The Struggle against fascism in Germany : by Leon Trotsky ; introduced by Ernest Mandel.

481 Pages·1975·12.39 MB·English

by  Trotsky

The
Struggl--
Against
Fascism
1• n .
Germany
by Leon Trotsky
introduction by
Ernest Mandel
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM
IN GERMANY
LEON TROTSKY
With an Introduction by
ERNEST MANDEL
Pathfinder Press, Inc.
New York
Leon Trotsky in Mexico, 1940
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM
IN GERMANY
Copyright © 1971 by Pathfinder Press, Inc.
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 73-119532
ISBN 0-87348-135-6; 0-87348-136-4 paper
Edited by George Breitman and Merry Maisel
Annotated by Merry Maisel and Dick Roberts
First Edition 1971
Third Printing 1977
Pathfinder Press, Inc.
410 West Street, New York, N.Y. 10014
CONTENTS
PREFACE 7
INTRODUCTION by Ernest Mandel 9
Notes 39
PART ONE: SOUNDING THE ALARM 47
1. The Turn in the Communist International
and the Situation in Germany (September 26, 1930). 55
2. Thaelmann and the "People's Revolution"
(April 14, 1931). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3. Workers' Control of Production (August 20, 1931). 77
4. Factory Councils and Workers' Control
of Production (September 12, 1931) . . . . . 85
PART TWO: THE UNITED FRONT EXPLAINED 89
5. Against National Communism! (Lessons of
the "Red Referendum") (August 25, 1931). 93
6. Germany, the Key to the International
Situation (November 26, 1931) . . . . . . . . 115
7. For a Workers' United Front Against Fascism
(December 8, 1931). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8. What Next? Vital Questions for the
German Proletariat (January 27, 1932) . 142
PART THREE: THE NATURE OF BONAPARTISM 259
9. Interview with Montag Morgen (May 12, 1932). 263
10. The German Puzzle (August 1932) . . . . . 265
11. The Only Road (September 14, 1932). . . 272
12. German Bonapartism (October 30, 1932). 329
PART FOUR: THE DECISION IS MADE 335
13. Before the Decision (February 5, 1933) . . . . . . 338
14. The United Front for Defense: A Letter to a
Social Democratic Worker (February 23, 1933) .... 349
PART FIVE: REVIEWING THE LESSONS 371
15. The Tragedy of the German Proletariat: The German
Workers Will Rise Again-Stalinism, Never!
(March 14, 1933) ................. . . 375
16. Germany and the USSR (March 17, 1933) .. . 385
17. Hitler and the Red Army (March 21, 1933) . . 388
18. The German Catastrophe: The Responsibility
of the Leadership (May 28, 1933) ...... . . 391
19. What Is National Socialism? (June 10, 1933) .. . 399
20. How Long Can Hitler Stay? (June 22, 1933) .. . . . 408
PART SIX: FOR A NEW INTERNATIONAL 417
21. It Is Necessary to Build Communist Parties
and an International Anew (July 15, 1933) ... 419
22. It Is Impossible to Remain in the Same
International with the Stalins, Manuilskys,
Lozovskys & Co. (July 20, 1933). .... . . .. 427
PART SEVEN: LATER GENERALIZATIONS 435
23. Bonapartism and Fascism (July 15, 1934) ....... 437
24. Bonapartism, Fascism, and War (August 20, 1940). 444
NOTES 453
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS 475
INDEX OF NAMES 476
PREFACE
The pamphlets, articles, and letters by Leon Trotsky collected
in this book, most of them written before Hitler came to power
in 1933, represent an application of Marxism to a complex
contemporary phenomenon that is as brilliant, creative, and
educational as any produced by the revolutionary movement
since Marx's time. If Trotsky's analysis and proposals for
action had been accepted by the German working class, the
subsequent history of this century would have been profoundly
different
In the introduction to this book, Ernest Mandel, the Belgian
Marxist, explores Trotsky's analysis of fascism and compares
it with other theories of Trotsky's time and since. Mandel's
introduction was translated from the German by Rod Speel
and Robert Langston.
As a further aid to the reader unfamiliar with the political
developments prior to and immediately after the Nazi assump
tion of power, prefatory notes about the German situation and
Trotsky's relation to it precede each of the seven parts of the
book. Explanatory notes covering the major personages of
the period are supplied in the back of the book, along with
a list of the newspapers and journals cited in the text.
Because of space limitations the present book does not con
tain everything Trotsky wrote about the rise of fascism in
Germany or the political and organizational lessons he drew
from that experience. The writings not included here will be
found in Writings of Leon Trotsky, a series of volumes pub
lished by Pathfinder Press, most particularly in the volumes
for the years 1931-1933.
None of the pamphlets or articles has been abridged for
this book, although some of the letters may have been cut
7
8 Preface
prior to their first printing. With one exception ("The German
Puzzle," Chapter 10, translated in 1970) all were published
in the United States shortly after being written. Most of the
selections have been out of print since very shortly after their
publication.
Wherever possible, the translations have been checked against
the Russian printed versions. In one text a few paragraphs
inadvertently omitted from the original translation have been
restored. Minor changes in wording, word order, and punc
tuation have been made occasionally for clarity's sake; these
changes have been checked against the Russian texts.
Information about the first place of publication and the trans
lator's name, where known, is supplied in the prefatory notes;
Trotsky's own titles for these articles are also given wherever
they differ substantially from the ones used in the translations.
Except for the last three chapters, all of this book was writ
ten in Turkey where, as Trotsky complained, mail from Ger
many took a long time to arrive.
INTRODUCTION
by Ernest Mandel
I
The history of fascism is at the same time the history of the
theoretical analysis of fascism. The concurrence of the appear
ance of a new social phenomenon and of the attempt to under
stand it is more striking in the case of fascism than in any
other of modern history.
The reasons for this simultaneity are obvious. A new phe
nomenon suddenly appeared that seemed sharply to reverse
a long-term historical trend of "progress." The shock experi
enced by attentive observers was all the greater because this
historical reversal was accompanied by the even more direct
brutality of physical violence against individuals. Historical
and individual fate suddenly became identical for thousands
of human beings, and later, for millions. Not only were so
cial classes defeated and not only did political parties suc
cumb, but the existence, the physical survival, of broad hu
man groups suddenly became problematical.
So it is understandable that those who were affected strove
almost immediately to attain an understanding of their situa
tion. The question, "What is this fascism?" inevitably flared
forth from the flames of the first House of the People burned
by the fascist bands in Italy. For forty years-into the im
mediate post-World War II period-this question fascinated
both the leading theoreticians of the working-class movement
and the bourgeois intelligentsia. While the pressure of the his
torical events themselves, as well as of the "unmastered past,"l •
has abated somewhat in recent years, the theory of fascism re
mains a magnetic theme of political science and political so
ciology. 2
No one aware of how greatly the so-called historical sciences
are socially conditioned should be surprised that the repeated
attempts to interpret the greatest tragedy of contemporary Eu-
• [Notes to the Introduction begin on p. 39. - Editor.]
9