemption and higher income
to the farmers, and govern
ment subsidies and cheap la
Dor to the large landowners.
They promised to outlaw
strikes and at the same time
supported every strike to curry
favor with the toilers. They
ranted against capitalism and
bargained with captains of in
dustry behind the scenes.
They held out the promise
of careers and of power to
students and intellectuals, who
rallied to the Nazi banner by
the thousands. Nazi propa-
ganda was as quick as light
ming. Selling upon every mis-
take made by other political
groups.
Hand in hand with this
propaganda went a superbly
organized terror. Merchants
were terrorized into surren-
dering part of their profits to
the Nazi Party. Liberals were
terrorized until they dared
not hold public meetings.
Brown-shirted raiding de-
tachments, schooled in the
technique of terror, dubbed,
stabbed and shot opponents in
daily ARRAYS.
SLOGAN TO DESTROY
We raised the slogan.
Strike the Nazi wherever you
meet him." But it was a Sec
ondary motto for us. The
paramount aim Of the Com
munist Party was still the de-
struction Of Social Democ-
racy, the principal foe"
blocking the road toward a
Soviet Germany.
So 1t was that In organizing
a maritime strike campaign, |
concentrated my main efforts
on the destruction of the So
cialist-controlled trade unions.
With the aid of many hun
oreds OF thousands OF leaflets.
we stirred up the discomfort
OF the workers and dashed
them to wild hatred against
the employers, against the DO
lice and against tse Social
Democratic leaders-who ia
vored arbitration.
The tactics employed BY the
Comintern to wreck the So
cialist trade unions was that
OF the united front" Every
communist meeting, news
paper, leaflet raised the slogan
OF the united front" on every
occasion.
In the beginning. because of
my sincere belief in the desir-
ability of cooperation with
the socialists, l took it liter
ally. / went to the headquar-
tiers of'the socialist Transport
Workers Union in Bremen TO
propose to its chief a plan of
united action In the strike
then imminent.
One OF the numerous GPU
spies in our party got wind
of my visit, and a confidential
report to Berlin, in which he
accused me Of secret counter
revolutionary negotia tons
with a notorious "Social-Fas-
cist"-a term then in vogue
among Communists.
CALLED ON CARPET
The report was forwarded
to Hermann Remmele, Com
munist Reichstag deputy, then
touring western; Germany. He
promptly collared me, and
gave me a rough-and-tumble
lecture on what the Comm
tern meant by the united
front"
Comrade Remmele made it
clear that no united front"
was wanted unless II preserved
Communist leadership. The
ann was to unite with the rank
and file against the will of
their socialist leaders.
This was called the united
front from below" and was
calculated to drive a wedge
between the rival leaders and
their masses. and to split the
trade unions. All Communist
proposals were Intentionally
so worded as 20 be rejected by
the socialist chiefs. These pro-
posals invariably ended with
the appeal. Defend the Soviet
Union, the fatherland of all
workers."
The socialist leaders rejected
this formula, and the Com
munists then cried, Traitors!