Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-14
Out of the Night

us the answer by telegram and
letter and through circulars,
pamphlets, and headlines in
the party press.
Down with the Social
Democrats, the chief enemy
Of the workers. Communists,
your duty IL To sweep the
Socialist traitors out Of the
government offices"
SO, while Communist and
Nazi terror groups blazed
away at each other in nightly
Skirmishes, Communists went
Loyalty 10 the polls to give
their votes in support of a
drive launched by the Monar-
chiSt Hugenberg and the
Fascist Hitler.
The wave of strikes which
we had engineered in the early
months of 1881 was water on
the Nazi mill. The miners
struck in the Ruhr. in SaXony.
and SileSia. In my own prov
ince. along the seaboard. the
waterfront workers followed.
We endeavored frantically
TO turn this strike into a major
political battle by leading the
masses into conflict with the
police. But the workers.
taught by many bitter eX-
periences. were either too
tired or lacked confidence in
the power of the Communist
Party Under such conditions.
the encounters tended 10 he
short and hectic.
KEY PORTS OF CALI
Hamburg and Bremen were
M that time the most impor-
tant ports of call for the So
Wet merchant marine. We
received instructions from spe-
cial emiSSaries to exempt
Russian shipping from the
strike.
1t was Parteibefehl, So
when the lockers struck. all
ships were affected except
those flying the Soviet ensign.
Our strike committees formed
special stevedoring gangs 10
load and unload Russian YES
sells while the craft of other
nations lay paralyzed The
mass of strikers protested.
Nazi agitators exploited the
opportunity with the cry:
1.-THE Soviet Union organizes
scabbing. While the workers
starve, the Communists draw
paw from Soviet steamers.
The Communist Party places
the profit interest Of the So
Wet Union above the bread
and-butter interest of German
prOletarians!"
Many of us were sick al
heart at the transformation Of
the Soviet government into
the foremost strike-breaking
firm in Germany. But our
party leaders were adamant.
Those who strike against
the Hammer and Sickle" they
proclaimed. "are saboteurs of
the Five-Year-Plan, traitors
to the first Land of Social
ISM"
Striking workers who OPP
posed this decree were dubbed
at meetings and driven off the
waterfront by Red Front
squads. and often straight into
the outStretched arms of the
Hitlerites.
MUSCLE INTO RANKS
At the same time. the Nazi
brigades muscled into our
ranks for the purpose Of in
filtrating I h oSe industries
which had remained immune
10 their propaganda. In
Bremen and Minden, the NaZiS
perpetrated bold coups and
threatened 10 attain a ma
iority in the strike commit
tees.
The Job Of driving the Nazi
squads off the docks and out
Of these committees was given
TO Edgar Andree, one Of the
leaders of the outlawed Red
Front Fighters League. ! had
met him in 1923. in the lair of
Maria Schipora
This warm-hearted giant
and superb fighter displayed
uncompromising cruelty when
it came TO grinding Hitlers
columns into the dust.
Edgar Andree had won
great popularity among us
after he had successfully
smashed Nazi meetings in
which DR.. Joseph Goebbels
had been the chief speaker.
Andree organized Red terror
units in all north German
towns. armed them with
stilettos and Belgian auto
mates, and gave them the
order:
For every Communist muir
dered, five storm troopers
must he killed."
II was Andree who was
mainly responsible for the
creation Of a special military
organization named the Anti
Fascist Guard" No man in
spired greater fear and hatred
in the hearts Of the storm
troopers than Edgar Andree.
Our undercover agents in
the Hitler formations reported
that the storm troop COM
manders. Karl Ernst of Berlin