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Given By U 3. StJFT. U> DOCUMENTS
INVESTIGATION OF UN-AMERICAN
PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES IN THE
UNITED STATES
LOUIS F. BUDENZ
<'\^T* ^-^^
^ HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEVEXTY-NIXTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON » ^
H. Res. 5
TO INVESTIGATE (1) THE EXTENT, CHARACTER, AND OBJECTS OF TN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES IN THE t^NITED STATES; (2) THE DIFFUSION WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF SUBVERSIVE AND UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA THAT IS INSTKJATED FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES OR OF A DOMESTIC ORIGIN AND ATTACKS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT AS GUARANTEED BY OUR CONSTITUTION ; AND (3j ALL OTHER QUESTIONS IN RELATION THERETO THAT WOULD AID CONGRESS IN ANY NECESSARY REMEDIAL
LEGISLATION
NOVE.MBER 22, 1946 AT WASHINGTON, D. C.
Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities
n
^^
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 94456 WASHINGTON : 1946
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
JOHN S. WOOD, Georgia, Chairman
JOHN E. RANKIN, Mississippi J. PARNELL THOMAS, New Jersey
J. HARDIN PETERSON, Florida KARL E. MUNDT, Soutli Daliota
J. W. ROBINSON, Utali GERALD W. LANDIS, Indiana
JOHN R. MURDOCK, Arizona HERBERT C. BONNER, North Carolina
Ernie Adamson, Counsel John W. Carrington, Clerk II
INVESTIGATION OF UN-AMERICAN PROrAGANDA ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1946
House of Ilf:PKESENTATivES, Committee on Un-American Activities,
Washington, I). O.
The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. John S. Wood (chairman), presiding.
The Chairman. Let tlie committee be in order. Do you have some evidence to present, Mr. Adamson?
Mr. Adamson. Yes. ^Nlr. Chairman. I want to call the witness Louis Budenz, a professor at Fordham University. Mr. Budenz is here under subpena.
The CiFAiKMAN. The witness will be sworn.
(Whereupon the witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Mr. Adamson. Xow, Professor Budenz, will you give your name and address to the reporter.
TESTIMONY OF LOUIS FKANCIS BUDENZ
Mr. Budenz. Louis Francis Budenz, 26 Manhattan Avenue, Crest- wood, Yonkers. N. Y.
Mr. Adamson. What business or profession are you in?
Mr. Budenz. At present I am assistant professor of economics at Fordham University.
Mr. Adamson. Prior to your affiliation with Fordham University, what did you do?
Mr. Budenz. I was assistant professor of economics at Notre Dame University.
Mr. Adamson. Prior to your work at Notre Dame, what did you do?
Mr. Budenz. I was managing editor of the Daily Worker and presi- dent of the Freedom of the Press Company, Lie, the corporation that controlled and managed the Daily Worker.
^L-. Rankin. When you say the Daily Worker, do you mean the Communist Daily Worker?
Mr. TkDENz. i mean the official organ of the Communist Party in the LTnited States.
Mr. Rankin. And that is published in New York City ?
Mr. Budenz. That is correct.
Mr. Adamson. How long were you affiliated with the Daily Worker?
Mr. Budenz. Well, I was a member of the Connnunist Party for 10 years; 0 years a member of the national committee, and originally I was labor editor of the Daily AVorker for approximately 3 years.
1
2 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Then I \\'as editor of the Midwest Daily Record of Chicago, likewise initiated by the Communists, for approximately 3 years, and from 1940 on I was president of the Freedom of the Press Corp.
Shortly thereafter I was made also the managing editor of the Daily Worker.
Mr. Adamson. Now, Professor Budenz, I understand that you have prepared some testimony which you are willing to give to this com- mittee concerning the activities of certain officials and members of the Communist Party and their organization, not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world. Are you prepared to proceed with your statement ?
Mr. Budenz. I am prepared.
Mr. Adamsox. Will you please go ahead in your own words ?
Mr. Budenz. As I understand it, specifically, this appearance be- fore the committee under subpena was a result of a speech that I made from Detroit over the radio on October 13. In that speech I asserted — and I will file with the committee a recording of my speecli over the radio later so tliat the exact wording can be brought before you — that the Communist International exists in fact, if not in form; that is to say, I asserted that international connnunications with Moscow continue to exist and what are approximately instructions from Mos- cow continue to be given to the Comnuuiist parties throughout the w^orld.
I further said that a specific individual here was the equivalent of a representative of the Communist International. I used that speci- fic phraseology because it was the phraseology given to me officially by the representative of the political committee of the Communist Party of the United States. This incident I shall refer to later on. I therefore wish to repeat this .specific phraseology; namely, that a certain individual operating in this country was the equivalent of the representative of the Communist International in the United States.
Mr. Rankin. Will you insert your radio speech in the record at this point ?
Mr. Budenz. I will insert the recording of the speech. I do not have it with me because I was afraid of breaking it, but I will send it to the committee and file it.
This opens up, of course, a wider vista than just this particular matter of this particular individual. I referred to certain articles written by this man, and as a result of that Frederick Woltman, of the New York World-Telegram independently discovered that this man was Hans Bei-ger, otherwise known as Gerhart Eisler — which is his correct name, Gerliart Eisler — Woltman iiulependenty pul)lished this fact. I, therefore, confirmed this fact at tliat time, although I had originally said that I would make the statement first to a respon- sible agency of the Uuited States Govermnent, that is, the statement as to who the man in question was, the specific name of the individual.
I would like to say, before going further, that in this present testimony I have no aninuis against auy ])articular member of the Communist Party. There is no personality involved; however, I do think it is time, from my experience, to raise the little iron curtain in the United States.
'\^nuit is the little iron cui'tain? It is the refusal in many (juarters to permit a frank discussion of what the Comnuuiist Party actually is.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 6
Anyono wlio ondoavors to toll the truth about the Coniniiiuisl T*ai-t y is irroetiMl with shouts of "witch hunt." '"vvd haitci-/" and things of that I'hai-aftci-.
I chiiin that tlio honest, normal Aniorican citizen has a i-i^ht to know the fact.s without this oil'ort to put down a cuitain upon the activities of the Conmuniist Party.
With that understanding- I will pioceed with a statement con- cernin«r this radio speech. In the first place. I must <j;ive the back- oTound of the Connnunist Party and its opei-ations — wliich led to the speecli beino- made.
Afr. Rankin. I miaht say to you. the little iron curtain has been raised here, and you may proceed with your statement.
Mr. BuDENz. That is very <>:ood to know.
Of course, this little iron curtain is carried forward by certain imliviihials. many of whom know not what they do. They are imposed upon the Communists and are sarcastically known by the Com- nmnists as "the soft-headed and soft-hearted liberals," They are used because of their naivete, to do many things that the Communists cannot do themselves.
We must understand, then, before we get to the meat of the matter that we are dealing with a conspiracy to establish Soviet dictatorship throughout the world. This conspiracy resorts normally to illegal methods. This conspiracy requires the utmost servility on the ])art of the so-called Communist leaders in various countries throughout the world. It makes puppets of this leadership, as shown in the case of William Z. Foster or Earl Browder,
At the present moment this conspiracy is directed specifically against the peace and safety of the United States of America. Those are serious charges, but they can be fully confirmed. You must also know the background of this business in order to appreciate this one instance before us. That is, the reference to Berger-Eisler is oidy an incident, but the point of the matter is that it is an incident which illustrates what the American people should know much more about.
I say this conspiracy is to establish the Soviet dictatorship through- out the world. There is so much evidence on that I even hesitate to try to add further confirmation. But we have such confirmation in the activities of the Communist Party itself in the United States. Never throughout its history has the Communist Party found one de- fect of any kind in any leader of the Soviet Union who was endorsed by the Kremlin. You can search the Daily Worker or any. other Communist i)ublication from beginning to end for '2^ years and you will find that alwaj's the Soviet leadership is 100 percent perfect in tho.se pages — they have godlike qualities that prevent any flaw being found in them. Secondly, this movement follows Moscow in every detail. P^xamination of the official Comnnniist ])ress will con- firm this, that the policies desired by the Ki'emlin are followed out servilely by this organization and its leadership. That stamps it im- mediately as something set off from the rest of America, as a quisling organization as much under the heel of the Kremlin, oi- at the behest of the Kremlin, as the Xazi bund was the agent of Hitler's Germany.
Of course, no one can appreciate fully or vividly what destruction of intellectual integrity is involved in this mattei- mdess he has l)een an official Communist and gone through the process. America is
4 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
totally ignorant of what takes place back of the little iron curtain. I will give you one or two examples of this matter to confirm further what I have to say.
Now, in regard to the matter of the Soviet dictatorship, we have the statements by gentlemen of outstanding importance, such as Mr. Molotov, as to the intentions of the Communist International move- ment and the Soviet Government. There has been no bashfulness on this question. Mr. Molotov in 1928, in a statement that I have publicly quoted before, declared over and over again in a speech to the Lenin- grad functionaries of the Communist Party that the sole aim of the Communist International is the establishment of "world proletarian dictatorship." And he did not only say that once ; he repeated it over and over again in that speech, so that it would be driven home.
In 1935, at the seventh congress of the Communist International — and this was the congress which was supposed to bring democratic organizations and nations in alinement with the Soviet Union, or the Soviet Union in alinement with them — the promise of Soviet dic- tatorship throughout the world was continued. As a matter of fact, Wilhelm Piek, the chairman of the seventh congress, stated specifically that their objective was Soviet power, everywhere, their banner was the banner of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, and that their leader everywhere was Stalin. In order to make this still more emphatic a special resolution of personal fealty to Stalin was adopted at the seventh congress of the Communist International in which the Com- munist leadership there from all over the world, including the Com- munist leadership of the United States, pledged itself to unending, un- bending devotion — and those are not the exact words, but I shall file a copy of that resolution with the committee: the words here give the idea — unending, unbending devotion to Stalin as their leader and teacher. And this was enthusiastically endorsed by the leadership of the Communist Party from the United States who w^ere present, in- cluding, and specifically including, Earl Browder.
I have said that this conspiracy engaged and engages in illegal activities. We have the case of Mr. Browder's false passport, and that is more or less a typical condition among Communist leaders — '"Krumbein technical difficulties'' they are called.
The treasurer of the Communist Party, Mr. Krumbein. at least he was recently the treasurer, and, by the way. he is personally a nice enough gentleman — spent 18 months in prison because of a false passport. In fact, when I entered the party I had to delay my ac- quaintance with him because he was in jail at that time under the false passport charge. We can find that Mr. Ben Gitlow, referring to the time w^hen he w^as general secretary of the party, in his book I Con- fess reproduced a copy of a false passj)ort under which he traveled. When the Hitler-Stalin i^act came around there were so many of the leading comrades who had "technical difficulties'' that ]n"actically ev- erybody was going underground at tliat time. They put on mustaches; they went down to Florida as "tired businessmen," and they disaj)- peared. In fact, some of them disaiij^eared for almost 2 years. As a matter of fact, what brought tliis sjiecifically to my attention was the fact that they wanted me to disappear: they AAanted me to go to a hotel and register under an assumed name and remain away from home. I refused to do this because, as I said. "What is the matter
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 5
with me? As an AiiuM-ican, I can stand out in tho liuht of day." So it was a<:!:i'i't'd thai I did have this exemption, and it was found very surjn-isinir that anyone in a h'adin^ position ^YOuhl not have some "teclniieal dilhcuhy/'
Mr. Kankix. Ixepeat the name of that man who spent some time in prison.
Mr. BuDENz. Cliarles Krumhein. He spent 18 months in prison.
Ml". Kan KIN. AVhere is he now?
]\Ir. BuDKNz. Well, he was national treasurer of the Communist Party, and that was when 1 left the or<ranization. 1 have no animos- ity toward Mv. Krumbein, but I mention that as a fact to prove the illeffal aeti\ities of the jnirty.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know wliere he is now?
Mr. BuDExz. I do not know specifically at the moment.
I mentioned j\Ir. Gitlow, though, likewise, to show that this illegal work is a tradition in the party. That does not mean that everyone is engaged in it, but there is enough of it to make it a system and tradition.
Further than that, this conspiracy's illegal work is now directed against the United States, and we have had enough evidence on that surely tluit somebody ought to realize this.
We Avill take, for example, the Jacques Duclos article written in 1945. which deposed Browder from leadership.
]\Ir. Raxkix. Before you go on further, you made a statement just a few moments ago that "this is directed against the United States." Do you mean directed toward the overthrow of the Government ?
Mr. BuDEXz. I mean that the Soviet Government has now revealed through my experience in discussions within the Communist Party the fact that it is engaged in a war of nerves against the United States on a general pattern similar to that carried on by Hitler's Germany, but with its own variations, and that this war of nerves will go to the point of military conflict. That is, according to the design of the Soviet Government, it can go to the point of military conflict. At any rate, it is a war of nerves designed to undermine the Government of the United States.
Mr. MuxDT. You do not think there is any danger of its going to military conflict as long as we have the atom bomb and they do not have the atom bomb ?
Mr. BuDEX^z. That is another question. I am only disclosing what I learned and not my opinion in the matter. However, I would like to go further and state that a responsible person will not say what I am saying without grave reasons. These reasons come about from the experience that I had over a number of years.
\ye will take, for example, the Duclos article of A])ril 1945 which deposed Mr. Browder. That article states very definitely that the Tehran Pact is "only a diplomatic gesture." Wliat is the Tehran Pact? It was the agreement between Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt that there would be generations of peace. The Soviet Union, through Mr. Duclos. takes the initiative in stating that this pact is only a diplomatic gesture. It was certainly understood by every trained Communist leader that if the Tehran Pact was to be torn u]) as a diplomatic gesture, it would mean that the era of })eace seeking was over regard- less of what form the new era may take.
6 LTN-AMERICAX PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Secondly, Earl Browder was deposed as a "revisionist'' for standing on the platform of Teheran and assuming that the pact was something ihat was going to last for quite a period of years. For that he was declared a revisionist, which incidentallv constitutes as great a crime on the right in Communist eyes as being a Trotsk>ite is on the left. If 3^ou are a revisionist, 3'^ou are "an enemy of the Soviet Union, the work- ing class, and the Communist Party" according to Conununist ideas. And Mr. Browder, who had been one of the most servile agents of Moscow, its wills, whims, and wishes, was surprisingly and suddenly confronted with that accusation.
Of course, we can see immediately that when Mr. Browder was confronted with the accusation that fact gave notice to every Com- munist leader throughout the world that the relations with the United States had changed. If he were deposed, as a revisionist for holding onto the Tehran Pact, why, necessarily, the whole idea that the Tehran Pact was a valid pact was to be disposed of. In addition, certainly the sharp disciplining of Browder showed that a future up- holding of the Tehran Pact, and the idea back of it of peace with the United States, was fully incorrect. It was even hostile to the views of the Soviet Union.
I will try to return later to confirm further evidence that I could give in regard to discussions on this matter within the Conununist Party. Though I do not wish to take too nuich time with this initial background, that background is very important.
Now, that brings me to the fourth stej), the acts around Browder's expulsion that showed the Quisling nature of the Conununist Party. I wish to try to reserve the possibility of referring later, however, to certain discussions around the Duclos article. I want to show, how subservient the leadership, so-called, of the Communist Party is to the will, whim, and wish of Moscow.
Prior to the Duclos article, Earl Browder was applauded for half an hour every time he appeared, even in a secret national committee meeting. Not only that, he was hailed as the greatest Marxist-Lenin- ist in the Western Hemishere. Not only that, every member of the national committee would declare at every meeting that he agreed fully with the report that Browder would make. Browder would speak from 2 to 4 hours in the national committee at each of its sessions, and then everyone present would state that they were in agreement with his proposals 100 percent.
It was disclosed later, as Browder was being deposed, that these agreements with his )K)licy had been written before the national committee members even knew what he was going to say. The na- tional committee members of the American Party thus actually wrote their commendations of Browder's reports before they knew what the report was going to include. And this was confessed by men and women, one after another, in the secret luitional connnittee meeting in June 1945. I have never seen such a confessiim of in- tellectual degradation as was shown by this exhibition in the national committee meeting. Some of the confessions have been pi'inted. They have been Avatered down but printed. One of them is the confession of Elizabeth Flynn. I cannot give you the exact wording, but you can considt the article (»f SejHember 1045 in Political Affairs, which is the official theoretical organ of the Conuniuiist Partv: for-
UN-AMEKICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 7
nu'ily known as the Coinnmnist. In this issue Elizahcth Flynn says that ahhouiih she is a nu'iiihcr of the j)oli(ical couiniiltcc — iho so- calhMl j)o\viMful six who are supiiosed to inn the party — she has not had any iiulei)en(hMit tliotiirht or action thiouuhoiit that pei'io(h And the reason she says tiiat this was the case is that slic was told tlial she "did not know theory."
Now. yon can sec how convenient in intiniichitinf; people it is to say they have a lack of knowled<re of theory. When two or three select Coniiniuiist leaders iiave a thou<xht that they want to ])nt over to their comrades, but which they cannot explain fidly because it is not their thou<rht.- having: been handed to them, they can char<xe you cannot understand them because you do not know Marxist-Leninist theory. Elizal>eth Flynn. a leader of the Conununist Party, could not have one indivichial thoiiiiht or act because she was accused of not kn(nvin<r theory. She was paralyzed intellectually. This is con- fessed b}' her in print, though wtitered down from her ])revious speech.
Then there is the case of William Z. Foster, the luitional chairman of the party. He declared, and this is i)artly in print likewise, that he did not dare raise obje<^tions that he had to Browder's policy be- cause he was afi'aid of being expelled from the party. Imagine one of the leaders of the party, the national chairnum, not daring to express an opinion because he is afraid of expulsion. That shows the servility with which these things are carried out.
If you will look at the history of the Communist Parties, you will find that there is always a left and right leader as a rule kei)t on ice in every i)arty. Then one can be pulled out on this occasion and an- other can be pulled out on another time, like marionettes when policy changes or the line changes. Foster had a left reputation and was always trying to jump the line ahead of time. He always thought that he saAv another change was going to be made and he was always trying to be ahead of time.
In 1044. as a conse^iuence. he wrote a letter to the national committee criticizing Browder"s policies. This letter was voted down by the national connnittee after a very hurried session, but in addition it was suppressed. This is testified to by Foster himself. It is testified to in print in this same article. Xot only was his letter suppressed, in addition, no national connnittee member was allowed to keep the letter, and not one of the rank and file of the Comnuinist Party knew that it existed, knew that their national chairman was in disagree- ment with their general secretary.
Gentlemen. 1 onlv got to look at that letter in a fragmentarv way as managing editoi- of the Daily Worker, and I was not even allowed to hold it in my hands by the member of the ]K)litical connnittee who showed it to me. I got a glance at it. but I did not know its real con- tents because it had to be very hurriedly looked at. No national committee member in this country was allowed to keep it or study it. But. lo and behold, this letter appears later in the hands of Jacques Duclos, hundreds of miles away in France. The letter not oidy ap- pears there, but he .studies it. and he quotes from it, and he commends part of it, a letter which the American national committeenu'n were not even allowed to study. A gentleman across the seas was allowed not only to study it but to quote, comment, and commend that letter.
Mr. MuxuT. Who suppressed it ^ You were not allowed io hold it?
94456 — 46 2
8 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Mr. BuDKXz. The national committee suppressed it, and Earl Brow- der suppressed it. I will come to that later.
As a matter of fact, I might say here that conspicuous in helping the suj^pression was Mr. Eisler as Hans Berger,
Agreement with Tehran was then the line. Foster was jumping the line, although this letter was very conveniently used later on to demolish Browder in the way that they wanted to demolish him for the time being.
Not only that, I will call your attention, gentlemen, to Mr. Browder's statement on this Duclos' article, and this is very significant. In introducing this article to the readers of the Daijy Worker, and I noted this particulai'ly at the time as managing editor, Mr. Browder said:
This undoubtedly represents the opinion of all the leading European Marxists.
Just appreciate the significance of that observation. By some stroke of genius Earl Browder knows so quickly that all the leading Euro- pean Marxists think him to be a criminal "against the Soviet Union, the Communist Party and the working class." Those phrases go to- gether in the definition of "a revisionist." He knows that he has been condemned by all Marxist leaders in Europe. And I ask you. How could he know that without close organizational international com- munication? How could he know in double-quick time what all the leading European Marxists thought ? And yet in print Mr. Browder says:
This undoubtedly represents the opinion of all the European Marxists.
This Duclos article which condemns him, mind you, as a revisionist. I want to ask you further, who is the "leading European Marxist"? We know from the resolution of 1935 that it is "the teacher and leader" Josef Stalin, and by his little phrase Mr. Browder was able to ac- quaint every trained Communist everywhere — certainly he acquainted me and I think everyone else — with the fact that this Duclos view was approved by Moscow; this was the voice of authority. And I want to tell youthat the national committee recognized it and knew it as the voice of authorit3^ Here was Browder, who had been cheered for half an hour for years every time he appeared at a secret national committee meeting. In fact, this practice is testified to by the Com- munists in print ; it is said that there was overadulation of Browder. And lo and behold, at the first national committee meeting in June 1945 when he appeared to state his view on the Duclos article only :> of the 80 that were present would speak to him. I think you will agree that was a very powerful article that Mr. Duclos wrote. Suddenly you can change cheers to social ostracism; not just disagreement. As a matter of fact, Mr. Browder had not yet had an opportunity to speak there, when no one of the committee woidd talk to him but three, and I was one of the three. I always have had the reputation among the Connnunists of being a sort of American-trained sap, anyway. I had said that as a newspaperman, I would have to follow the practice of the working press. In order to get cooperation, I could not make faces at those out of step with the Connnunist Party. I always con- tended that when you went to a convention as a representative of the press you had to talk to people whether they were friendly or hostile. An exemption was granted me on this ground and I took
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTrVITIES 9
lulvantaiiv of i( in I his casi'. I spoke to Browcler and I noticed (hat only two others did at that time. As a luattei- of fact, he felt this ostracism keenly, because he sat most of the time with his head in l>is hands.
The leason that I hiin^- this before you is to show in a vivid bird's- eye way the complete subserviency of the Connnunist leadershi]) here in Aniei-ii-a to decisions that accord with the wishes, wliinis, and will of Moscow.
Mr. MrxDT. In that connection. I think it would be helpful at this point if you could nuike the tie-up. if there is one, between Duclos and Stalin. because tlie Duclos article brou<iht about this ixreat chanjie.
Mr. Bi DKN/.. Jacques Duclos is the ofeneral secretary of the French Communist Party. Stalin was the general secretary of the Com- munist Party of the Soviet Union, and is still its leader. They were all membei's' and officials of the Connnunist International until the Communist Internatioiuil was declared dissolved. Mr. Brow^der made the tie-up. He made the tie-up when he said, "Undoubtedly this is the opinion of all leading European Marxists." Anybody that is a trained Communist, and certainly almost anyone else, ap}M-eciates the fact that if this is tlie opinion of European Marxists, it must be the opinion of Stalin as the leading "leading European Marxist"; not only the leading "leading European Marxist" but the leading Marxist of the world, as he has been proclaimed in various resolutions.
I have merelj' brought these matters up to give the background of what we are considering. Of course, in such a conspiracy as this, you do not have signs around saying, "Kilroy was here." Documentary evidence is very thin, indeed, but there is plenty of other evidence to show this conspiracy, from what I have already indicated; evidence that could be followed up in nnich nioie detail, if we had time. But the basic thing that the American people should know" is that here is an organization in America that judges all Americans according to their degree of subserviency to the Soviet Union. A leader in America is applauded in proportion as to how he agrees with the particular will of Moscow at any particular time, and the record proves it. This is not something drawn from any oral discussion; this is the record which a study of the Connnunist press will show.
And. I learned from experience, this conspiracy proceeds to de- nounce anyone who disagrees with the Soviet policies at any particular time as a Fascist. A Fascist, in Conmnmist lingo, is anyone wiio dis- agrees with the Soviet Union, its aims and its aggressions. In that way the title "anti-Fascist" was often conferred on those who had worked actively with Hitler, because now they have turned over to helping the Soviet totalitarianism. As time went on. I learned this as managing editor of the Daily Worker.
I remember very decidedly in tlie i-ecent past about certain collabora- tionists who for years were collaborating with Hitler, and I was told to represent one or another of them as anti-Fascist heroes. We will take Rola-Zymierski. the Minister of Defense in the Polish puppet state. Although he had a ])ro-Fascist record, he had to be portrayed as a leading anti-Fascist. And yet, through all that period, the Amer- ican workingmen had been told that a non-Fascist was
Ml". Kaxkin (inteiposing). And in this period you mean when?
10 UN-AMERICAX PROPAGAXDA ACTIVITIES
Mr. BuDEXz. Any particiiUir period, thoiioli I was referring specifi- cally to the latter part of World War II. But I might say tliat the title "Fascist" depends on whether a jMiblic figure disagrees with the Soviet Union ; a Fascist, I repeat, is one who disagrees with the Soviet Union, in Communist parlance.
That is what I found out by actual experience in trying to get facts about the collaborationists. There was the case of George Tatarescu of Rumania, whose hands drip with blood of democrats and the Jewish people, who was notoriously helpful to Hitler. He was named Foreign Minister b}^ Vishinsky and has cooperated in the terror there by the combination of brown and red Fascists. Because they were now with the Soviet Union, we were com])elled to call them leading anti-Fascists. It's serving the Soviet dictatorship that counts.
That brings me more specifically to the matters at hand. Mr. Rankin. Mr. Budenz, I do not know whether it will distract your attention or not, but as I understand it connnunism is a system of world revolution, planned world revolution ; is that correct ?
Mr. BuDExz. It is, except that today there has been an emphasis which forms itself into an expression of a new phase of this totali- tarianism, world domination by conquest. I mean to say that the Soviet dictatorship intends to establish world dictatorship, specifically nnder the leadership of the Kremlin, specifically under the leadership of Stalin.
Mr. Raxkix. In what Avay does this form differ from our form of government ?
Mr. Bfdexz. That is a long story, Mr. Rankin ; rather it would take
fpiite a while. I think that we can say that
INIr. Thomas ( interposing) . I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that that ques- tion be reserved.
Mr. Rax-^kix'. I will reserve the question.
The Chairman. Suppose we let the witness proceed, Mr. Rankin, in his own way. Mr. Raxkix'. Yes.
Mr. BuDExz. The first thing I have brought forward in a general way is the intent of this Communist conspiracy and what is involved in the Quisling role of the Communist Party. We can see that Foster, the national chairman, was so afraid to express his opinion that he per- mitted the suppression of his view for fear of expulsion from the party. They would not carry forward the discussion in America ; it had to go to "a higher authority.'' The discussion had to be had through the medium of Jacques Duclos, speaking for Moscow, when the matter came up. And as I have said. INIr. Duclos had the benefit of knowing what the American leaders of the Communist Party were denied, the benefit of the letter written by Foster and the comments made. Of course, it is obvious that there was international conununi- cation; thei-e was a continuance of an apparatus like that of the Com- munist International.
As a matter of fact, Browder had gone to ^lexico City a couple of years befoi-e, and had exjjelled most of the members of the national committee in the INIexican party and also the general secretary. And certainly he would not have been able through his own magnetism alone to" perform that action. He had powerful credentials for that j)urpose, the understanding that his act was in accord with Moscow wishes.
rK-AMERICAX PKOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 11
I stated in this radio hioadcast at Detroit on October 1)5 that the man representino; this international apparatns in the United States Avas "tlie eqnivalent to a repi'esentat ive of tlie Conniiuuist Interna- tionah"
I was ollicially advised of this fact in those terms by En<;ene Dennis, in 1942; sometime in li)4"i. Dennis was then the representative of the (\nnnninist Party's Political Committee to the Daily Woi'ker.
I wish to state to the committee here that I have not as yet had the opportnnity to considt the files of the Daily Worker. It is quite possible had I done so that I would have been in an even better posi- tion to <iive dates more specifically, and I shall volunteer to this com- mittee to make it my duty to be more specific by filin*^ a statement later giving the dates in particular months if i)()ssible. That will require, however, a study of the files of the Daily Woi'ker. These matters I s])eak of are referred to indirectly in the Daily Worker, or are connected by associations with events reported in the Daily Worker.
At any rate. Mr. Dennis had been one of those leading Communists who were untlerirround and in hiding for quite a while during the Hitler-Stalin pact. In going undei- ground he had disappeared com- pletely, except that once in a while I would get a note from him. That note was not even signed with his own hand writing; it was just a type- written note. Of course, there are interoffice memoranda in many organizations, but this was from one of the men you did not see. And, in such notes instructions were given to you from nowhere. Some- times those instructions came orally from whoever at that time was acting as the liaison officer Avith the political committee of the Com- munist Partv. You must understand that the political committee always has one of its members act as a representative of the committee to the Daily Worker and he generally sits in Avith the editorial board for that paper. At least, if he does not always sit in at such meetings he is resixjnsible for comnuniications between the political committee and the Daily Worker.
That person is changed from time to time. For a Avhile. back quite some time, when Hathaway Avas the editor, this representative Avas Alex Bittleman: and then it became another person, and so on, as changes were made.
And then after he came out of hiding Dennis became the representa- tive of the political committee — Foster had acted just before that; there Avas a short interim during which the functi(m lay betAveen Foster and Dennis. And at that time, in 1942, Dennis told me one day that he had to go to AVashington, and thei-efore took up the Berger mattei- Avith me. A year before he went under ground, in connection Avith a secret matter. He had had a conference with me and he was going to AVashington again on it — at any rate. Dennis had previously told me about this mattei' and T must l)ring this out in order to give the i-elationship Avith Pjerger. Dennis had told me of a "technical difficulty" under which he Avas suffering and asked my opinion, if I could not use my influence with a certain gentlenuin iii Washington to do something about removing this technical difliculty.
This gentleman's name I shall furnish to the conunittee in executive session, but he has nothing to do Avith the Communist Party and it Avould not be fair to him to bring his name into this public discussion. He Avas an official here in Washington, and I had known him: I had
12 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
known him in the Middle West, and I was asked by Mi-. Dennis if I could advise whether that official could help cret him out of this technical difficulty.
I said, "It depends entirel}' on what the technical difficulty is." Generally a Communist does not talk about another's technical diffi- culty, nor does another comrade disclose his own difficulty unless in great urgency. However, I said, in order to form my judgment I would have to get some idea what the technical difficulty was, in this case. Dennis then said it was somewhat siuiilar to the Krumbein difficulty. He added something about use of "an Irish name."' In other words, it looked to me as if Dennis had something like a false passport case, though he did not state that specifically, and that he wanted help in such a case. At all odds he wanted urgent assistance on a "difficulty" or record which he wished removed or remedied.
I told him that I could not recommend the gentleman in Washing- ton because I did not know what his attitude in things like that would be; that he had a general liberal attitude toward the Conmuniist movement, but I could not guarantee what it would be in such a case. Now, later on in 194^ — and when I say later on, I will have to check with the Daily Worker files as the exact month — ^Ir. Dennis came to me again when acting as political committee representative to the Daily Worker, and said, "Do you suppose the man in Washington is still the same in his attitude?" Dennis stated he had to go to Wash- mgton and wanted to be informed; and I said something to the effect that all I could say that the official we had talked of was about the same in his views.
Mr. Rankii^. Write the name of that man on that paper [indicat- ing] for the committee's use.
Mr. Thomas. Let us get the name in executive session.
Mr. Rankin. Very well.
Mr. BuDENZ. And, as I say, and you gentlemen will later learn, that gentleman is not in any way connected with the Connnunist uiove- ment; that he, as a matter of fact, so far as I know, was certainly not always friendly to Connnunists in his judgment and conduct — that was the reason I spoke of him as I did. Dennis added to me that the case in question was pretty well straightened out. But he went on to say that he had had this matter up with Hans Berger and that it was agreed by them that they should so arrange it that in this instance they should be fully protected. The case should be made airtight.
In connection with his being away from time to time, Dennis said to me that I might occasionally receive instructions and communica- tions from this Hans Berger. Dennis told me further that Berger was strictly underground, and that he was known l\v Dennis as a responsible comrade who had been in China and Spain and many other places, "including the United States, as you nuiy know."
These were his words, as stated specifically. "That Bergei- had func- tioned previously in China, Spain, and here in America, as you may know." Dennis then said that Berger was "equivalent to a repre- sentative of the Communist International, and that I was to consider him as such." To advise me fully. Dennis added that Berger's real name was Gerhart Gisler, and that he functioned or was to function among the "German comrades here" as such.
However, he added that I might come to learn that Gisler was a brother of Ruth Fischer, whom Dennis called a Trotskvite. but I was
UN-AMERICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 13
not to associate him with "such Troskyite liUh"; that ho was a tiiecl and tested comrade and was therefore a man in a position of autliority.
Now. I would like to say to you that in the Connuunist Party some- one who miirht appear to lie in authority would not necessarily be out in the open. It was natural for those actually running the party to be hidden undei-irround. 1 found this out early in m^' Connuunist career.
When I tirst came into the Connuunist l*arty I was one of the best-informed men on the labor movement; I had been editor of Labor Age for years, on whose board were representatives of AFL luiions that later formed the CIO; I had been to hundreds of labor union meetings and had become accjuainted with many ollicials who later became national representatives in the labor movement. So that I knew labor men very well. What was my surprise on joining the Comnumist Party in 11).'55 and working on the Daily W^orker, to find all kinds of mysterious men I had never heard of running the Communist show. They were then located right in the Connuunist national headquarters — men operating under pseudonyms. There Avas a man by the name of Edwards; there was a Brown, and there was a Peters — the last man changed his name so much that it kept me busy trying to remember what the name was.
I was frequently embarrassed as to what I was to call him — J. V. Peters, Jack Roberts, or whatever the new name might be.
And I was amazed to find, gentlemen, that there were men here in the American scene who had no stake or interest in America who were directing the running of things Communist. They were at the national headquarters of the Communist Party then, never operating under their right names but under obviously conspiratorial names.
Shortly after I became a member of the Daily Worker staff I was named labor editor of the Daily Worker. That was in late 198.5 or early 1986. I had joined in October 1935, as a result of the People's Front program adopted by the Communist International that year, and I was a People's Front Communist. In one of the early meetings I attended as labor editor — or that I attended in being notified I was about to be labor editor — I found out who really runs the Communist organization in this countrv. It is whoever is the connnunications officer, who conveys the line, the representative of the Communist International. I came into that jneeting of the editorial board of the Daily Worker, unprepared for any such revelation.
When lo and behold to my surprise in walked Mr. Edwards; he did not even introduce himself to the editorial board, but in he walked and proceeded to flay Hathaway for almost an hour, declaring him to be unfit to be editor of the Daily W^orker. that he was more inter- ested in his picture on the front page than ""he is in running the paper" as it should be run, politically. And I was amazed at this because of Hathaway's position, as represented by the daily press at that time, as one of the Big Three running the party. But Edwards came in, and Edwards was the representative of the Communist International, and he flayed Hathaway, and Hathaway did not do anything but sit there with a silly grin and had to take this trouncing. That was quite an education for me.
I realized that this was not the party it represented it to be, but a puppet apparatus of the Soviet (jovernment. But I said to myself that the big thing now is to beat Hitler and the Axis. When Hitler is overcome, I persuaded myself, the Soviet Union apparatus will
14 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
become more democratic. That was the way I deceived myself. As a matter of fact, my experience shows tliat the Soviet autocracy has become worse, as we shall see. It was }Hetty astounding to me just the same, at that time, to see that the Communist Party was managed by people who had no connection with American life, that they were simply imported in here in order to control this organization and to command men like Hathaway, who had an American background, that he was to do whatever was wanted by this individual who had the autliority from Moscow' to tell Hathaway how^ to act.
And so after that I was oi)en eyed on these matters — oh, by the way, I am satisfied, gentlemen, and were this not a case of dealing with conspiracy, I would say definitely that Edwards was Eisler. I am firmly convinced of it, and I think that further inquiry will show that that is the case. If this were a normal case I would say definitely that it was so, but we are dealing with a conspiracy and in this sort of action it is possible for the Communists to trot out false state- ments. Although I think we can prove it from the records and files^ I will just say that I believe very strongly this man Edwards was Eisler. He did not wear glasses then as now ; he did not have the emaciated look of the present at that time. But lie had taken quite a beating in the intervening years. As a matter of fact, he actually has the same characteristics, including the peculiar movement of his head as he walks.
The main point is that there was this representative of the Com- munist International in the office and his name was Edwards; I saw him in action in lOoo and V-VM'} — right along. Then there was Brown, Avliose real name was Alpi, supposedly an Italian, and many others. Now, as a matter of fact, the Peters mentioned had written a pam- phlet for the Communist Party long ago under the name of J. V. Peters, and that places him. As a matter of fact, it was Peters who introduced me to the idea of the cons])iratorial api)aratus of the Communist Party. He is a ])leasant num, too, so far as that goes. He told me that the Connnunist Party is like a submerged subnuirine; the part that you see above water is the periscope but the part undei'- neath is the real Comnumist organization; that is the conspiratorial apparatus.
And, as a matter of fact, I fomid that there were various rings in this conspiratorial apparatus, ami difi'erent sections, one of which is the Soviet police system here and another the Connnunist Interna- tional apparatus.
Then there is also the use of certain m<Mnbers of the party who noi'mally are in ])ublic life, the use of them illegally aiul secretly, sending them to Latin America, and to Canada, and other places secretly. And, as a matter of fact, sometimes a person who has been a district organizer will suddenly come to yoii and say that he is going to Mexico or to some other place and by the questions he asks you know he is on a secret mission.
I might state here that the foreign editors of the Daily Woi'ker are very closely in touch with this consi)iratoi'ial ap]iaratus of the j)arty, although they do not always know what all individuals are doing. As in all conspiracies the right hand often does not know what the left is doing. Some of the Soviet Government's representatives do not know what is being done by others, as is indicated bv what occuri-ed in the Canadian espionage trials wheie it was disclosed that the Soviet
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 15
Ambai^sjidor himself did not know in detail of the activities of the military ospionaiie.
A comrade can be pulled out and put in confidential work but at the same time he will not know what others in confidential work are doingr.
I know that because I was in confidential work at one time. I had an awful time of it trying to explain to other comrades what I was doinfj, since I had to conceal my true activities.
When I say I was in confidential work I was not out of the United States, or anytliing of that sort, but here in the United States I was in confidential work for the party and I can therefore speak with some knowledge on this matter.
Returning to Berger specifically: I did receive from time to time note>; sent by him when Dennis was away. These stressed in par- ticular that the second front in Europe was important, and ham- mered at the imi:)ortance of talking about the Soviet Union to the American people. Those were some of the notes I recall. There were others, of course, from Berger and from others.
His method of sending notes from hiding places was not peculiar to Eisler-Berger. Stachel had been underground longer than any- one else, for example,, and during that time I got notes from him about the things the Daily Worker should do ; I got those notes from Stachel largely through Foster, then the liaison officer with the Daily Worker. There were a number of those and I cannot recall them all now, but I can give you one as an example. It was con- nected Avith ^lay Day, ID-Jtl, for that day we received a communica- tion from abroad which had a peculiar name attached to it that I did not recognize; it was a peculiar name, but it was evidently a very important communication. There was an indication in it that the Soviet Union was disturbed about Hitlers entering Yugoslavia and Greece, and I was eager to know for sure who the author of that statement was. The information was supplied mysteriously from his hiding place by Stachel, who impressed me with the (Dimitroff) article's importance, indicating that it was written by Dimitroff for the Communist International. I got this information through Foster, who said that Stachel stressed that the article should be emphasized by the Daily Worker.
That is an example of what took place, which is remembered by me now because it was a rather important document. I received many other notes from undergi'ound, from Dennis, and occasionally from Stachel : more frequently when they were underground I received these communications either through those who were representatives of the political connnittee to the Daily Woi'ker or through those type- written notes which of course had no signature, but which were known to be genuine from the fact that they came from the ninth floor, because the ninth floor is the national headciuarters of the Communist Party. The eighth, incidentally, is the floor of the Daily Woi'ker. These notes came from the ninth floor where the responsible peo- ple were known to be lr)catod. people responsible for such state- ments, so far as the Communists were concerned. Some of the notes that I received from Berger were in regard to the Soviet Union, the necessity of emphasizing the Soviet's importance to America, par-
94456—46 3
16 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
ticiilarly so-called Soviet democracy. Sometimes this was not so easy, because I was to learn that there was no democracy in the Soviet elections. Particularly in 1943, a striking incident came to my attention that illustrated this. I was advised not to print that some republics had gone so sour that approximately 90 percent of their people were against the Soviet Government. The information then given me was that they were so sour, these republics had to be sup- pressed. Now, these same republics, if you will look at the elections, really voted 90 to 95 percent for Stalin. Of course they did not have any other ticket to vote for; they had no other choice except that they could have voted against that ticket, but the elections were very overwhelmingly for Stalin. And that information about the "treason" of these republics told me eloquently of the "Ja" character of the Soviet elections.
But the notes from Berger particularly emphasized the necessity of bringing to the American people the alleged democratic character of the Soviet Union, and the language he used was very em]ihatic. In addition, once in awhile he expressed his opinion very definitely through the political representative of the political committee, who brought instructions from Berger to the Daily Worker. When the question came up of the United States being the Soviet Union's chief foe, as a result of the Duclos article, Berger-Eisler gave what was almost a decision. At that time a dramatic debate took place in the office of the Daily Worker, for 3 weeks, over which I presided as chair- man, whether the United States was a hopelessly capitalistic country, in the light of the Duclos article.
James Allen, foreign editor of the Sunday Worker, asserted that the United States was a hopelessly capitalistic country in the light of the Duclos article; Jack Stachel held it was not. And the matter was intensely debated. Suddenly Stachel gave up his position — and even sanctioned a public attack which was made on General MacArthur that he was at first very loath to consent to. In speaking to Stachel about the matter privately I asked him why he had given in. He told me that there was "such a thing as yielding to Browderism, as he miglit have been doing, and that Berger had thought Allen's views should be permitted."
That meant that "the hopelessly capitalistic country" could only be dealt with as "the hopelessly Fascist country, Nazi Germany," had been treated..
Mr. Kankin. When was that attack on General MacArthur?
Mr. BtJDEXz. Ilie attack on General MacArthur came from the Philippine underground of the Communist Paity. It was printed — I am trying to approximate exactly when it was— in the fall of 1915; it was around the discussion of the Duclos article, the discussion which appeared in September, August, or September of 1945. The attack can be found in tlie files of the Daily Worker.
Mr. Adamson. Mr. Chairman, could the committee recess for about 10 minutes in order for the witness to rest his voice?
Mr. Wood. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. I want to get a copy of the attack on General Mac- Artluir.
Mr. BuDENz. That is in the files of the Daily Worker: there was a series of articles, but it constituted a very violent attack on Mac- Arthur.
UX-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 17
( Wlu'ieiipon a slioit recess wns taken.)
The C'liAiKMAX. Let the eoiuniittee he in order, please.
Mr. AuAMsox. Ml. Chairman, at the cojiclusion of his statement this afternoon. 1 will j>et up and ask on the record tliat yon adjourn the hearinir to a future date to he set.
The CiiAiHMAx. All ri<iht. Let us proceed.
Mr. Bui^Exz. There are two observations I would now like to rnake. One is that necessarily, even in this extended testimony and covering a period of vears. and also when thinirs are by notes or oral communica- tions, necessarily I will forget a number of things. I therefore will file with the committee later written supi)lements to this testimony, in addition to references to documents and the dates.
]SIr. Kaxkix. Can you do it right away?
Mr. liuDEXZ. A\'elK it nuiy take a little while. I feel the necessity of consulting the files of the Daily Worker which, to my mind, do suggest events, and I have not had the opportunity to do so. Then besides, here today, there is so much of the material at my disposal that I am going to omit some of it by accident.
I want to point, however, to two things in my experience. One is this: I have mentioned Clarence Hathaway and his relationship to Edwards, but I have not mentioned other things about Hathaway. These matters throw further light on the illegal Communist activities.
ISIr. Hathaway advised me very definitely, early in my career in the partv, that Earl Browder was practically a megaphone for someone else. It was in 11)89 in the back part of the room in a national com- mittee meeting. Mr. Hathaway told me "Don't get it in your head that Jack Stachel and Earl Browder originate these ideas they bring forward. They represent things which are presented to them by other people." That was pretty strong evidence early in my party experience of direction from abroad, which I found out later was carried to one or two leading comrades. Continuing on the matter before us, I want to i)oint out, when I spoke about illegal activities, I did not just mean this business of false passports or of one or two instances even of that.
For instance, there was Harry Cannes, late foreign editor of the Daily Worker. He was about to be convicted of false passports when he died of a brain tinnor. His deatli was hastened by fear and worry. I worked in the same office with him at the time and know that most of his trouble was not fear of America, nor fear of an American prison, but fear of people back of him in the Communist conspiratorial appa- ratus. He feared he wotdd have to divulge some of the sliadowy figures with whom he worked for the Krendin. As a mattei- of fact, there is one thing I noticed constantly in regard to Communist leadership and that was fear. I have seen Earl Browder look like he was struck with a most intense fright on more than one occasion, and Jack Stachel looks as though somebody was chasing him all the time. This fear is not of America, it is not even a sense of fear of imprisonment in America, it is this pecular shadow back of those people that puts fright into their hearts, or whatCAcr it is. Maybe it is a feeling of their obligation to the Soviet dictators. I am not going to analyze it, but it does represent .1 sense of fear.
Ml-. Mux'DT. I wish you would have a little description of Jack Stachel put in the record at this point. I do not know anything about hitn.
18 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Mr. Adamson. Mr. Stachel appeared before the committee last year, Mr. Mundt.
Mr. Mundt. I was not at that meeting.
Mr. Adamson. And we have his testimony.
Mr. BuDENZ. Mr. Stachel — I really do not care much to go into detail on that. My relations with him have been personally very excellent. He has some fine qualities, including a very quick mind, and I generally call him the Communist Vicar of Bray ; that is to say, he always lands on his feet no matter what the party line is. And back of this is a certain efficiency personally and a certain ability to get things done. However, I do know that he has a shadow, likewise, in back of him in the conspiratorial apparatus of other persons who command him. I have seen instances of this which I will have to give to the committee, however, at the moment in executive sessions, but later on they may be divulged publicly, if the committee decides that is advisable.
Secondly, as I have said, when I spoke about certain illegal activi- ties I did not mean those mentioned are all of the picture by far. But I have referred here to those things which are on American court or other formal records, such as the conviction of Browder, Gitlow's pass- port, the conviction of William Weiner. Charles Krumhein, and other things of that character involving perjury or false passports. How- ever, in back of this is the entire illegal apparatus, consistin,g, in some instances, of the assassination of those who disagree. This came to my attention early, when I first took up work with the Daily Worker. One of these instances was of the former American school teacher, Julia Stuart Poyntz, who disappeared from the streets of New York into thin air. She had been at one time very active in the Commu- nist Party, had then worked with the secret apparatus, but was turn- ing sour. When she disappeared the party was assailed for this act, and I said in an editorial-board meeting that a public defense should be made. But Hathaway drew me out of the office, I remember, that day and said : "This is hot cargo. It might injure some of our com- rades, and we cannot discuss it." And it was never discussed by the Communist press.
Then there was the case of Ignatz Maria Reiss, a noted Communist who was kidnaped and killed. The New Republic one day. to the great pain of the Communists, began to raise the question of the Reiss case very mildly. They said something was wrong there. I do not remember the exact date, but I do remember my participaticm in the discussion in the Daily Worker, and I was very much disturbed about this accusation. I felt we should make answers to these attacks even though it was not prominently played up in the editorial in the New Republic. I mean to say it was not a major editorial. Again Hathaway — I am sure it was he, because I recollect he was the only one who discussed those matters with me, and he said once again that this was something we were not permitted to discuss; that it was too hot to handle for us.
Afi'. Raxktx. Was that somebody wlio disappeared?
Mr. BiDEXz. He disappeared in Europe; he was a well-known Com- numist and, if I remember correctly, got into a dispute with the secret apparatus, suddenly went "sour," as the expression is, and I think even made a public gesture of his sourness. He was found killed in Europe. He was kidnaped and killed.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 19
Ml'. Raxkix. Wliat liappened to the otlu'r party you mentioned be- foi'c that ?
Mr. HiDKXZ. 1 il(»n"t knt)w ; she just went off and disappeared.
Mr. Raxkix. Has she been found yet?
Ml-. BroKxz. No ; she disappeared. She evaporated from the streets of New York ; that was the fate of an American citizen.
Of course, disappearances of tliis kind are not unusual in Soviet circles. There is the strange case of Yezliov, of which something should be mentioned. I hope you won't think I am trying to in- dulge in humor in relating what follows, because it is most serious. Bnt this was an ilhistration to me of how tilings hai)])en in the Soviet Union. When I was editor of the Midwest Daily Record, Commu- nist-created paper. I did not have time to look into every nice political question on Soviet events. So I asked William L. Patterson, who had been in the English section of the Connnunist International in ]\Ios- cow to watch those things for us. One day I wished to run a picture of Russian generals, and took out a picture of a number of such gen- erals from the newspaper morgue. I asked Patterson if the picture could be used ; was it O. K. ? "Oh, that can't be used," he replied, " Yez- hov is in that picture. He is now an enemy of the Soviet Union." Now, I knew we did not hear of Yezhov any more but I did not know he had been declared an enemy of the Soviet Union. But I said, "Fortunateh", Yezhov is on the end of the picture and we can cut him off," and I took him off and ran the picture of the other generals. Yet, what were the facts about Yezhov? He was the head of the secret police of the Soviet who had conducted the big death purges and he was a great hero. In fact, they called the secret police after him. But he had disagi^eed with the Kremlin dictatorsliip, and one day he walked up to Leningrad and has never been heard of since. And while Yezhov, w'ho was one of the heroes of the Soviet Union, disappears in that strange and mysterious fashion, it is known here he is an enemy of the Soviet Union and they can- not mention his name any more in the Daily Worker, the Midwest Daily Record, or anywliere else in tlie Communist press. And over the years, we were snddeidy confronted with Soviet heroes that we found did not appear any more anywhere, and we had to be silent about it. and there was no explanation at all as to what happened to them. Bnt it was known here, throngh the secret channels of interna- tional communication, that these men were "'enemies of the Soviet Union."
Tlien there was also the name of Yenikidze, wdio was a great friend of Stalin, who engineered, if I remember coi-rectly, the first "Jo" election in the Soviet Union, where 95 percent was for the election of Stalin. He was jailed and killed there without trial, bnt we knew he was an enemy of the Soviet Union, in Communist circles here. And so over and over I can repeat instance after instance of these people who were heroes and became enemies of the Soviet Union, killed or disappeared.
Mr. Thomas. How about a former general of the Soviet Union whose body was found up here in a Washington hotel — Krivitsky? Mr. BuDExz. I know nothing about that. I onlv speak, you knoAV, Mr. Congressman, of what I know. Of course, if 1 do not know, that does not mean that everything is O. K. about Krivitskv, either, al- though I would not want to state what I am not certain of. The reason
20 UN-AMERICAX PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
for that lack of knowledge is tliat plenty of things happen withni Communist secret rings that a leading Communist may not know about. As I say, the right hand in a conspiracy never lets the left hand know what it does.
Now, I want to call the attention of this committee to the fact that I have copies of tlie Communist here in my possession which show the leading position of Gerhard Eisler as Hans Berger. These ar- ticles prove his high rank, for they are on vital subjects in the theo- retical organ of the Communist Party. These articles range from a signed article by him in November 1942 on Twenty-Five Years of Soviet Power — published along with articles by Earl Browder, gen- eral secretary of the party, and V. J. Jerome, editor of the Commu- nist— over to a number of very important contributions cm "foreign policy." They are written by a man of authority, it's clear. Among them, significantly, is an article on the dissolution of the Communist International, to which I shall later refer because of its deep impor- tance, and one rebutting Foster's original rebellion against Browder. The latter was published in April 19J:4, in the guise of an answer to Max Lerner of PM.
They show Hans Berger to be a well-known Communist, entrusted with the most outstanding problems. In addition to those he also wrote in the Daily Worker, but mainly there on the German problem, for the reason that the Daily Worker is more of a mass paper and it was not wise to show Berger too openly or f idly as such in its pages.
Now, there have been some statements by Mr. Berger-Eisler in the press, trying to get out of the position in whicli these articles place him. And I have to take some notice of some of these state- ments right in the beginning. In the first i:)lace, Eisler met my first declaration about his place as Communist International representa- tive, or its equivalent, by saying that lie didn't know who "'this mys- terious Hans Berger is." Later on he admitted it was himself, but that he had written these articles through a ghost writer, who turned out to be Joseph Starobin, the foreign editor of the Daily Worker. Now, that was merely a red hearing across the trail, for Staro])in's job is to rewrite (or have someone else rewrite) all copy that comes into the Daily Worker on foreign atfairs.
In the Communist, Berger-Eisler has written as "the equivalent to a representative of the Communist International." which Dennis said he was. The Communist is the theoretical organ of the Communist Party, as I have stated and want to emphasize. It is for the "inner circle." When I say "inner circle" I do not mean to imply that you cannot buy it through regular channels, because you can subsci-ibe and buy it. The purpose is to educate the more active Communists. And, by the way, it was also contended by Mr. Eisler that he was a refugee over here, merely in transit. Is it not amazing that a refugee in transit in America can suddenly ap])ear witli Earl Browder as writing an article entitled "Twenty-Five Years of Soviet Power." No othei" refugee is picked up off the streets and treated so splendily in the Communist j^ress.
Mr. Adamsox. Explain what you mean liy "in ti-ansit." You mean he is here on an in-transit visa i
Mr. BuDENZ. He claimed — I do not know technically; I have not closely followed his defense, but the ])oint of the matter is he admits he has committed "technical perjury" in coming to this country say-
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 21
ing he was in transit — in transit to Mexico. His pei-jury was tliat he swore lie was not a Connnunist; now lie admits he was.
Mr. Adamson. Then he had received a visa to come to the United States?
Mr. BuDKNz : That I do not know.
The CiiAiinrAX. Who is that you arc talkin<r about?
Mr. BuDEXz. Huns Iiei<>er.
Mr, Adamson. He did not come here on a visa ?
Mr. Bx'nKNz. I do not know; he just makes the claim he came here on an in-transit visa on his Avay to Mexico. He claimed he was on his way to Mexico, but he could not get into Mexico, he says, be- cause Austrians and Germans were not admitted. I think anyone who would perjure himself on his political status to get into America would perjure himself as to his nationality if he wanted to get into Mexico. The general inference is the United States was where he wanted to land.
The point of the matter is I want to call your attention to the fact, nevertheless, and I submit it to the committee, that in November 1942. in The Communist. Hans Berger joined with Earl Browcler and V. J. Jerome in an article entitled "Twenty-Five Years of Soviet Power," and in that he handles it as though he were an American. He speaks about ''our Xation discovers the Soviet Union." And what is "our Nation"? The United States Government. Of course, we must un- derstand he would partly justify this as a Communist way of doing things, because of the fact this is supposed to be instructions to Amer- ican C^ommunists ; therefore he associates himself with them. He acts like an American, declares his readers. He speaks of "our Nation discoA'ers the Soviet Union." and even endorses certain American leaders, some of ^^hom are not now in the grood graces of the Com- munist Party; that is the reason I will not cite them here, thinking it is unjust to quote them. At any rate, he states "that the Soviet Union was a land constituting the bulwark of civilization and progress" and likewise he emphasizes the value of the Soviet Union at that par- ticular time. I am not entering into his argument here, although that could be done ; I am merely bringing to your attention emphat- ically the fact it is queer for a refugee to appear in America in transit to Mexico and suddenly write, along with Earl Browder, in The Com- munist, which is the ideological organ or theoretical organ of the Communist Party. It is impossible. Berger is no refugee.
]Mr. Adamsox. Will you submit these documents into the record, Mr. Budenz ?
Mr. BuDEXz. Yes. I will submit all issues of the Communist in which Hans Berger wrote, to my knowledge. I wish to call your at- tention, in order not to take up the whole time of the committee with this to a few more. only, of these articles. One of them is for May 1944. and tliat shows Berger's standing beyond doubt. We will bear in mind that William Z. Foster had jumped the traces of the line and had been reprimanded and his report suppressed, and Foster was compelled to keep silence under fear of being expelled. And taking advantage of an article by Max Lerner, Hans Berger writes an article in the Communist of May 1944, criticizing Foster's views but under the guise of criticizing Lerner. And in that way — of criticizing Max Lerner's charge of betrayal against Browder — he can criticize Foster. Foster, as I say, was ahead of the procession in the great guessing game
22 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
as to what Moscow would do. Now, in this article Berger takes up in detail the Tehran agreement and its promises, exactly what the Communists stand for, and says "Browder realizes that in its dom- inant sections American monopoly capital supports the war." In other words, I am quoting this and some other things, and I refer to that and some other things to show this was a statement of what the Communists should believe, as well as what they did believe. This was certainly not written by a Communist on his way to Mexico, stopping off here; it was a responsible and dominant person writing the article. In proof of that, I can say that Berger's is one of the very few pseudonyms to appear in the American Communist Party's theoretical organ. There are a few there, but none so conspicuous as his.
Mr. Rankin. Where was he from ?
Mr, BuDENz. He was in America then — and now.
Mr. Rankin. Where did he come from?
Mr. BuDENz. Hans Berger?
Mr. Rankin. Yes,
Mr. BuDENZ. Offhand I could not tell you. Lonly know what I have been told. In this respect his description again agrees with the de- scription of Edwards; that is, he is from Germany or Austria, and was a well-known comrade there before his activities in China, Spain, and here. And what Eugene Dennis said to me in 1942 indicated deiiuitely he had been liere before.
Mr. Thomas. When did he first come to the United States, as far as you know?
Mr. BuDENz. The first time, of course, was the case of Edwards which, I am still convinced, was Eisler.
Mr. Thomas. What was the approximate date?
Mr. BuDENz. That would not place his coming; that was my going into the party. He was there, in national headquarters then. That was in June 1935, or early in 1936.
Mr. Thomas. Then you know him as Hans Berger when for the first time ?
Mr. BuDENz. As Hans Berger, I knew him somewhat earlier than the Dennis statement of 1942, but I will say there are all sorts and ways of getting information in the Commu]iist movement, especially of one is editor of the official orgain.
Mr. Thomas. Approximately?
Mr. BuDENZ. I do not remember now who told me. because so much information cauie to me. But it was early in 1942. Tliat is, I had some knowledge of Berger before the date of this Dennis interview. At any rate, it also was in 1942. Dennis confirmed officially what I al- ready knew.
Mr. Thomas. Was not Berger an active Communist in Germany at one time ?
Mr. BuDENz, That is what Dennis said — he is a veteran comrade, "tried and trusted in Germany, Austria, Spain, China, and here, as you know."
Mr, Thomas. Was not he an active Communist in Germany at the time of the Reichstag fire?
Mr. BuDENz. That I do not know from my own knowledge, even from anyone's representations to me.
UN-AMEHICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 23
Now. T \v:int to <2:o( here to tlu' tlissoliition of the Coiuinunist Intcr- iiivtional niul tho article on it by Ber^cr-Eisler in the Conmninist. This is the issue, by the way, the discussion of which I happened to be in on in part, and T know how this issue was framed. It is very in- terestin<r. Mr. Ber^rer's name does not appear on the cover, but wliose name does appear is Dmitri Z. Manuilsky. I was present partly by accident, because I was there on other matters when V. J. Jerome, who is the editor of the Connnunist in reality, and Eutrene Dennis discussed this matter of the Connnunist International. We discussed it in the theoretical and ideological lany:uage which the Conmumist used, and to Avhich I wish to refer a bit later, and thereby the Comnnuiists con- ceal fi-om you the real nature of their directives, although these are clear to their o^vn trained Comnuniists.
This issue we were discussing was the one that discussed the Com- nuniist International, and the question was how it should be discussed. And it was agreed that Mr. Berger should write this piece which he did write, in order to show to our comrades that internationalism still lives — "internationalism still lives' was the phrase used — even with the dissolution of the Communist International. And in order to drive that home, i was decided o put in a prominent article by Dmitri Z. Manuilsky on "The Glorious Victories of the Red Army" because every trained Communist knows that Dmitri Manuilsky represents leadership of the Communist International even to this day. That was the understanding which prompted his open threat to the United Nations recently of the power of the Communist parties throughout the world. That is the speech that is putting every party on its toes and was the signal from the Communist International. Manuilsky should know all about these matters for every trained Communist know-, he roughly runs every Comnuniist Party through the continued international channels of communication. Even when George Dimi- trov was leader, Foster told me — and he was guilty of a pun about it — that Dimitrov may be the head but Dmitri is the heart of the Connnunist International. That is a fact; Manuilsky represents what now is the equivalent of the Communit International, and let us undeistand this.
Mr. Raxkix. Is he in this country now ?
Mr. BuDEXz. I guess he is a guest of the United States, and so is Ml-. Molotov, incidentallv.
Mr. Raxkix. Who is that I
Mr. BuDEX'z. Molotov is also a guest — the Foreign JSlinister of the U. S. S. R., the gentleman who stands for a world proletarian dicta- torship, for world domination.
And so it was agreed, and this is the point — it was agreed that Manuilsky's article shovdd be put in The Communist and Berger should inake his explanation in order that all well-advised Com- munists would know that "internationalism still lives," even with the dissolution of the Communist International. But that was the ex])lanation which was revealed everywhere very vigorously, that "internationalism still lives even after the dissolution of the Com- munist International."
I will only mention one thing, that while the apparatus of the Com- nuniist International is changed somewhat and it might not appear so vividly and would not be admitted as existent, its functions go
94456—46 4
24 UN-AMERICAX PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
on, its communications and personnel substantially remain in oper- ation.
Mr. Rankin. In other words, the Comintern has not been abolished?
Mr. BuDENz. It has not been abolished in fact. I have other evi- dence of that, if I can recall it, and I may in just a moment: but eveiywhere responsible Communists, as they are designated, retail this idea in just these words, sometimes with a smile even, that "the Communist International has been dissolved, but internationalism is not dead, and our association with the great fatherland of workers, the Soviet Union, is not dead." It exists just the same and "we are loyal to all of it." This use of the "fatherland of workers," in- cidentally, is a quotation from William Z. Foster made down here a number of j^ears ago, when in a congressional committee hearing he proclaimed the Soviet Union as his fatherland and the Soviet flag as his flag.
Mr. Thomas. That was late in 1939, when he and Browder came before the old Dies committee, and in answer to a question put to tliem bj" the chairman of that committee they said if a war came between the United States and Russia, their loyalty would be to Russia. And is not that true today, just as much as it was true then ?
Mr. BuDExz. It is true today, and it is proved bj^ just reading the Communist publications. The measure of every American leader, according to their idea, is the degree with which he either represents or the degree with which he agrees with the current Soviet policy, and an American leader becomes either damned or praised and trusted according to his association with Soviet policies at any particular time, I gave you Mr. Roosevelt as exhibit A.
Mr. Thomas. So, if there should be a war today or at some time in the future between the United States and Russia, those leaders and all of the other Communists would have their loyalty with Russia. Is not that true ?
Mr. BuDExz. Most decidedly. That is their only loyalty and, as I say. the proof of it is — I do not want to make any charges that are based on oral testimony but the proof of it is the Communist publica- tions themselves — their own change of line in accordance with the wish of Russia; their praise of the Soviet leadership, even after the dissolution of the Communist International, their judgment of leaders in America on the basis of their friendship or subservience to Soviet government desires. I cannot take up all of the time by confirming this, but that can be found by examination of every Communist reso- lution, every Communist public meeting, and every Communist publication.
Mr. Thomas. So that every Communist in this country is a Russian fifth columnist?
Mr. BuDEXz. He is a member of the Russian fifth column, which is as much so as the Nazi Bund was to Germany, except operating more subtly and more effectively. I want to say this, however, that of coui'se a number of the rank and file Conununists are not fully cog- nizant of this ; also I have presented quotes from certain Communist leaclere showing they exercise a certain casuistry in back of their writings, to conceal this Quisling rule. If time permitted, I could bring overwhelming evidence before this conunittee, quoting issue after issue of the Daily Worker, and of this publication [indicating
UX-AMERICAX PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 25
the Coinimiiiist ]. of tlu'ii' loyalty to Kussia and Ihoir criticism of AnuM'icaii h'ailcrs aiul ^\llat they believe about Ainericaii policy based on servility to Soviet aims alone.
Let me give yon one striking example of this. Have you ever seen a Communist ))ubIicatiou that even found one fault in Joseph Stalin? He cannot make any mistakes. Yet the American leaders ari' shuttled l)ack ami forth in the Communist press, brow-beaten, even called abusive terms. The Comnuniists slander, lie, and are abusive to these Americans because these men expressed some criticism of Soviet ob- jectives. But can Stalin be attacked in that press? They cannot even find a small fault to speak of. or discuss any weakness of his in the course of his long career. He is without any defect, says the Conminnist press in effect.
Mr. Raxkix. ]Mr. Budenz, here is a statement made to the com- mittee by the gentleman that the gentleman from New Jersey referred to. He said :
No Comuiunist, no matter how many votes he should secure in a national elec- tion could, even if he would, become President of the present Government.
That is the Government of the United States. He says :
When a Communist heads the Government of the United States — and that day will come just as surely as the sun rises — that Government will not be a capitalistic government, but a soviet government and behind that government will stand the Red Army to enforce the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Does not that express the policies of the Communist Party ?
]Mr. BuDEXz. That expresses the present policy of the Soviet Union, veneered over with the appearance of working in the United Nations, but using the United Nations as a sounding board to discredit and belittle the United States and the American Nation.
Mr. Raxkix. Does that express also the policies of the Communist Party in the United States as it now exists?
Mr. BuDEXz. That expresses the policies of the Communist Party of the United States as they now exist and as is disclosed by these recent discussions which the ])arty does not make public largely for legal and tactical reasons. We must understand that the Communist Party withdrew from the Communist International for such tactical reasons, ahead of the Communist International dissolution. And that, I think incidentally, is the reason why Dennis told me at that time that Berger is the equivalent of a representative here of the Communist International. I do not know — there may have been other reasons — but that I think was his reason, because the party was not supposedly in the Communist International, but the International existed.
Mr. Raxkix. And, by the way, Foster is still the head?
Mr. BuDEXz. He is now the head of the party here. There is this thought that I was about to express in regard to Foster, however. As I have said, the Comintern and the Soviet Government keep two leaders alive in each country. Usually one is left and one is right, so that when it is necessary they can take one out and keep the other back. For instance, Litvinov symbolizes that policy. They go in and out like weather vanes. When the weather is clear, on American relations, Litvinov comes out and when the weather is bad, Litvinov goes back in. So it is with the Communist leadership here and elsewhere.
Browder has been salvaged and made the representative of the Soviet book trusts here. There are three big: Soviet book trusts.
26 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
And he can now function in perhaps a better position than he ever did before. For instance, he can write for the New York Times now as an ex-Comnuniist and he can also be put on the radio frequently. And he can be thus kept on ice for a return to the secretaryship of the party, in case it is necessary to smooth down the course of rela- tionships wnth the U. S. A. a little bit.
Likewise, in England, Pollett — Harry Pollett was thrown out and R. Palme Dutt was put in. Then Dutt was thrown out and Pollett is back in again. Those are changes wliich are made right along.
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Chairman, it is now almost 12 o'clock and I suggest that we recess.
Mr. BuDP^Nz. I just wanted to complete my thought on this matter, although it could be explored further, and that is in connection with these articles of Hans Berger in the Communist of which I have pointed to three vei-y important ones, very decisive ones; one on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Soviet I'nion. where he is given his proper rank, by being associated with Browder; and secondly, in regai'd to the action taken with reference to Foster, and the statement that was made, whicli only a person with authority would make. That was in May 1944. As Foster had been a dissident, he had written a letter to the national committee. This letter had been suppressed. It was necessary to suppress Foster's ideas within the party for the time being, and Berger-Eisler brought his authority to bear.
For instance, you do not take a Joseph Starobin, the foreign editor of the Daily Worker, and make him write an article of that kind, because Starobin has not got that authority. But you take Hans Berger, and he writes it out, and Starobin may turn it into better English for him. That is one thing that the foreign editor of the Daily Worker very frequently does, as has been said. I do not know that he did in connection with these articles, because V. J. Jerome is perfectly capable of editing articles very well. In fact, sometimes he gives one a pain with the way he edits articles, he is so precise. But he does edit articles and I know that Mr. Jerome has rewritten sections of articles at the request of certain people, although they did not write them themselves. I have hel])ed Jerome on such matters. I have in mind an article by John Williamson, wdiere he furnishes a great deal of information, but the article as it was published merely confirmed the conclusions of Williamson; that is, the^^ were not new conclusions. Much of the expression in the article was changed, how- ever. They were Williamson's conclusions, but he at that time was in Cleveland, and Jerome asked me to handle certain details and rewrit- ing on a large scale.
So that, as to these articles, I do not know who smoothed them out, but Berger wrote them and I was present when the discussion of one article was in hand and Berger-Eisler was the person involved.
Then there are the Daily Worker articles. These came to the Daily Worker, and they did not come through Starobin, who Berger makes his ghost writer. I'hey came to the Daily Worker largely tlirough Stachel. In fact, after Stachel became the representative of the political committee on the Daily Worker, communication with Berger seemed to increase ; at least, I was more conscious of it. The written connuunications from Berger fell down, but the knowledge tliat Stachel was in consultation with Berger increased. Every once
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 27
in a wliile Stachel said that he was jroiiio; out and discuss this question with Berizoi' and lie bi'ou<iht out certain documents with him on those occasions ami also l)r()u<>ht the modest pay which Berger received from the Daily Worker for his articles.
The point is this, that these articles in the Daily AVorker — just to brinir this point to a head — were sent in in Germanized English. Nat- urally I am not relied ing on (lermanized English because of my own oi-igins, but the point is that they were in Germanized English and they had to be straightened out and Starobin had the job of seeing that they were straightened out and even I, when Starobin was ill, once luul three of these articles. Of course, this was the type of work on the Daily AVorker. which the Daily AA^orker staff — even I — regarded as a headache, this business of rewriting articles wdiich had accents to them, for the simple reason that it is most diilicult to make it precise and be sure that you have the same thought. So that I was greatly i-elieved when we learned that the articles were to be sent back, because the line had changed someAvhat between the time that they were writ- ten, and the time that they Avere to be published. I recall that very Avell because at that time Starobin was either too busy or was ill.
Mr. Thomas. Professor, do you make the point that Hans Berger is the No. 1 Connnunist in the United States, that Browder and Foster are just figureheads in the Communist Party here?
Mr. BuDENz. I make these two statements because I want to divide tins. One, Hans Berger or Gerhardt Eisler, the brother of Ruth Fischer — because he Avas so designated to me and so I knew' him, understanding that Ruth Fischer and he has different ideas — this Hans Berger or Eisler is the equivalent to the representative of the Communist International. I was so officially informed — that he is. the chief comnnniication officer and that he is likewise vested with a certain authority such as was exercised when Edwards took Hathaway over the coals.
Of course, you nnist understand that with this authority there are limitations and conditions in matters of this character. But never- theless the official i-epresentative of the Comnuniist International is the chief communication officer who brings the line of the party over, who knows it, and who, in addition to that, is vested Avith a certain authority to interA^ene in party affairs if he judges that necessary. Of course, I do not knoAv just Avhat are all the limitations, but he intervened in some matters in the case of the Daily AVorker, or in the case of HathaAvay. Naturally when the representative was under ground he could not interfere in person because ])hysically he was not around the Daily AA^orker building. Dennis had advised me that lie could not come to the building, and never did come, to my knoAvledge.
Mr. Thomas. Can he dictate to BroAvder and Foster?
Mr. BuDEXz. That is the second point. BroAvder and Foster have no life except that Avhich is granted them by Moscoav — no political life of their oAvn. I Avant to illustrate this by what happens in the Communist Party, to show you how this Avorks out. For instance. BroAvder used to go back and forth to Moscoav, and every time he came back, there Avas a neAv line. A classical case that I remembei- — I Avas. not in the party then. I Avas just <m the eve of getting it — but there was a conference on unemjiloyment insurance in Washington in January 1935, and they were denouncing the idea of a Labor Party.
28 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
The Comniiinists were fighting tootli ami nail against it when, lo and behold, Browder arrives on a ship f I'ojn Moscow, rushes to Washing- ton and declares that anyone who is against the Labor Party is anathema ; that anyone who is opposed to the Labor Party is opposed to the interests of the workers and the labor movement. And the Communists flip-flopped over and became just as enthusiastic in 2 minutes for the Labor Party as they had been bitterly opposed to it all along before.
Now, we are sensible people. We know that Browder did not go to Moscow for the fun of it. He went to get the line on the Labor Party and he came back with it. That happened over and over again. The connection of these people to the Communists Inter- national Organization proves it. Foster sat on the executive com- mittee for years with Stalin — the executive committee of the Com- munist International. They were conmiitted to the same thing. They were committed to the dictatorship and anyone who did not agree with the Stalin policy received the fate of Gitlow and others. Gitlow, you are aware, was deposed from American leadership of the party by Stalin personally — and that took place in Moscow. But Foster and Browder did not receive that fate. They were good servants.
If you will read some of the comnmnications, and notice the way William Z. Foster begged for leadership in the United States, in the official records, as printed in the International Press Correspondence, you will understand who is the boss of the American Communist Party. In Moscow, at the time when the lid was off, and there was less discretion used, and the party had not formed itself so firmly in discipline, Foster was there making his plea for leadership, pleading with the leaders over there to try to get their O. K. for him to be the leader over here. And there are many stories around the Communist movement of the lobbying that was done by this American Communist and that with Bucharin and Stalin and other leaders to get their O. K. to be the leader over here.
Mr. Thomas. That does not answer my question specifically.
Mr. BuDEXz. Wliat was your question?
Mr. Thomas. My question was, Can Hans Berger dictate to Foster and Browder'^
Mr. BuDENz. Of course he can. As a matter of fact, I will tell the committee in executive session how even another underground gentle- man can dictate to Browder, and how it was done.
The Chairman. The committee will recess until 1 : 30.
(Whereupon a recess was taken until 1: 30 p. m.)
AFTERNOON SESSION
The recess having expired, the conunittee reconvened at 1 : 30 p. m., Hon. John S. Wood (chairman) presiding.
The Chairman. The committee will be in order. Professor Budenz, the members of the committee doubtless will have a considerable num- ber of questions to ask you, but we will postpone that until you have finished your statement. So you may feel perfectly free to proceed at this time.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 29
FURTHER STATEMENT OF LOUIS F. BUDENZ
Mr. Binicxz. In tho first place, there are several odds and ends that I omitted that I wonld like to introdnce here into the hearing. One of them is this: 1 mentioned, in the first place, the fact that the Communist Party has never disagreed "vvith the Stalinite line at any time, nor witli Stalinite-endorsed individuals.
But I Avould like to i)oint out something oven shari)er than that. That is that for many years, including the first part of my being in the Daily Worker, the Daily Worker was subsidized directly by the So- viet Government. That is well known, but the method is not generally appreciated.
That is to say, the Runag News Agency of Moscow sent to the Daily Worker every day thousands of words free of charge. We know how high the cable charge is from Moscow for each word of news. This was paid for b}' the Kunag Agency; namely, the Soviet Government.
During the Trotzkyite-Bucharinist trials literally hundreds of thousands of words came in, translated mto English for the conven- ience of the Daily Worker, and all of that work was paid for — the cables sent over directly from Moscow — by Moscow. This was not stopped by the Soviet Government. It was stopped by the Depart- ment of Justice declaring that the paper would have to file as a for- eign agent if it continued to receive this infornfation free of charge. Of course, that would be very bad for the Communists to file as for- eign agents. It would disclose the purpose of the organization. So that had to be discontinued.
Then tlie Intercontinent News was formed by the Communists and received these wires for a while and relayed them to the Daily Worker and, of course, to some other people. That finally had to be stopped because likewise the Intercontinent News was supposed to be required to file as a foreign agent. I wanted to supplement that information on Soviet subsidies to what has been said before on this point.
Secondly, I want to point out how well information comes to the Communist Party from abroad and how well events are being fore- shadowed, at least in regard to certain tilings Moscow wants the Com- munists here to know. I will give as an example that I had of a cable from the British Daily Worker at the time that Dr. Ivan Sub- asitch, the Literal, was supposed to go to Yugoslavia to become a part of the Tito government. We received a cable from the London Daily Worker asking what the status of Subasitch was. At that time Duram Landy was in charge of this type of work, dealing with all matters of that character. Landy at that time said that this was a vei-y indiscrete cable from London and, beyond that, he stated that this cable had to be answered in a very careful way.
The point of the matter is that the cable was answered, but by a letter which was more to the point than the cable we sent, wliich was rather noncommittal, giving the opinion on Subasitch, "according to certain Slav organizations.*' At that time Subasitch was going to be brought into the political machinery of Yugoslavia, in order to double-cross him. That is to say, Subasitch, in the short run woidd be all right, but in the long run was not to be relied upon. And that was what the London Daily AVorker was told in advance.
30 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Now, I had intelligence enough at least to reason this out, that Subasitch was going to remain there in Yugoslavia for certain pur- poses and would be all right, and then later was slated for decapita- tion, which was what took place.
Mr, R.AXKIX. Do you mean he was physically executed?
Mr, BuDENZ. No, I do not; I mean politically executed.
This brings up another point in which Berger-Eisler plays some part. In fact, it is with very great reluctance that I raise this issue — and I do not even know how to do it — because it involves my own corruption of a friend; that is, political corruption, a thing which I have regretted very much ever since. That is, that I, as I acted then a Communist — because I certainly do not want to pretend that I, as a Communist, did not participate in Communist activities. But this was the case of Louis Adamic, who is not a Comnuniist, but who is certainly following the Communist line.
Now, in his case, we had been very close friends, and if you will read his books, you will see that he commends me for my public activity, especially in the labor movement. So this is not in any sense an attack upon Mr. Adamic. What he is doing is well known. It is in the public eye and therefore I cannot throw any more light on it.
What I am trjnng^o point out is how Communists try to corrupt people of this character; I mean, politically.
Louis Adamic had been a member of the William Allen White committee and was certainly at one time anti-Conununist. ^^'hen I met him again, he was still anti-Tito, to a great degree and it was my assignment to see that Adamic was changed over.
Mr. Rankix. How long has that been?
Mr. BuDExz. I will liave to check that.
Mr. Raxkix. About how long; just approximately — a year. 2 years, or 5 years?
^Ir. BuDEXZ. No, not 5 years. This was within the last ?> years.
Mr. Raxkix. Within the last 3 years?
Mr. BuDEXz. Well, it can easily be placed by the Saturday Evening Post article, in wliich he was still not ])ro-Tito.
Mr. R\XKTX. You say tliat he is not a Communist, but follows the Communist line?
^Tr. BuDEXz. That is right,
Mr. Raxkix. That is like the difl'ereiice between a man being drunk and being intoxicated.
Mr. BuDEXz. Well, of course, there are several reasons for this. Certain people aie not wanted in the pjn'ty, to start with, for one. Secondly, as a matter of fact, Adamic was not told, regarding his ac- tivities, that he must join the Communist l^arty; he was told not to join tlie ('onnnunist Parly. He was looked on as sort of unrelial)le by the Comnnmists and would swav back and forth, and it was thought that he could be more influenced by not oivjnnr him a i)arty member- ship. However, he did not ask, personally, to be a member. T want to make that clear.
Mr. Raxkix. But he is following the Connnunist line and carrying on Connnunist ))roi:)ngan(la.
Ml". BiDEXZ. In regard to Yugoslavia, yes. And also he is showing that in regard to his attack uj)on the Irish and the Catholics in his
UN-AMEKICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 31
latest book. Xatioii of Nalions. wliicli is (lie Coinnuuiist line today in reiiiird to that subject. I wisli (o ilevelnp that in just a moment.
Mr. Thomas. Yes, but did he not, before '\ years aiio, write some thin<rs that were just as eonnnunistic as anythin<^ he has written in the last 3 yeai-s?
Mr. Bi'DKXz. I do not want to <i() into that, because that has nothinij to do with my present exi)erience, if you please, Congressman. The point of the matter is that
Mr. Thomas. lint you say he was not a Communist ?
Mr. IUdkxz. Xo; he was not.
Mr. Kankix. You mean he was not a member of the party.
Mr. BuDExz. Not only that, he was even hostile to the party, to a certain dejjree.
Mr. TiiOiCAS. Mr. Chaiinian. I think it would be a <iood idea right at this })oint in the record to insert some of Louis Adaniic's writings. There are some poems that we have in our files that certainly show that he was very connnunistic and that he certainly follows the Com- munist line.
Ml'. BuDEX^z. I cannot go into that without full information, I had knowni' him from earlier days in the labor movement, but at the time that I met him again he was not pro-Tito and not pro-Soviet policy in Europe. He became that way after re})eated visits from me and repeated visits with me from Landy, which brings me to this other matter about Berger-Eisler.
Mr. Rankix'. And, ]Nfr. Budenz, you say, though, that he follows the Communist line, and from your statement there that he is anti- religious?
Mr, BuDExz. I did not say that he was antireligious. I said that he is now following the line iu regard to the present tactics of the Communists in regard to the Catholics, which I will outline in just a minute.
Mr. Raxkin. Do you want to put those in the record at this point, Mr. Thomas ?
Mr, Thomas. I think it would be a good idea to j)ut them in the record.
Mr. Raxkix. AVithout objection, you may insert them, Mr. Thomas, at this point.
Mr. BuDEXz. I raise this particular issue, not merely to single him out, because I would do that with very great reluctance. The im- portant point is that all my actions before I went to see Adamic were carried forward after conferences witli either Browder or Jacob Oolos, of AVorld Tourists, who is now dead, and they had conferences in some instances with Berger-Eisler on this question. In other words, what I wish to bring in the picture are Eisler's activities in a broad sense from what I know of them.
As a matter of fact, on one occasion as to a certain part of Adamic's book on Y'ugoslavia that I showed to Browder prior to publication, he had to take that away and show it to Mi: Eisler together coopera- tively before he gave liis opinion on it.
I mentioned also the question of the Catholic Church, and I i-aise that because today it is a question that is of concern to every American, and its part of the tactics of Communists as I learned them. T was
94456—46—5
32 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
()ne of those who were fooled into believing that in America there could be cooperation between the Communists and the Catholics.
I found that was considered undesirable from the Communist view- point, but beyond that I learned toward my latter days in the Com- munist Party from material I read in the New Times, which is now the name of the Communist International magazine, that the Com- munists everywhere plan to wage war on the Catholic Church as the base for obliterating all religion. Also, this policy was developed in an article to Avhich I shall call your attention setting forth the ideas that I learned, namely, of the program to arouse the Protestants against the Catholics in this country as a means of causing confusion in the United States.
I have enough confidence in the American Protestants to know that that is not going to succeed, but I have to point to this because it is in black and white in an official article. I knew about this before I left, and pointed to it very temperately in my statement as I left. This matter was presented to me in a conference by the comrade who worked up the material for this article for the political committee. He advised me the aim was to extend the work of the Protestant magazine. That is a magazine whose name is "Protestant," but which is engaged largely in being anti-Catholic and the responsible Jewish organizations have recently condemned it, as you may know. That view of the extension of the Protestant work against Catholics was confirmed by this article of V. J. Jerome in Political Affairs in April 1946, in which he links up the Catholic Church with American im- jierialism, and in which he shows what he calls the great wealth of the Catholic Church and says there has been no sufficient Protestant reaction. That innnediately tells the comrades to go out and pose as Protestants and arouse that reaction, for when a Communist reads an ai-ticle he puts it into action. In this article the recent attack on Cardinal Spellman by the Communist councilmen in New York City was endorsed as being proper Communist tactics when it was feasible to do so. In other words, here is outlined a program which is directly opposed to the alleged outstretched-hand idea which the Communists formerly said they stood for when they needed to rally everybody, in- cluding Catholics, to the defense of the Soviet Union against the efficient German war machine. This renewed program of war upon the Catholic Churcli is contained in the April 1946 issue of Political Affairs as part of their tactics within the United States today.
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Budenz, is it not a fact that communism is opposed to all kinds of religion?
Mr. Budenz. That is correct. A totalitarian regime, especially one built on the materialistic interpretation of history, cannot permit any organization of religion except as a servile tool of the all-powerful state.
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Budenz, did you go to Moscow?
Mr. Budenz. I did not.
Mr. Rankin. You have not been to Moscow?
Mr. Budenz. I did not have that experience.
Ml-. Rankin. I heard former Piesident Hoover, and I believe he was speaking over the radio when he said there was a streamer across the gates of Moscow that read like this : "Religion Is the Opium of the People." Now, that was the Communist doctrine, was it not, even
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 33
before you wont into the ]);U'(y, and all the lime yon were in the party, is that correct?
Mr, BiDENz. That was the principle, althon<ih, you see at that time they had tlie policy of the outstretched hand, which was the result of the Peoples' Front })olicy and they contended that they wanted cooper- ation between all religions and the Communists, or specifically the Catholics and the Conniumists.
However. I would like to say this to sort of brino; this to a point: The fact of the nuitter is, those who sou<?ht collaboration, like myself as an individual, as one member of the party, did so on the basis that this outstretched-hand policy would lead to better relationship between the two cfroups, and that was roughly in line with the policy of the Connnunists at that time.
Now, it was written by Elizabeth Flynn in the Daily Worker at the time I left the party that you could have any religion you chose and remain in the Communist Party. That is not true. You cannot have any religion, except wliere you are in a particular religion and it serves the purpose of the party to keep you there. Even there, as Lenin pointed out, the party must fight religious ideology. The lead- ers of the party are not permitted to hold any religious belief. As proof of that we have the statement of Gilbert Green at the 1935 con- vention of the Communist International, its so-called Peoples Front convention. In that statement, representing the American Commu- nist young peoples organization from this country, the Young Com- munist League, Mr. Green pointed out — I cannot now give you the exact quotes — but he pointed out that they did allow, when they came into association with religious youth, they did allow these youth to continue to go to church, but in such a way as not to interfere wnth "our atheistic principles." He was there explaining to the Communists that atheism was their standard, but sometimes in working with youth they had to be more lenient, and, of course, that meant that they would try to wean those youth away from religion entirely. That was Lenin's instructions 3'ears ago.
Mr. Raxkix. If it would not break the continuity of your thought, it would be an accommodation to the committee at this time if you would tell just why you got out of the Communist Party. Give us that information at this time, Mr. Budenz.
Mr. Budenz. Well, I think 3^011 can begin to see from my testimony that I was a Peoples' Front Communist. That is to say, I became a member of the Communist Party, and very briefly I would like to tell how this was, because it is just a personal experience. I became a member of the party because of the Seventh Congress of the Com- munist International in 1935 promising to cooperate with democratic organizations. It seemed to me then that if Hitler was destroyed that the Soviet Union would become more democratic. I did not have illusions that the Soviet Union was fully democratic, and if you will read the letter T wrote to the Daily Worker at that time I there made reference to Charles Dickens' statement on early America. It was my personal opinion that there were defects in Soviet Russia, but that they would get better. I thought after the destruction of Hitlerism the Soviet Union would become more democratic and also it Avould embark upon a cooperative policy of peace.
34 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
As managinrr editor of the Daily Worker I saw that this was not taking i:)lace. I saw that instead of becoming democratic the dic- tatorship was more intense, and likewise instead of embarking on a peace program there after the war they set forth on this war of nerves. There were many indications of that ahead of the Browder business. As a matter of fact, right on the eve of the Browder busi- ness, Joseph Starobin, the foreign editor of the Daily Worker wrote a very indiscreet letter to the editorial Ijoard of the Daily Worker, from whence it was snatched up and immediately traveled to the ninth floor. And in that letter he said toward the end of the San Francisco Conference, that the French couirades, who were used largely to beat the Americans, asserted that there should be more of an attack upon Stettinius by the American Connnunists. He addexl that this was "likewise the opinion of Comrade Manuelsky." This letter was very quickly taken by Stachel and it traveled to the ninth floor ancl disappeared. This was an instance, before Browder's depo- sition showed how things were going.
There were many indications from the information that came to me that the Soviet Union was to begin a policy of hostility on the other nations who had been their allies in the war. Of course this was disclosed in the Duclos article which said the Tehran pact is "only a diplomatic gesture."
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Budenz, did you discover while you were in the party that practically every move had as its design the overthrow of tlie Government of the United States, the destruction of our form of Government and way of life, including our religious systems and our economic system ?
Mr. Budenz. Well, there is a far-flung development of this idea. I found the Communist movement is merely a tool of the Soviet dic- tatorship, and in forwarding of a world Soviet dictatorship it means the destruction of the present Government of the United States, most certainly.
Mr. Rankin. Now, they also want to effect the overthrow of our economic system, what they call the capitalistic system, which simply means the right to own property, does it not? I want to read you one passage here and see if this is the Communist doctrine, as you under- stand it, because the Communist Party wrote this :
Among the first actions of the Soviet Government would be a decree recog- nizing tiie confiscation of the large land ownings. Where this has taken place, or authorizing Rich confiscation if it has not yet taken place, converting all privately owned hind into the property of the whole people without compensa- tion, and the confiscation of all livestock and implements of the large land- owners for the use of the people.
In other words, in addition to outlawing religion and wiping out our form of government, they would wipe out our entire economic system, as I understand it.
Mr. BuDKNz. Yes; that is correct, except that I would not like to say just "Yes'' there. I would like to discuss it nuich more at length, but not now.
Mr. Thomas. I would like to see Mr. Budenz continue, or we will never get through with Mr. Budenz.
Mr. Rankin. All right; go ahead.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 35
Mr. BuDKNz. Ill olluu- words, just to say categorically ''Yes" or "No" does not satisfy me as the answer I should make, althou<;h it might take me quite a*len«>th of time to go into this question, Congressman.
Ml'. Kaxkix. Yes.
Mr. IkuKxz. Well, I believe this begins to sum up what I have to present to the committee. There is no doubt that there are a num- ber of other important things that 1 could bring to your attention. As a matter of fact, in regard to the articles of Berger in the Com- nuuiist magazine. 1 will lile those with the committee and be satis- tied with that for the time being. It had been my intention to go into them more deeply, but I think that is unnecessary at this time. I picked otit three which explain the outstanding position of Berger- Eisler, and without wishing to burden the time of the committee, I present those to you.
It is very evident that he was not and is not a refugee in the ordi- nary sense of the word. It is clear here that he occupies an important position in the Conununist Party and Communist action because oth- erwise he would not so act, and anyone who wrote articles of this character, the article which sat down on Foster, and who wrote that article with Browder and particularly in regard to the dissolution of the Communist International was not someone just picked up in- cidentally and told to do this.
Now, that is a point that I w^ant to emphasize very much.
As to my own personal contacts with Mr. Berger they are limited to two occasions. I was never formally introduced to him, except of course in the case of Edwards in 1935.
I saw him very briefly at the funeral of Jacob Golos in late 1943, and at that time I was supposed to be introduced to him. But the people present there disappeared so quickly and there was an inter- ruption by several people speaking to me so that this did not take place, although I was also told then that I knew him from the past. This was by Mr. Stachel. At the time of the meeting of the enlarged national committee, the exact date of which I will supply later in a memorandum to the committee, but it was in 1943 also, I saw Mr. Berger-Eisler waiting for JNIr. Brow^ler across the street from the national committee meeting place. Mr. Browder and I, as a matter of fact, went to the national committee together, and Mr. Browder told me that he had to be excused because he had to have a few min- utes before the meeting with Hans Berger, the international man.
Mr. Raxkix. That is, Mr. Eisler?
Mr. BuDEXZ. Yes: and Browder went across the street and Mr. Eisler was Waiting for him and they sat in the automobile and dis- cussed things for 10 minutes. We waited for Browder, his attend- ant, Harold Smith, and I, and we then went into the hall together. The exact date of that I will give to the committee in a memorandum, but it was sometime in 1943, according to my remembrance, but the existence of Berger-Eisler as the power behind the throne was very evident, and I have given you only some few examples.
There is one instance more that I wanted to give, and it arises out of this Runag incident. I have said that Berger was particularly insistent upon our bringing forward that the Soviet Russian Govern-
*
36 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
ment be pictured as "democratic." Of course this insistence centered also around the second front and the necessity for pushing argument on the second front in the United States. Later on, because the Rus- sians and such agencies could not reach us with their subsidized news and directives, we did not have enough material and he insisted that we use the Soviet Embassy bulletins in this matter, and this was reinforced later by Stachel, who was clearly under pressure from Berger on these questions.
As a matter of fact, it was always easy to tell after one of the leading comrades had been in touch with someone like Berger. They were very much excited, and very bureaucratic, and very eager to put something through, even though they could not fully explain it themselves. I mention this use of those Soviet Embassy bulletins because we had a long period there where we could not get in touch with Moscow on full information through articles. It is out of tlie scientific ideologic language of such articles that every trained Com- munist knows what to do. You have to know that in an editorial position in order to carry forward with the assistance of the political representative of the political committee and also with the informa- tion that came from Mr. Eisler. This was a broad field, and a big gap was created by lack of Runag and other like information and news that came here from the Soviet capital. Of course, we did have some cables from Moscow. John Gibbons, who is Reuters correspond- ent there, cabled over sometimes. He was also correspondent for the London Daily Worker, but his cables were not considered to be enlightening enough. They did not contain sufficient directives. You must understand that the Communist Party has a policy line. That is obtained partly through these contacts and partly from the articles that appear in Pravda, Izvestia, and the rest of the Soviet press.
If there is anything that would give you a picture of a Communist leader it is his feverish search every day of what Pravda or Izvestia says to make sure he has got the proper sensitivity regarding the line that must be followed for that day or for that period. If there are some lapses, it is largely due to difficulties of communication or the time element. The Daily Worker once attacked Badoglio as a Fascist in a leading editorial and that very day a cable came over saying that the Soviet Government had recognized him as a stabilizing influ- ence. But the issue of the paper got out ahead of this cable. There was a quick change, though, to make Badoglio appear in the light of the articles which the press ran and the statements Moscow made. So it was one of those little lapses which are merely lapses of time and place which are due to difficulties of transmission, but wherever possible Pravda and Izvestia are read every day to make sure that the Daily Woiker is following what they say in the sense of trans- lating it into the lingo of this country. The New Times is now the name of the Communist International magazine, which formerly went through the transition from the Communist International magazine to World Survey, and then to War and the Working Class, and it is now the New Times, and that is watched very carefully and studied very carefully by all those who want to set the policy and want to know what policy is. The only difficulty is the English translation comes to America rather late for current events, and therefore articles in Pravda and Izvestia have a larger immediate meaning. In addi- tion, there had been this Runag and the Intercontinent News, which
UN-AMERICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 37
broke down, a diflicultv which was rcnuMliod only in })art, however, by the use of the Soviet Embassy bullet ins.
Counsel has asked me to clarify the ownershii), management, and control of the Daily Worker.
Of course, while I was president of the corporation it was in a pecu- liar position. It was the Freedom of the Press Co., Inc., which was created duriuir the Hitler-Stalin pact. That was in order to defend the Daily Worker at all costs from any legal attack.
The Freedom of the Press Co., Inc., was put under the ownership of three gentlewomen wdio were very nice ladies, and who knew nothing at all about what was happening.
As a matter of fact, they were pure figureheads in even that sense. They met with me once every 4 or 6 months just for half an hour, and we went over our reports telling them in general what was happening, and that was the encl of that.
They generally were invited to all big mass meetings and were given a seat near the front. But they did not know at all what was actually happening. To make the paper move, I was named as president and Ben Davis and the other officer rotated. Davis was secretary and then vice president, and Howard Boldt was secretary and afterwards vice president.
When this was decided upon, Browder saw me and told me it was going to take place in advance, and said one reason it was taking place was due to the fact that first of all I had shown that I liad no technical difficulties, and secondly he was sure by this process of putting such people in charge the Daily Worker would be defended from any legal •jittack during the Hitler-Stalin period.
That was the sole reason for having this corporation in this form.
As a matter of fact, in the articles creating this corporation it was stated — I do not know the exact wording any more, but to safeguard it under the alleged ownership by tliese gentlewomen, it was even stated it would always follow the viewpoint of the Communist Party. That was inserted in the articles of incorporation. So that in this manner it continued to be, and, of course, it was always an organ of the Com- munist Party.
That was the situation during the time I w^as there.
Mr. Raxkix. The Connnunist Party, Mr. Budenz, is nothing but a fifth column in this country; is it a fifth column for communism in Europe ?
Mr. Bttdexz. Well, I have stated its character. It is a puppet fifth column of the Soviet dictatorship.
Mr. Rankin. It works through various what you and I call Com- munist-front organizations, does it not?
Mr. BuDEXz. Very frequently, yes.
I have only given the beginning of the story, but this is very im- portant insofar as I could give it.
Mr. Raxkin. You might discuss those Communist-front organiza- tions.
Mr. BuDEXz. I would like to ask the committee today to excuse me from that. Congressman. I would like to be much more precise in discussing it than I could at this time.
Mr. Raxkix. You are going to discuss that at a later date?
Mr. BuDEX'z. Yes; I am going to discuss that at a later elate. I would like to explain here that I am dealing here with a conspiracy, and I want that understood.
38 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Mr. Rankin. Yes.
Mr. BuDP]NZ. A conspiracy with wliicli you have to be very precise in your definitions. Otherwise we will liave another attempt to put down the little iron curtain on the ground that a person's credibility is not of any value.
I think it is time to stop that in America. I think it is time that Americans should be able to tell the truth about all organizations such as this fifth column of Soviet Russia, the truth in temperate language. But in order to do that I am impressed, gentlemen, with the fact that this information must be precise and must be as accurate as you can make it for two reasons ; first, because you want to have credibility and the truth in wdiat is uttered, and, secondly, because at the same time you want to establish and make clear the diiferent degrees by which people are enmeshed in this net of fronts, and we cannot do that with- out considering the matter carefully.
Mr, Rankin. I want to say, Mr. Budenz, that we are going to give you all the time you want if it takes from now until Christmas or from new until this time next year because that is what the American people want, the facts and the real truth.
Mr. Thomas. This 'conspiracy that you refer to, as I understand it, is the most important point of your statement today. It is not clear to me, however, who are the participants in this conspiracy. Just very briefly who participates in this conspiracy?
Mr. Budenz. Well, I have indicated already that the conspiracy is the underground apparatus of the Communist movement, linked up with the open Communist Party here, and these tw^o agencies have expanded themselves into the front organizations and other organ- izations which they penetrate. However, the conspiracy itself is directed hj the Soviet Union through this underground apparatus, and is reflected in the Communist Party in its policies in the United States.
Mr. Thomas. All right, this conspiracy is made up l)y participants in the conspiracy
Mr. Budenz (interposing). Correct; it is headed by the-
Mr. Thomas (interposing). It is headed by the Communist Party in the United States?
Mr. Budenz. Correct.
Mr. Thomas. And Communist-front organizations in the United States?
Mr. Budenz. As creations of this conspiracy, that is right. Some of the participants in the latter groups have knowledge of what they are doing to a greater or less degree, you understand.
Mr. Thomas. All right, now, those are the participants. Now, what is the conspiracy ?
Mr. Budenz. Mr. Molotoff has stated that very well.
Mr. Thomas. Never mind Mr. Molotoff; let Mr. Budenz state it.
Mr. Budenz. I am drawing it out of the experience I have learned.
Mr. Thomas. All right.
Mr. Budenz. They are trying to establish world dictatorship under the control of the Kremlin dictatorship.
Mr. Thomas. All right, that is a good answer.
Mr. Budenz. That is it.
Mr. Rankin. In other words, they are trying to spread communism throughout the world.
UN-AMERICAX PHOPAGAXDA ACTIVITIES 39
Mr. Ik'PKNZ. Not only coininiinisiu, but coinimmiMii under the specific direction of tlio Kremlin dicl;itorshii).
Mr. Muxivr. I think the distinction you are trying; to make, Mr. Budenz, is that Avhat they actually have in Russia is not the com- munism of Marx and En<:les, but a dictatorship and conmiunism under ■which people are denied a o;reat many (hinj^s under the concepts of conmumism?
Mr. Budenz. The point of the matter is the reality lias certainly not lived up to expectations. The promised witlierin<>- away of the state is certainly a king Avay off and Stalin has practically declared the idea buried in the Soviet" Union, but that is a longer-time question.
Mr. ^IrxHT. I Avas just mentioning that.
Mr. BunEXZ. What I would like to state is we have here a totali- tarian regime connnitted to the form of Soviet dictatorship existing in Ivussia and >(eking to expand that dictatorship to world domina- tion including, of course, all countries under this domination.
Mr. Tiio.A[As. If this consi)iracy exists, and the purpose of it is to l)ut us all under the dictatorship of the proletariat : why (loes not the Department of Justice of the United States take some action?
Mr. Budenz. Well. that, of co\n-se. I do not know fnlly. xVs a matter of fact, this dictatorslii]) of the proletariat, of course, is the dictatorship — let ns understand — of Stalin, Molotov, et al. because Stalin has been proclaimed the leader, the teacher, and guide. We must understand that to get the full conception of this, it seems to me. Why does not the Department of Justice do something? That I really do not know. There are certain reasons, of course. First, ibnericans correctly are very jealous of what we call civil rights, and a conspiracy of this character takes advantage of democracy by using democratic'institutions to destroy democracy. Therefore, our laws very frequently are not designed to meet conspiracies of this charac- ter. That is one thing.
Mr. Thomas. Right at that point, and in this connection, on October 7 of this year I wrote a letter to Attorney General Clark calling upon him to crack down on this Moscow-directed fifth column operating in the United States. I submitted to the Attorney General five spe- cific violations of the Federal statutes. Among these violations was the Vorys Act which required that every organization, sul)ject to foreign control, which engaged in political activities, shall be required to register with the Attorney General. Do you not consider the Com- munTst Party at the ])resent time to be in violation of that act?
Mr. BuDEXz. From my experience, I do.
Mr. Thomas. All right. I also called the Attorney General's at- tention to the INfcCormick Registration act, which requires that every person who is now an agent of a foreign government shall be regist- ered with the Secretary of State.
I would like to know which oificials and members of the Communist Party you consider to fall under the provisions of this act.
Mr. "Budexz. Certainly all the leading officers of the Communist Partv. The record sliows thev just follow what Moscow wants them to do. The record is yerj clear.
Mr. Thomas. All right. Was not the Freedom of the Press Co., Inc.. n dmmny corpoi-ation set up just to get around this McCormick Act ?
Mr. Budexz. Yes; in a large measure it was.
Mr. Thomas. That is right.
40 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
On this matter of the Daily Worker, I would like to know if any fraud or misrepresentation was perpetrated in securing second-class mailing privileges from the Post Ofiice Department?
Mr. BuDENZ. That I do not know. After consideration, I might recall it, but I do not recall anything right now.
Mr. Thomas. If the Communist Party and the Freedom of the Press, Inc., and some of these Communist leaders have all violated the specific statutes of the Government, can you see any reason why the Attorney General should not take action against them?
Mr. BuDENZ. Well, I think that is self-evident.
Mr. Thomas. That is right.
Mr, Rankin. I am going to answ^er your question. There are too manj Reds and fellow travelers that have crept into the Department of Justice, and w^e are going to need to clean house and fumigate and get the Department of Justice back on the beam.
Mr. Landis. Are you familiar with anyone who has advised the Political Action Committee, especially regarding the election of 1944?
Mr. BuDENZ. If you will permit, I would like to reserve all these questions until later so that I can answer them in a veiy precise man- ner. There is no doubt that the Communists were very active in PAC, in connection with it.
Regarding all these political activity questions, because I want to be very precise and accurate, I would like to refrain from discussing those today, if the committee will permit.
Mr. Landis. Perhaps you could answer this regarding Communist policy. Is it not a fact that undei' communism the state is the supreme master over the life of its citizens?
Mr. BuNDENZ. It most decidely is because it has more than control. It has absolute power over life and livelihood. As a matter of fact, where is the security of the Soviet system, the very alleged basis of the sjstem? I cannot see it, because of the fact that your livelihood is at the mercy of the state and the state is actually four or five men in control of the Kremlin.
When those writers in the Soviet Union that I spoke of a moment ago were declared to have bourgeoise ideas, wdiich must of course have meant western democratic ideas, do we not know from past experience that they lost not only their jobs but the source of all livelihood? When 50 percent of the Communist Party officials themselves in the Ukraine, according to the reports, wei-e deposed from their posts because they could not collect the grain fast enough from the peasants, they likewise may have faced, unless they conformed, the loss of their livelihood, so, the individual's livelihood, wdiich is an important part of his make-up, is dependent upon the all-powerful state, which is dependent upon the will of three or four all-powerful men.
Mr. Landis. I understand that you used to be a lawyer, and do you not understand that the trade-unions are agents of the state in Russia?
Mr, BuDENz. They are.
Mr. Landis. These miions in Russia are helpless to protect labor against exploitation.
Mr. BuDENz. They have admitted that themselves. We have re- cently had articles in TRUD, the Soviet trade-union magazine, which "was quoted by Drew Middleton in the New York Times magazine section recently, in which they pointed out several cases, but one re-
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 41
mains in my mind spocitically of a minin<>' ()i)ei'ati()n avIutc the workei-s wore not paid for weeks and months, I cannot reniember whether it was () weeks or 6 months. We can see clearly, though, tluit there was not any talk abcnit strikes in that case. If tliey had tlion^ht of strik- ing, they wonld not dare do it. The secret i)olice are everywhere, in their unions, and you can go to Siberia, as a matter of fact, for talking along that line. The point of the matter is I want to show that the trade-unions were not able, except by being ])rodded, to ])rotect these people. They are abject agents of the autocratic state.
Mr. Landis. The American labor should know about that.
Mr. BuDENZ. Thej'^ certainly should.
Mv. Lanois. Many of them are misinformed.
Mr. BuDENZ. There is more to this than that, but today I am i!ot prepared to bring it forward. There is very much more than this.
Mr. Landis. I suppose that you are familiar with the 1945 shipping strike. That was the strike that prevented the bringing of some American boys back from overseas. I wonder if that would be an example of political sabotage.
Mr. BuDENz, I would prefer to take up all these things all at once at some other time, if you do not mind, so that I can be exact and accurate.
Mr. Thomas. You mentioned the Soviet secret police in your state- ment this morning, and you said in your statement that the Soviet secret police were here. AVliat did you mean by that?
Mr. BuDENz. I meant rei)resentatives of the sci-called NKVD. I will only say now that I know they were here because I dealt with them for 2 yeai*s and slightly more, not in espionage but in another operation, and I must inform the committee of that in executive session.
Mr. Thomas. In regard to that, do you still believe that they are here now i
Mr. BuDExz. It would be a surprise if they were not.
Mr. MuNDT. Professor Budenz, I wonder if you are at all familiar with any of the work or activities of the so-called National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc.
Mr. BiDExz. May I make a statement, first?
Regarding this question of the Soviet police, Mr. Thomas, I am prepared to discuss that ])ublicly, but with regard to some of these other questions, I want to answer them very carefully so that I can present those matters to the connnittee in the proper light. As a matter of fact, I want to say that I do know of my own knowledge that Soviet secret police were in xVmerica ; that they were here for a number of months and that I had contact with them as an assignment from the l^aity, meeting them over and over in different restaurants in New York.
Mr, Thomas. That was in what year?
Mr. BuDKNZ. 19?/; and 19:',7, so far as I recall ; and part of 19:58, too.
Mr. Thomas. What kind of visas did they have^
Mr. BuDEXz, That I do not know.
Mr. Thomas, But you are of the opinion that they are here now also (
Mr. BuDENz. I certainly am,
Mr, MuxDT. I wonder if you are familiar at all with the work or activities of the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship,
42 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Inc., which publishes a biweekly paper called The Reporter, which our studies ha^e indicated has the same fidelity to the Communist line that the Daily Worker has?
Mr. Rankin. Before you answer that, there is a question that I would like to ask him regardiuo- what he was testifying- to a while ago. As I understand you, then, and I would like to get this clear; every workingman in Russia, or in any Communist country, is the slave of the state? Every individual is the slave of the state, and the state is operated l)y a very small p<n-tion of the population; we will say 1 percent of the population?
"Mr. BuDENZ. That is correct. By the way, I have not been to Soviet Russia. I am one of those people who do not have the benefit of educa- tion for foreign service at the Marx-Lenin Institute in ^Moscow, al- thought most of the Comnuinist leaders have. It is surprising how restricted is the leadership in the Communist Party, actually. Most of the leadership have been educated in the institut ' in Moscow, which is similar to the schools they had in Germany, or Hitler had, to train people in foreign work. I am an American by birth and experience, and have never been outside of the United States, physically, except brief visits to Canada.
As a matter of fact, the conditions inside the Communist Part}' of the United States without ])olice power partly show you what exists in the Soviet Union with their all-seeing ])olice i^ower.
Mr. Rankin. In a certain district in New York, if they had the benefit of the police, they would have made the election unanimous? Mr. BuDENz. They make it over there pretty nearly unanimous. May I also ask to be relieved of answering the question proi)ounded by Mr. Mundt.
Regarding these front organizations. I will volunteer, since the com- mittee presses, to bring this to the attention of the committee in an organized form in whatever way you see fit, either by another appear- ance or by a written report under affidavit.
There are cei'tain variations of participation of these various or- ganizations, and I want to be absolutely accurate in designating them. Mr. Rankin. You are speaking of the so-called Communist front (irganizations?
Mr. BuDENz. Yes; I am.
Mr. Rankin. I would prefer you make another appearance, and be prepared to go into this question thoroughly. I am speaking for myself.
Mr. BuDENZ. I shall be glad to do so.
Mr. Mundt. As a matter of general policy, and from your observa- tions because of your connection with the Comnumist Party, were special efforts made by the party leadershi]) to make contacts with the schools and children in schools and colleges to advance the Com- numist line?
Ml-. Bi'DENZ. Well, th€\y try to make advances to every group in eveiT possible way. It is well i-ecoguized. and Conununist discus- sion has shown so. that the Connntmist moxcnient of itself is not going to get anywhere in America. That was the premise of Browder's ai'gument, but on the other side wc find James Allen having that ai'- gument for another reason. America is a hopeless capitalistic coun- try, he contended. That does not mean that the Connnunists are
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 43
iroiiiir to (iiiit bcinix active lierc : it nioiuis that tlicir tactics have to chaiiirc. However, thev. therefore, trv ti>roii<rh all sorts of tellow- ti-avelin*; or«j:aiiizations aiul {jfroups to eiitei- into every phase ot Amer- ican life — I mean from Hollywood to Hell Gate — every phase of American life tliey try to enter into and ])eneti'ate. and do it not nnder Conunnnist <j.nise. but under C'onnuunist disj^iiise; that is to say, makin*:: themselves out as liberals or as trade-unionists, or whatever the case may be, and then thej' j^enetrate the or<ranization that they wish to penetrate.
Mr. Mixivr. 1 am not tryin<r to pin you down on tletails until we come to that part of the testimony. You know, as a matter of per- sonal knowledge that one of the special devices that the Communists use is an elt'ort to work throuirh schools and collejjes and the childi-en thereof, either directly or throuji^h a friend organization.
Mr. Btdexz. That is correct.
Mr. MrxoT. You talked this morning about the dissolution of the Third Intei-national and how that was actually not achieved. Is the Tliird International synonymous with the word "Comintern"?
Mr. BuDExz. Comintern is an abbreviation for the Communist In- ternational. So is CI.
^Ir. MuxDT. I received a letter about a month ago from Victor Kervchanko. about whom you probably know, and I had asked him some questions about this dissolution of the Comintern, and he said, as you have said, that it was simply a device for deceiving outside parties. He listed several names, one of which I think you used to- day. I am not too familiar with these Russian terms, but he said to prove the point, some of the men participating in the dissolution were Dimtriff. of Bulgaria, who is a puppet dictator of the country of Bulgaria, and Thorez. whom you also mentioned today, is in France.
I wonder if your obserAations and vour knowledge would tend to give 3'ou information A'erifynig what he said to me in that letter along that line.
Mr. BuDExz. That is the substance of the testimony today, that is. that first of all the Communist organization in the United States — not just casually but virtually 100 percent — serves the will of Moscow at the particular moment.
^»lr. MuXDT. Do vou limit that to tlie Communist organization in the United States, or would you say the Communist organization in any country, or outside of Russia?
Mr. BuDEX'z. In any country.
Mr. AuAMsux. I would like to ask you if you know anything about a Soviet agent named Arkady Soberlov.
Mr. BuDENz. No, not by that name. He may have many other names, of course.
Mr. Adamsox. That is the only name that I hapjx'ii to have at the moment.
Mr. Laxdis. I have in mind when Mr. Browder was put out of office, temporarily at least, and they changed their line. It looks like during the war they had the Tehran line everywhere so that they could get materials from us. The Communist line, it seemed, was to get tlie materials ])i-oduced in the United States to win the war.
Mr. BuDEXz. Tliat is right.
44 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
iNIr. Landis. And after the war ended, why, then they changed the line and the Duclos article came out in France, and that expressed an opinion opposite to the opinion expressed by Mr. Browder.
Ml". BuDKNz. Well, Browder was following the line all riglit. That was the line for the war, the Tehran line. Many Comnmnists hardly knew what they meant by it, they sort of chanted "Tehran, Tehran." The Tehran line was the line of "generations of peace" pledged by Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt, at Tehran, which Duclos says is "only a diplomatic gesture." The point of the matter is Browder had been faithfully carrying out the line, but it changed, and one way that Moscow could show that it has changed thoroughly was by demot- ing Browder. He was supposed to take his medicine. He has been rewarded by being made the representative of the Soviet book trusts in tliis country.
His case is something like another example, up in Canada. The Communist Party has supposedly disciplined Sam Carr for disap- pearing from the Canadaian hearings regarding espionage. But they are the very ones who have helped to hide him. A Communist is sup- posed to put not only his intellect but his reputation on the altar of devotion to Stalin. Tliose are no exaggerated words. You can read the resolution of 19.'>,5, and it is Stalin who is the source of life and leadership and teaching to the Connnunists of the United States. The resolution of the Seventh Congress in 1935 is very clear on that point.
Mr. Landis. 1 would like to ask a question on religion. I uiiderstand that it is grudgingly tolerated in Russia and controlled by the state.
Mr. BuDENz. Well, it is amazing what you can learn by being editor of a Communist newspaper here without being in Soviet Russia, be- cause you have to be advised of Soviet ])lans and policies. We were advised that — sure, they have freedom of religion over there, but it is easy to charge $100 or $150 a month for electricity for a Mass. There are hundreds of ways that you can prevent this religious worship without interfering openly with religious woi-shi]>. That was what was told me among other things. As a result, the Orthodox Church has become more of a tool of the state than it was in the days of the czars. Nobody pays any attention to the Soviet persecution of the Catholic Uniats. The Catholic Uniats at the point of machine guns are being sent to Siberia and elsewhere for trying to stay out of the Orthodox Church, the state church of Russia.
I thiidv that it is a shame, a disgrace, that more of these facts have not been publicized — the ways that the Catliolics are being persecuted by the Soviet in the newly dominated territories, especiall3\
This last war was supposed to be the war for the "four freedoms." They are much mutilated l)y now\ That is an indication of what has hai^pened, the terror against the Catholics. There may be, inciden- tally, more, Mr. Landis, but I just kuow that.
Mr. Rankin. xVs I said, the policy of the Connnunist regime toward religion was ex])rossed on that streamer that President Hoover told us was across the gates of Moscow, that religion is the opiate of the people.
You spoke about the attacks on the capitalistic system. We people throughout the country, wlien we speak of capitalism, think of rich people. What they mean by the ca))italistic system is the right to own pi'iA'ate pro[)erty; is not that right?
Mr. BuDENz. That is what it develops into.
UN-AMERICAX PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 45
Mr. Rankix. Tti otlior words, that is what thoy say in lliis article that L road to you a while a<;o, adopted hy the Comiminist Party of the Ignited States — that they would take over not only all of the fac- tories and railroads and mines, but they would take over all the stores, all of the houses, all Hllinfr stations, and all lands and make every individual the slave of the state. Is that ri<>ht '^
Mr. BrnKxz. The livi'lilmod of every individual under the totali- tarian Soviet dietatorship is dependent upon the state, and the state is dependent npon two or three individuals in the Kreudin.
Mr. Raxkix. And the state can tell him when and where he shall work ; is that correct ?
Mr. BunKxz. Yes.
]\rr. Raxkix. And when and where he shall not work?
Mr. BuDKXz. Correct.
Mr. Raxkix. They can remove him from his job and starve him to death, if they want to.
Mr. BuDEXZ. That is correct.
Mr. Rax'kix. Regardin<): these overrnn countries, are j^ou familiar with the rape of innocent women, the murder of innocent men, the plunder of the peasants, and the robbery of the helpless people in those areas by the Commnnist refjime?
Mr. BuDEXZ. I know that Europe is in a mnch w^orse condition than it was after World War I and that the major bad actors in this regime have been the Red Army and those connected with it.
Mr. Raxkix. I tliink that you have answered the question pretty well. Yon speak of communism and fascism. What is the dif- ference ? Is one hio;h popalornm and the other low pophigrum ?
Mr. BuDEX-^z. Out of my experience I find that they have very much the same result. They are both totalitarian regimes, the all-powerful state becoming a divinity in itself whereby you have the god-man Stalin, unable to make a mistake, being the reservoir of all goodness to the Soviet people, and the same thing over in Germany, the god- man Hitler, the Fuehrer. The same principles follow exactly. Form- erly I tried to distinguish between the two : it can't be done. They are the same. Why should we not admit it ? They produce the same results exactly. The rule is in the hands of two or three people, and as I liave shown, the so-called leaders elsewhere have surrendered their whole intellectual capacity to these dictators. They have only to follow what they are told to do. or they are unhorsed from their positions, and they are. therefore, mere echoes. They have ceased to think. I mean that they have ceased to think when it comes to any contradiction to the leaders of the Soviet or Hitlerite state, as the case may be.
The result of this is that yon do not ai-gue to a conclusion, you argue from a conclusion. As a matter of fact, what does every Communist leader do? I know that process very well. Would anyone ask at any time: Is this decision of Moscow right or wrong? Would you everv sav anvthing like that? No! You sav, "How comes this to be such a wonderful decision?"" And you proceed with the cas- uistry that only comes from training to prove that it, Soviet-created view or decision, is the mo.st splendid thing that could happen for America and for humanitv and everybody else at this particular time. It is the will of Stalin as given from Moscow, from Pravada, the Xew Times, and elsewhere, and that makes it perfect. That is a
46 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
comfortable position because you have your conclusions outlined for you, but it is a destruction of the intellect. This whole business which is supposed to be founded on a Marxist-Leninist science, which claims that it elevates the intellect to a scientific capacity, in reality destroys the intellect com])letely. We see this in the case of William Z. Foster, and if you will read his article of September 1945 in Political Affairs, you will see that he says that he feared expulsion from the party. He said, "We have nol had democracy or democratic cen- tralism here'' — that is the phrase by which they deceive themselves — "we have had only centralism." When he got into the saddle would you not think that Mr. Foster would beoin to introduce the demo- cratic centralism he talks about? He did just the opposite.
I introduced a resolution in that national committee session of June 1945, even though I already saw the bankruptcy of the Comnnin.ist movement, declaring for democratic procedure, for the creation of a party commission to develop democratic action in the party. The whole idea that I raised was suppressed. The last thing they wanted was real democratic discussion in the organization, because how can you have democratic discussion if you wish to liand out a dictated line to peopled They must accept it, whether they will or not. When Foster got to be leader — and this is the point that I want to make — did he end exjndsions ? Why. they have just ex])elled Ruth ]\IcKinney for accusing Foster of Browderism. I am speaking now of Euth McKin- ney, the author of My Sister Eileen. They expelled the writer Verii Smith and Bill Dunn. too. They expelled them and a number of others for accusing Foster of Browderism.
The point of the matter is that no one can luive any opinion that is independent of Moscow, even in one iota. Tliat is the case, whether Browder or Foster is the puppet leader. That is wliat I wanted to indicate.
Mr. Laxdis. How do you account for the fact that the intellectuals in America can follow this party line?
Mr. BuDENZ. Because it gives them a kind of certainty. They see certain weaknesses in our present system, with all of its merit, and that is, for instance, the constant return of the business cycle and other things of that character. They start out with the idea of remedying^ that condition, and they get enmeshed into the whole system of this conspirational and lying character.
Secondly, I would like to sny at this point that the intellectuds. and particularly the so-called liberals, are of course meat for the Com- munists. The Communists, as I have said in quotation marks, called them "soft-headed and soft-hearted liberals.'' and to some extent that is a correct designation. They rush out to defend the Conununist line, without any responsibilities on their part. It is a very comfortable position to be in, by the way. You do not have any of the responsibili- ties of the Connnunist leadershij), and on the other hand you have the satisfaction of acting very progressively, as they call it. because the Communists keep har])ing on progressive as they do opponents P'ascist. The lib(M-als aiv the first line of defense for the Connnunists. '\'\nien T say liberals. T want to be thoroughlv undei-stood. I mean b\ liberals those who ally tliemselves with tlie Connnunist cause. There are also liberals who are opposed to Communists. These pro-Comminiist people, ninoiisf whom the intellectuals are very nnich represented, first
UN-AMERICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 47
start out with ^ixnl will toward the woi-hl with the idea of reformin<r it, and then before you know if you find that they repivsent a certain viewpoint; they are i)arrolino- overy current Connnunist i)hrase and let nie tell you from my own experience, Congressmen, it is the hardest thin<^ in the world to admit that you are wrong. I know that from my own hesitancy for '2 years to admit tliat T was wrong and to hope that things would turn out dillerent from what they were in fact. There- fore, the intellectually proud liberals are enmeshed in this thing.
Mr. ]Nri XDT. Mr. Chairman, if we may digress from the discussion of Henry Wallace for a minute, I want to give a little documentary evidence from a high source, that is, if we could remove the fog which confuses so much thinking among the Americans, that there is a great distinction l)etween fascism ancl c(mimunism, and they are sort of luitural enemies
Mr. BuxDENZ. Fundamental!}^, there is no distinction.
Ml'. MuNDT. They are the same, and if w^e could get the average American to realize that, we could focus our attack on all of these "isms'' and drive them out of public life and out of the position of importance.
I want to read one paragraph supporting exactly what I have said, from what I consider one of the best public addresses given in America in the last quarter of a century. I am going to read from a speech that J. Edgar Hoover made on September ;^0 before the National Convention of the American Legion in San Francisco, Calif., bearing on this point that you have made.
He said : »
We of this generation liave faced two great menaces in America, fascism and communism. Botli are materialistic ; both are totalitarian ; botli are antireligi- ous ; botli are degrading and inhuman. In fact, tliey differ little except in this: Communism has spread fascism and fascism spawns communism. Both are the antithesis of American belief in liberty and freedom.
From your experience as the leader in one of those movements, to wit, communism, would you say that j^our experience gives merit to that particular point ?
Mr. BuDExz. I think ^[v. Hoover is very well informed.
Mr. Eaxkix. One fellow stated that communism and fascism were both symptoms of the same disease; that one of them is the fever and the other the chill to dying civilization.
Mr. Thomas. Before we get into the chills and fever I would like this article to be part of the record.
Mr. Raxkix. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. Thomas. You mentioned Eugene Demiis. Did you say that he was in technical difficulty?
Mr. BuDEXz. W^ell, I raised that point Avith very great reluctance because he expressed it in a half-way manner, but he gave that state- ment that he was in technical difficulty.
Mr. Thomas. That is Eugene Dennis?
Mr, BuDENz. Eugene Dennis said that.
Mr. Thomas. And by technical difficulty did you mean that it had something to do with a passport?
Mr. BuDExz, It had something to do with a false passport or some equivalent "technical difficulty" activity, which disturbed liim.
48 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
Mr. Thomas. How long ago was that?
Mr. BuNDENZ. Well, as I say, he raised that with me twice. Once was befoi-e lie went iindergroimd ; the other time when he emerged from the iindergronnd. so that would be — well, that would be around 1940. first, and then later, in 1942.
Mr. Thomas. Did he ever get out of those difficulties?
Mr. BuDExz. That I do not know.
Mr. Thomas. Was any action taken against Eugene Dennis tliat you know of by the Government?
Mr. BuDENZ. Not that I know of.
Mr. Ada3isox. I w(^uld like to ask another question.
You have described how these various operatives go underground for periods of time. Do you know where the mone}^ comes from to support these gentlemen while they are secretly parading around as t i red businessmen ?
Mr. Bldexz. That is a pretty difficult problem. It seems as though there are as many money sources if not more than there are activities.
Mr. Thomas. The reason I brought out the matter of Eugene Dennis now was that under the old committee we had a witness come before us and tell us that one Earl Browder had been in technical difficulty and as a result of that testimony the Government did take action; Browder, Earl Browder, was sent to jail. Now I would like to know whetlier the Government is going to do anything in regard to Eugene Dennis.
Mr. BuDExz. I have not seen it discussed. ' Mr. Thomas. I think, Mr. Adamson, you ought to get in touch with the Department of Justice to find out what they have done about Eugene Dennis.
Mr. Adamsox. I shall do that, Mr. Thomas.
Mr. Raxkix. Mr. Budenz, you spoke a while ago of some Red pro- fessors that have been placed in key positions in our educational in- stitutions. Are you in position to go into that at this time or would you rather reserve that for a future date?
Mr. BuDExz. I would rather reserve this business of the front activities to a future date.
Mr. Raxkix. That will be satisfactory. I want to say to you when that time comes that there are so many of these angles; that is one of them. And. I would like you to discuss the school of communism that some of these Red professors have been going to in Russia.
Also, we want to go into the question of Connnunist influence infiltrating into the moving-picture industry, the radio, and the press of the country as well as these Communist-fi'ont organizations as they are commonly known, because this committee is dedicated to going the full length to protect this Government against subversive activities.
Mr. Adamsox. Mr. Chairman, may I also add that when the witness retu]-ns, that the date the committee will fix before you adjourn here today, I wouUl also hope that he will be able to give us something in connection with the activities here in the Russian churches. We have received many letters and many stories concerning the attempted organization or the coming in of the old Orthodox Russian churches in this country by representatives from Moscow.
Mr. Raxkix. We would like to have you go into the whole picture, Mr. Budenz. " _
UN-AMERICAX PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 49
Mr. BioKXz. You can iiiulerstaiul that I will do the best I can. Of eourse my information on some (juestions will be limited. On others it will be much more extensive. On many of the (juestions you have asked me today I can thi'ow a lot of lii;lit; on others 1 will bring data before you, giving you some idea of the front organizations on Avhicli I can throw some light. But I want to be in this i)osition: I want to bring the information to you very carefully and specifically and. so far as I can, I shall do so.
There is one other caution that I want to give in testimony of this kind, and tliat is to repeat that we are dealing Avith conspiracy, which very frequently does not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. But of course some things are specific, based upon their having become in full force and effect, and imdeniable, and that is anothei- reason Avliy I wish to be as specific as I can.
Mr. Laxdis. 1 wonder if you are familiar with some Federal work- ers? I understand from what I have heard some of the Federal workers, that is, in some of the departments, such as the State Depart- ment, have been in the Connnunist Party and they have come out and opposed some of the policies that have been presented, and their opposi- tion may have resulted in some changes in the policies.
Mr. BuDEXz. That I will also discuss with you, if you please, later.
^Ir. MuxDT. I would like to ask a question there concerning how carefully have you checked into the passport of and also the citizen- ship status of this Hans Berger?
Mr. Raxkix. If you do not mind, Mr. Mundt, we will discuss that in executive session. Would that be all right?
Mr. ]\Ii:xDT. I do not see any objection to doing it now.
Mr. Adamsox'. I understand that he is here on what miglit be termed a transit visa, without going into the technicalities that might portray communications from the Department of State. He has no business to be here now.
Mr. MuxDT. AVhat I was getting at principally was this, and you can answer it in open session : I want to be sure that he remains here and that we have an opportunity to document this whole matter and he must not get out before we have that opportunity.
]Mr. Adamsox'. Yes; I will take the necessary steps to see to that.
Mr. Raxkix'. He is under subpena?
Mr. Adamsox. He is under subpena now.
Mr. MuxDT. And you can assure us that he will be here.
Mr. Adamsox. I w411 take that precaution.
Mr. RAXKIX^ The committee will go into executive session. There are some things we want to discuss among ourselves.
(Whereupon the committee proceeded to the consideration of business in executive session ; after which it adjourned subject to call of the chairman.)
Exhibit B
TWKNTY-FlVE YeAKS OF SOVIET POWER
(By Earl Browder)
This twenty-fifth aiinivpi'pary of the ostahlislmicnt of Soviet powoi- is witness to the most profound change of the attitude of tiie people of the United States as a whole toward the Union of Soviet Socialist Kepnitlies and its great leaders. For the first time there is almost universal understanding of the Soviet Union as a stage in the rise of mankind to higher civilization. Tliere is a high and
50 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
rising evaluation of the Soviet Union as the most ijowerful friend and ally of the United States. And there is love for and gratitude toward the Soviet Union as the power which has so far saved this country and world democracy from destniction by the Axis aggressors.
Nothing in modern history has so profoundly stirred the American masses as the heroic defense of Stalingrad. Americans know their own fate is being decided in that battle. Americans are ashamed that the full force of our own country has not yet been thrown into the scale through the opening of the western front in Europe. For the great mass of Americans now understand full well that they can emerge from this war a free people only if they fight this war as a part of the United Nations, side by side with the Soviet Union, in full partnership, unitedly sharing its costs and burdens in full as they will jointly share tlie fruits of victory.
There are still some reactionary cliques in America whicii cling to their old dreams of helping to destroy the Soviet Union and making partnership with Hitler in dividing up the world. They are not large in numbers, but they are power- ful. They are the most bitter opponents of the second front and the advo- cates of a negotiated "peace" witli Hitler. They still dominate nuich of the American newspaper world. They represent some of the most iiowerful industrial monopolists in America. Their intluence holds back the iannense potential power of the United States, and prevents it from l>eiiig thrown into full action to smash Hitlerism now. But tliese native American Fascists are rapidly losing their power over the Nation, and have already lost their control over the minds of the people.
Tlie American people and Government are conmiitted to alliance with the Soviet Union for this war and for the postwar period. American patriots will not tolerate in public life any expression that runs counter to this will of the people. This is being demonstrated more and more every day in a thousand dif- ferent ways. The Soviet-American alliance has been confirmed in the hearts and minds of the American masses. ( )n November 7 it will be the entire Nation whic-h celebrates the twenty-fiftli anniversary of the rise of the Soviet Union, including the official leadership of the United States as well as the masses of the people.
This does not mean that the United States has turned or is turning to socialism. Such an interpretation would be radically false. There is no intimation in the United States of a mass abandt»nment of its capitalist system of economy and society. Tliere is the general belief that if the United States rises to its tasks in this war, and fulfills its responsibilities in the cru.shing of Hitlerism, that it will go into tlie postwar period as a capitalist nation.
But this also is no contradiction to a further fact, that the American jjeople are beginning to understand that the Socialist society of the Soviet Union is the source of its unparalleled achievements in the war which restored for the United Nations the perspective of victoi'y. Socialism, even though not generally accepted for the United States, is no Longer looked upon as something alien and hostile to the American way of life, which was the view which had long prevailed over the minds of the great majority of Americans.
On the twenty-fifth birthday of the Soviet Union the American working class and people are more and more raising their voices to demand an immediate of- fensive on the western front against Hitlerism. Wendell Willkie expresses, on this issue, the sentiment of the American masses, who believes that President Roosevelt is fully committed to the same demand and are ready to strengthen his hand by all means, so that all restraining and hesitating influences can. finally be brushed aside.
Americans want to fight. They want to fight in full coordination with the Red Army, which they respect and love. They want to fight now. They will never forgive those groups and individuals responsible for holding them back so long from the fight. Such is in truth the spirit of the great majority of Ameri- cans as we come to the histoi'ic date of November 7.
For the American people the date November 7 takes its place alongside our own July 4, as part of the same forward movement of the human race. Just as Amer- icans have always jiffirmed the uiuversal significance of <nu- revolution of 1776 Jiiid of George Washington, so now we have c(nne to recognize the universal vjilidity of November 7. the S<iviet Revolution of llt]7 and Joseph Stalin.
In the fires of the conunon war against Hitlerism, in the blood of the best sons of both countries given to a common cause, in the gathering of the peoples of the world into the United Nations, in the final winning of victory through joint strug- gle, this American-Soviet friendship and alliance will be so fully sealed that it
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 51
will be a Rivat fortress for tlu' coUoctiv*' sccnrily and jn-ofircss of all itooi>les in tlie juisfwar world.
The TWINTYFIKIH ANNlvr.ltSAKY OK TIIK Sovii/i I'owicn
(By V. J. Jerome)
Pwenty-five years ago the Soviet State was founded. Today all progressive linnianily marks the even in tribute.
Out of the t'xiioriencos burnt into their consciousness in this global war for the destruction of fascism, the peoples have come increasingly to recognize the nieaning of the Soviet Union's existence to their national freedom, to their demo- cratic attainments. The barriers of confusion, prejudice and hostility, built up for years by Soviet haters, are breaking down under the spring torrents of lib- erated adniiration and widening understanding for the Soviet people and its leaders. Day after day public utterances of leading Americans bespeak the deep- going solidarity of America's millions with our valiant and most ix)werful and most dei)endable ally :
"Street by street, liouse by house, life for life, Russia fights for her existence and for world security against aggression," declares former Ambassador to the Soviet Uuiou Joseph E. Davies." "They are also fighting our fight when they are fighting Hitler. From Thermopylae to Vei-dun history records no spirit more indomitable, more heroic, than that of the Soviet Union, its leaders, its brave army, its luiconquei-able people."
"The Catholic Youth r>rganizatioii is thrilled by the visit of Miss Lyudmila Pavlicheidco to Chicago at the invitation of our outstanding mayor," says Bishop Bernard J. Shell, director general of the Catholic Youth Organization. "She rep- resents a great people who are writing history by their heroic defense against a ruthless invader. May God bless them."
"No man can leave Stalin's presence the.se days without admiration for his de- votion to the cause of saving his people from the barbarous thrusts of Hitler's nicreiJess hordes." says Wendell Willkie on his departure from Moscow.
They who in the past have blocked American-Soviet friendship do not conceal their alarm. Wendell Willkie's declarations extolling the Soviet Union and calling for a second front have aroused the fury and hatred of the defeatist press. The resentment is not limited to the defeatists. The New York Times seems to be disturbed by the fact that "almost every observer sent into Russia," the Presi- dent's envoy included, "sends back messages which are almost an echo of the Russian call for help." And the Times offers its analysis :
"We do think they have come into the field of a vast emotion. Out of the depths of the Russian natiire there has sprung something of awe-inspiring splendor. We think this is greater than communism. We have a right to hope that it may after this war liberalize and spirtualize communism's hard outlines."^
The Times is correct in siieaking of awe-inspiring splendor, of the vast emotion that impels the Soviet people to deeds of heroism which are the glory of humanity. But why, we have the right to ask, has the nature of this splendor, its vei-y possi- bility, been withheld from our Nation for 25 years — yes, by the very .journal that .sports the motto "All the news that's fit to print"? And how shall those answer who have systematically sought to conceal the source of this heroic emotion in the S(jviet man, woman, and child? How shall they answer who have sought to defame and belittle that source?
Out of the depths of the Russian nature? Shades of the Dostoievskian soul and fumes of the confessions gases ! The years have not pas.sed in such number that we cannot still hear that same camp of ps.vchologists exclaiming that the economic and cultural backwardness of Russia under the tsars expressed the peculiarities of the "Russian soul" : Not in the Russian nature rich in the centuries-old heritage of struggle against ojjpression. not in the nature that brought forth the vanguard Ru.ssiau proletariat, but in the sloth of Obloniovisni " they saw the "soul" of Russia; in the phosphorescence of decay they beheld that soul's splendor — it sur- vived for them among the tsarist emigres of Paris and Mukden. Since a certain day in late 1017. however, they have not otherwise found the "Russian nature" sopalatable: luiw they revert to it in order to weaken the sununons of America's goodwill emissary to common fighting action.
lEflltorial of RfptomhtT 29, 1942.
* The allusion is to the character Ohlomnv. who. in Gonoharov's famous nf>vel by that name, typifies the social inertia, stagnation, and inrtifferentisni of nineteenth-century Russia.
52 UX-AMEKICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
There is a "Kussiiiii nature" out of which has sprung awe-inspiring splendor. That nature is no mystical abstraction. It inheres in concrete reality — the eco- nomic, poltical and social status of the Soviet people. It is the nature of a people that has transformed its nature. It is the nature of a people that has made the leap from Oblomovism to Stakhanovism. It is the nature of that people of whom Wendell Willkje said : "Here in Russia you realize the real meaning of the phrase 'This is a people's war.'" It is the nature that may attain like splendor in all peoples when their inherent greatness is released by great historic aims.
The nature of tiie Soviet Union, its essence and its meaning to the world, must be more fully understood, to make the U. S.-U. S. S. R. coalition stronger and more effective, to hasten the second front for a full victory of the coalition. The interests of the common struggle of the United Nations and the deepening of American-Soviet amity require the fullest clarity up(m the bases of our Soviet ally's lieroic stand. The i>eop]e must he armed against the veiled and open attempts to undermine America's vital relatitmship with the Soviet Union. The very launcliing of the second front — supi-eme urgency of the hour — and the ship- ping of vital war necessities to our Soviet ally are impeded by the Muniehite propaganda of confusion and slander that is a danger to America and to the United Nations. The morale of our armed forces and of our civilian popnlatitni depends on the speed and effectiveness with which we crush the traders in treason who, to distract attention from their organized plottings of a negotiated Hitler "peace," publish and broadcast such fabrications as that the "Russian enigma" makes us uncertain of the Soviet Union's course.
The cause of Allied unity demands the destructicm of this tissue of falsehoods spun by the lose-the-war camp. The ])eople nmst be grounded in the under- standing that the Soviet Union is no "enigma," but that its course of action is straiglit, unfailing, and clear-ringing as the fire from Lyudmila Pavlichenko's gun. There is still lacking a wide-scale grasp of the causes that make the Soviet Union, its fighting forces, its people, and its leadership the ob.iect of world ac- claim. It is clear to all tliat the Soviet Union is. and for 16 fateful monriis has been, the mainstay of the United Nations' fighting strength ; that "the hopes of civilization," in the words of General MacArthur, "rest on the worthy banners of tlie courageous Russian Army." Not yet understood broadly is how this has been made possible.
The role of the Soviet Union in tliis war foi- national liberation is not an accidental, unexplainable iihenomenon ; it is the wartime expression of the fun- damental role of the Socialist state in history.
The Soviet Union displays the fighting mettle that has earned for it world wonder because, founded on the principles of Socialist democracy, it is the most con.sistent and resolute fighter against fascism ; because the scientific bases on which its social system was built from the first are diametrically opposite and irrecocilably hostile to everytliing that fascism represents.
When, in the Communist Manifesto, close to a century ago, Marx and Engels foresaw that its historic* course would lead the working class to assume "the position of ruling class," they predicated working class rule upon the basic task: "to win tlie battle of democracy." And when the proletariat of Russia raised itself to the position of ruling class. Lenin declared: "The Soviets are the higher form of democracy ; morever, they are the beginning of the Socialist form of democracy."
The surge of the workers' state into existence brought to the laboring masses and all the oppressed everywhere the joyous realization that in a sixth of the world the age-old aspirations of the "wretched of the earth" were now to be fulfilled. The revolutionary struggles of the modern working class, repres.sed in Idood in the Parisian .Tune days of 1.S4S. defeated on tlie barricades of the Communard "heaven stormers," crushed in the Russia of irMl.5, now had lirouglit a proletariat to power. Tlie freedom for which Spartacus led the embattled slave army in antiquity, for which Wat Tsier and Thomas IMiinzer led the serfs in sweeping struggle: the freedom that the Magna Carta initiated, that tiie great Frencli Revolution proclaimed in tlie rights of man, that the American Revolution inscribed in words of fire on its battle banner.s — was now to be ad- vanced to the highest stage of realization.
It is a tribute to the magnitude of the social transformation effected by the October revolution that the voices — and not only the voices — of all who stood in the way of progress were raised against the Soviet power. All too well known are the vilifications and malicious distortions, running the gamut from "national- ization of women" to "totalitarianism." One charge rose from them all : Soviet power, the dictatorship of the working class, means the end of all democracy.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 53
Thus, even today, in the yoar of tho Soviet pooplo's jilovious dPinofratic aiiogoo, the year of SevastoiKil aiul Stalinj^riul, an "authority" on world affairs can deliver himself of this cynicism :
"From 1}>21 onwards [Russia's I example was followed hy coinitry after coimtry which combined n^bi'llion atraiiist- the Versailles seltlement with I'ejectioii of demncracy. sometimes payiufr lii>-service to democracy, as the Russians had done, hy purporting to set up a new and more perfect form of it." "
One might expect that the les.sons of the years, if they could not enlighten, would at least shame the .slanderers. But th(> cheeks of falsehood are fashioned of brass.
Russia's example was the example of supreme democracy. The workers' state could not. by its i>ssential nature, adopt a course ()ther than the realization of the fullest democracy. The working class in power, the working class allied with the masses of the peasantry, means the rule of the vast majority.
A workers' state requires an organized form that corresponds to its political es.^^ence and implements its historic tasks. That form — evolved from the experi- ences of the Pai'is Comnnme and the revolutions of 1905 and February 1917, i)ro- posed and elaborated by Lenin, and instituted under his leadership — was Soviet power.
Lenin tauglit that in the course of winning the battle of democracy the Soviets, as the new state apparatus, are, in the first place, defending the gains of the revo- lution, through having set up an armed force of workers and peasants — a force that "is not divorced from the people as was the old standing army, but is fused with the people in the closest possible fashion."' Secondly, the Soviets are "a bond with the masses" — the deep and indissoluble connection of the workers' state with the laboring people of city and village. Thirdly, the superior demo- cratic character of the Soviets is reflected in the fact that their members are elected and subject to unhampered review and recall in accord with the popvilar will. Fourthly, their strong ties with the most varied occupations facilitate the introduction of reforms, free from bureaucratic formalism. Fifthly, their organ- izational form makes it possible for the vanguard of the laboring people, the I)roletariat. to extend leadership and political training to the vast pea.sant masses that previoTisly "stood remote from political life and from history." Finally, in that they act both as legislative and executive bodies, as well as through the general flexibility of their form, they combine "the advantages of parliamentarism with the advantages of immediate and direct democracy." Summed up. the function of the workers' state and its Soviet form has been, from the beginning, as set forth in Lenin's Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government, ''to draw [the masses of the people! into independent pf)litical life, to edticate them politi- cally by their own experience," thereby "teaching the whole of the population the art of administration." *
The Soviet foi-in of the workers' state — in realizing the objectives set foi-th bv L'^nin — has enabled the peoyHe to attain that unity of purpose and political initiative which alone explain their unshakable morale. It is the democratic basis of Soviet power which has made possible, the firm, granite-like national unity of the Soviet jteople and the indestructible ties with its Government and Red Army, such as have never been beheld.
The task of the workers' state to establish total democracy would have re- mained unachieved had the requisite economic foundation not been laid. Scien- tific communism is distinguish from utopianism in that it is enabled by the de- veloping historical conditions, not only to project the consummate democracy, but to chart the course for realizing that democracy through the establishment of its material basis.
"When, in 1926. toward the close of the period of economic restoration, effected by the new economic policy, the land of the Soviets, led by the Bolshevik Party, undertook its great task of socialist construction, its enemies laughed. Some of its "friends" were skeptical at the "experiment." Bourgeois economic and sociological experts derided the .^>-year plan and proved statistically, psycho- logically, biologically, that it was doomed to failure because, the profit motive lacking, the workers had no incentive to fulfill the plan. Prophets of doom arose on all sides. The words of those oracles of ill omen have now found their place with the a.shes of history. The anti-Tveninists within the party presented as insuperable the economic and technical backwardness of the country and raised the cry that the alliance of the working class and the peasantry would be dis-
^CowMril. HallPtt Carr. Conrlitions of Pf>aof. ^raf>nlilla^. Npw York. 1942. p iv
■» Thp flistingiiishinff fharartoristios of thp Rovipts wprp rlas^icallv prpsontofl by Lpiiin in
his famous artiolp "Can the P.olshoviks rptain state power?" written on the eve of the
impending proletarian revohition.
54 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
rupted ; they clamorously denied the possibility of building socialism in the single Soviet state and set about organizing their ideological denial into prac- tical betrayal. Defeated, repudiated, and eliminated are the Trotsky-Bukharin camp of wreckers and traitors. The victorious advance of socialist construc- tion reared the Soviet Union into a fortress of strength for the defense of world democracy. Without the achievement of socialist industralization and of col- lectivization in agriculture, climaxed by the great 5-year plans. Hitler would today be the conqueror of the Soviet Union. Without the victory of the Stalinist party line, Britain and America would today be doomed lands at the mercy of gauleiters.
In 1925, before the 5-year plans, Soviet industry was still much inferior in output and equipment to the industries of the leading capitalist countries ; the economy of the U. S. S. R. was still a backward, predominantly agricultural economy. This meant that the workers" state was dependent on the hostile cap- italist world for machinery, industrial mateiMals, and many vital manufactured goods, including even the weapons of defense.
The socialist industrialization of the U. S. S. R., on which depended the suc- cess of socialism and the defense of the workers' state, thus became the foremost task facing the Soviet people. The first partial goal, which was set in 1929. was the adoption of the first 5-year plan (first projected by the party in 1927) whicli called for the modernization and expansion of industry, with special emphasis on two key industries: machine-building and heavy industry (mining, smelting, metal stock producing and heavy fabricating). In the 4 years and 3 months which sufiiced to fulfill the plan, industrial output approximately doubled. The second 5-year plan, fulfilled in 1937, completed tlie reconstruction of the national economy on modern technical lines, doul)le(l once again the volume of industrial production, and in particular achieved the mechanization of agriculture. It achieved its main historical task — the elimination of the remnants of the ex])loit- ing classes.
The great plans, !)esides raising the material and cultural standards of the Soviet people, insured the safety and future of the Soviet state. As events have emphatically demonstrated, the construction of the Soviet defenses was of cru- cial importance for all the anti-Fascist jteoples. Throughout the i>tM-iod of socialist construction, the greatest emphasis was placed, not only on building for the Red Army and Navy a great fighting machine, but on developing all industry witli a view to rapid conversion, transplantation, and regional self- .suSiciency under the exigencies of national defense.
In the Constitution of the U. S. S. R., there is now inscribed the living reality that socialist economy is the basis upon which the Soviet Union is established :
THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF SOVIET POWER
"The socialist system of economy and socialist ownership of the means and instruments of prodtiction, firmly established as a result of the abolition of the capitalist system of economy, the abrogation of private ownership of the means and instruments of production and the abolition of the exploitation of man by man, constitute the economic foundation of the U. S. S. R."'
Upon this socialist economic bedi'ock rises the structure of socialist democracy.
"The right to work," declares the section of fundamental rights and duties of citizens, "is insured by the socialist organization of the national economy, the steady growth of the productive forces of Soviet society, the elimination uf the possi))ility of economic cri.^es. and the abolition of unemployment."
The constitution accords all citizens "the i-ight to rest and leisure."
"The right to rest and leisure is insured liy the reduction of the working day to 7 hours for the overwhelming majority of the workers, the institution of an- nual vacations with full jtay for work(>rs and em])loyees and the provision of a wide network of sanatoria, rest homes, and clubs for the acconnnodation of the working ])eoi)]e."
The constitution accords all citizens "the right to maintenance in old age and also in case of sickness or loss of capacity to work."
"This right is insured by the extensive development of social insurance of workers and employees at state expense, free medical service for the working people and the provision of a wide network of healtli resorts for the use of the working people."
The constitution insures for all citizens "freedom of religious worship and freedom of ant i religious propaganda."
The constitution guarantees by law to all citizens freedom of .speech, press^ assembly, and street demonstrations.
UN-AMEKICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 55
"These ci\il lijihts are insured by placing at the disposal of tlie working people and their organizations priming presses, stocks of paper, jiublic buildings, tin; streets, coninuiuications facilities, and otlier material requisites for the exercise of these rights."
The "right to unite in public organizations — trade-unions, cooi)erative associa- tions," and otlier organizations is insured to all citizens:
"In conformity with the interests of tlie working people, and in order to develop tlie organizational initiative and political activity of tlie masses of the people."
In regard to the rights of woman — "the chained Andromeda of modern so- ciety," De Leon called her — the constitution states:
"Women in the U. S. S. R. are accorded ecpial rights with men in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life.
"The possibility of exercising these rights is insured to women by granting them an equal right with men to work, payment for work, rest and leisure, social insurance and education, and by state protwtion of the interests of mother and child, prematernity and maternity leave with full pay. and the provision of a wide network of maternity homes, nurseries, and kindergartens."
In the basic respect of rendering the constituti(»nal rights of the Soviet citizens, in the economic, political, and social spheres, insured rights — not merely rights formally recorded, but rights whose exercise is made actually possible and is legally guaranteed^socialist democracy transcends every form of democracy society has known.
The socialist democracy flourishes upon the soil of the great community of in- terests that unites the Soviet iieople in an indestructible unity.
The new working class of the U. S. S. R. (no longer, as Stalin pointed out, a proletariat, a ter mconnoting a class bereft of the means of production and hence exploited), is now, in conjunction with the entire people, the master of the country's re.sources and productive implements, for whom labor has been elevated to "a matter of honor, a matter of i^lory, a matter of valor and heroism." This new working class, with ranks unified, asserting its initiative and leadership through its free and democratic trade-unions and other organizations, its politi- cally most conscious members united with other advanced sections of the working people in the vanguard Bolshevik I'arty, and knowing it.self to be part of the world working class, is achieving miracles on the production front and is manning the guns on the Soviet sector of the United Nations' battle front.
And it is this working class — to the shame of American labor, it must be said — which has been found wanting by the majority of the American Federation of Labor leadership. It is this vanguard section of the world trade-union move- ment whom the Hutchesonion trade-union tyrants label "totalitarian."
Well did Jack Tanner, fraternal delegate from the British Trade Union Con- gress to the recent A. F. of L. convention, answer all such blockers of coopera- tion among the trade-unions of the United Nations :
"We are proud to be associated with that brave people through our trade- union organization, and if we are told that the character and spirit of their trade-unions is different from that of the British trade-unions. I can only reply that the character and spirit of the Soviet trade-unionist in the fight against Hitlerism are also somewhat different from what our own has been to date. * * *
"To say that the trade-unions of the U. S. S. R. are nothing but appendages to the state machinery is to leave out of account the nature of the .state and whose interests its activities foster and serve. In (mr two countrie.s, we cannot pre- tend that it is the workers' interest which wil Itriumph in any issue, unless we put up a .strong and organized fight. But there is no evidence to supijort the idea that in the Soviet Union such a fight is necessary if the matter is one which concerns the well-being of the workers, and if it is not necessary, the organiza- tions which, in othei- countries and conditions, would conduct such fights, natur- ally as.sunie a different character and take on different activities.""
The victory of socialism emancipated the village with the town. The back- ward, sfattered jieasant husbandry which was the noi'iii of the economy — until 1930 predominantly agi-ai-ian — became transformed into lai'ge-scale, collective, socialist agriculture. With this deep-going revolution in tlie national ecf)nomy, "equivalent in its conserpience to the revolution of October 1917," the Soviet peasantry became transfoinied into a peasantry of a new type. The victory of the collective-fai'ui movement, aided materially, culturally and morally by the working clas.-; and the Soviet Government has freed the peasant mas.ses from
'The Worker, October 11, 1942.
56 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
exploitation and from oppression by lancllords and usurtTs. The Constitution of the U. S. S. R. declares all collective farm enteii>rises, with their livestock and implements, as well as their products and buildings, to be the socialist property of the collective farms; it declares the land occupied by the collective farms to be secured to them free in perpetuity. The Soviet peasants have not only achieved a life of well-being; their life has become permeated with modern culture. From the ranks of the new peasantry have come forward leading, educated citizens in the various professions. And from the Soviet fields and villages have come millions of patriots, imbued with love for their fatherland, sworn to annihilate the fascist invader. The socialist patrioti-sm of the peas antry finds its nobles symbol in the man, who. l>orn the son of Bessarabian peasants, and at one time a farmhand, is now — Marshal Timishenko.
Of that patriotism, Ralph Parker, Moscow correspondent of The New York Times, wrote early this year :
"The peasants destroyed things because they were confident that the state would restore their means of livelihood. Socialism stands or falls by its capacity to provide work, and the Russian worker or peasant has come to expect that the state will take care of him. Indeed, there is a strong case to l)e made for the theory that only in socialist states is a scorched-earth policy possible on a com- plete scale. Certainly the collectivization of land facilitates the tragic and heroic acts of self-sacrifice that Premier Joseph Stalin ordered to weaken the foe." "
The rise of the socialist democracy necessarily involved, side l)y side with the basic transformation in the national economy, a revolution in the sphere of cul- ture. "The October Revolution," declared Stalin, "is not only a revolution in the domain of economic and social-political relations; it is at the same time a revolu- tion in the minds, a revolution in the ideology, of the working class." The new society required the new man — ;>nd begot him.
Socialist construction provided the material ba.sis and released the social forces for the cultural revolution. Socialist democracy means today, as current Soviet life magnificently demonstrates, the peoiile's democratic initiative and participa- tion in the development of their cultural resource^ and activities for strengthening the struggle for national liberation.
The Soviet Constitution accords all citizens the right to education. "This right is ensured by universal compulsory elementary education ; by edu- cation, including higher education, being free of charge; by the system of state stipends for the overwhelming majority of students in the universities and colleges; by instruction in schools being conducted in the native language, and by the organization in the factories, state farms, machine and tractor stations and collective farms of free vocational, technical, and agronomic training for the working people."
That this provision in the constitution has been made a I'eality is demonstrated by the unprecedented advance of culture in the Soviet Union. By the end of the second 5-year jjlan. illiteracy, which characterized TO i^ercent of the population in 1913, bad decreased to less than 5 percent; the number of primary and secondary school pupils had increased from 8,(XH),G(X) to nearly 30,000.01K); the number of college and university students had grown to 550,000 — gj-eater by almost 25 per- cent than the combined total attendance in the corresponding institutions of Eng- land, France, Germany, Italy, and Jaiian; and the number of readers liad in- creased to such an extent that the books in the Soviet libraries amounted to 75 for every 100 inhabitants. The Red Army, a vast school and cultui'al force in itself, had over 30,000,000 books in its libraries. The scientific, planned socialist economy, inaugurated through the zealous participation of the people, has built up a mass scientific attitude and has vastly stimulated and released the nation's cultural forces. From the 3,(MHI pi'ofessional scientists that prerevolutionary Russia counted, the number had risen at the time of the launching of the third 5-year plan to 40,000.
Out of the ranks of the liberated workers and peasants has come a new intelli- gentsia, working integrally with the people, drawing its inceutivi' and inspii-ation from the people and serving the people's cause. And of the old intelligentsia the best elements either identified themselves from the first with the October revolu- tion or, through their growing i-ealization of what socialism spells for culture and for themselves as cultural workers, have come over to the side of the socialist people.
The cultm-e of the socialist .society is no facade of eidightenment to conceal a ho"g" • " daikness. It is an edifice shining from foundation to spire with the
« The New York Times, February 2, 1942.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 57
truth of 1T(H» in;in"s aohievomoiits. It is no lucM-archy of tln' elite, tlio experts, over a people bidden to remain in passivity. It is a life activity of a uiulied lieoplt' fashimiin,!;- its destiny eonsciously.
The ilenuH-ratii- roots of the soeialist i-idtni'e and llie \ ilal uieainii.n- of culture for the socialist iH'ople are attested hy the tn^niendous role of the sciences and the arts in the ^reat struji-.u'lo of tlie Soviet Union for national liberation. Soviet cultural aclivilii's are not promoted as "a sleep and a lorKettinj:." Nor are they an artificial slinudus to the pojndar morale. The culture of socialist democi-acy speaks out of the people: it is their deei) will to victory creatinj? — ci-eating not only to celebrate the Red Army's and the mUion's heroic deeds, but also to utter criticism where criticism is due, to correct, to susigest, to urj^e, to acliieve.
Striking is the instance of a recent play hy Alexander Korneichuk, The Front, pulilislied in Travada and scheduled for inunediate Nation-wide production. The Front, in pre.senting the heroic exploits of the Red Arniy and its leadership, lays bare, with ruthless criticism, shortcominjis in certain connnanders — ujilitary con- servatism ct)upled with self-complacenc.v — which have hindered the rout of the invaders and have been responsible for some of the defeats suffered by the Red Army.
"The play," a review in Pravda states, "sets every worker thinking, makes hira take a critical view of his shortcomings, and tires him with the striving steadily to improve his work. * * * The publication of Korneichuk's The Front is a sign of the great strength and vitality of the Red Army and of the Soviet state, for only an army which confidently faces the future, which is confident in victory, can disclose its own shortcoming.s so frankly and sharply in ordei- to eliminate them." •
In the Soviet Union the search for truth is a moral and political obligation. Self-criticism is the oxygen of socialist democracy. The people's culture is ever self-examining, self-renewing, self-expanding.
Tlie Soviet Union has solved the national question. This sentence epitomizes for the peoples of the world an achievement unequaled in the whole history of the struggle of nations for independent life and self-development. Proceeding from the simple truth enunciated by Marx that no nation oppressing another can be free, Lenin and Stalin fornmlat<'d the scientific program which led to the open- ing of the Czar's Bastille of nations and brought the freed peoples comprising a hundred and fifty nationalities into a voluntary fraternal union of equal republics, a socialist connnonwealth.
In regard to the rights of the nations and peoples embraced in the Union of Soviet Sficialist Republics, the constitution pi'ovides :
"Equality of rights of citizens of the U. S. S. R., irresi)ective of their nation- ality or race, in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social, and jwlitical life, U an indefeasible law.
"Any direct or indirect restriction of the rights of, or, conversely, any establish- ment of direct or indirect privileges for, citizens on account of their race or nationality, as well as any advocacy of racial or national exclusiveness or hatred and contempt, is punishable liy law."
In that nmltinational union the anti-Fascist United Nations can behold the fullest fraternal cooperation among the varied great and small nationalities. They can see. in place of the policies of spoliation, obscurantism,' pogroms, and foicible "Russification"' carried on by Czarist imperialism among the oppressed non-Russian nationalities, the economic, political, and cultural regeneration of the nationalities which was effected by the Soviet Government. They can see the wholesome unit.v of nations risen in defense of the common fatherland, where no second-rank citizenship degrades any single people and weakens the fighting capacity of the entire land; where no discrimination is directed at a people of a darker skin, sapping the vitality of the all-national war effort; where no anti- Senutism brings the poison of Ilitlerism into the camp warring upon Hitler; where no colonies exist to become a stamping ground for Axis "liberation" dem- agogiiery. They can see the living reality of the declaration hy Stalin:
"* * * The draft of the new^ (Vmstitution of the U. S. S. R. is * * * pro- foundly iuternationalistic. It proceeds fi-oni the proposition that ;ill nations and races have equal rights. It proceeds from the fact that neither diffei-ence in color
' Tlif- Wnrkor. Oftoher 11. 1942.
8 Rpvonliiij.' is this passasp from a confidontial roport siihmittpd to Xifliolns I l).v ttio ohipf of thp Fifth Gpndarmprip Corps "on thp condition of thp alipns inhal)iting thp Kazan Gubernia'" : "Experipnce of all tinips provps that it is easipr to rnlp an ignorant ppople than a people that has rpceived even the slijrhtest rtegree of education. * * * In ac- cordance with this prpcppt the authorities over the Chuvash people arc exerting every effort to keep them in ignorance."
58 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
nor langiiage, cultural level, or level of political development, nor any other dif- ference between nations and races, can serve as grounds for justifying national inequality of rights. It proceeds from the proposition that all nations and races, irrespective of their past and present position, irrespective of their strength or weakness, should enjoy equal rights in all spheres of the economic, social, political, and cultural life of society."
The profoundly democratic character of the Soviet Union marks also its foreign policy. The protection of the vital national interests of the U. S. S. R. has always coincided with the needs for national security on the part of all peoples. By its nonimperialist essence, the workers' state at all time safe- guarded its people and territory without plundering foreign lands or interfering in their domestic affairs. Notable in tliis connection is the Declaration of Rights of the I'eoples of Russia, by which the week-old Soviet Government, on November 10, 1917, accorded the nationalities the right to self-determination and separation. (When, a month and a half later, the Finnish Parliament declared Finland's independence, the Soviet Government, within 2 days (Janu- ary 2, 1918) extended its recognition.) Notable too is the Soviet Union's re- nunciation of tsarist Russia's traditional annexationist policies with i-egard to the Dardanelles and with regard to Port Arthur and Dairen. And in full keeping with its continuous policy of friendship for the Chinese people, the Soviet Union early renounced the tsarist policy with regard to China. Thus, in 1919, when the Red Army pursued the Kolchakist White Guards in the direction of the Far East, the Soviet Government issued a declaration to China by which it rejected all claims to the Boxer indemnity and other special privileges. In 1922, the S'oviet Union renounced all treaties of the tsarist government with China, declar- ing itself "willing to return to China without compensation all Chinese territory seized by the tsar." This declai-ation was embodied in the Soviet-Chinese treaty of May 31. 1924, by which China was for the first time accorded the status of a first-rank power. The principle actuating these steps has marked every alliance or pact into which the Soviet Government has entered.
"We stand for the support of nations which are the victims of aggression and are fighting for the indeijendence of their connti-y." These words of Stalin, spoken in March 1939, at the Eighteenth Party Congress, have been abundantly corroborated by Soviet policy throughout the years. The assistance that the Soviet Union has contiiniously rendered, and is still rendering, to the Chinese Nation in its war of salvation, is a fa(;tor that will contribute vastly to bring victory to that heroic people. Writing in Liberty for December 21, 1940, Madame Chiang Kai-shek stated :
"Intellectual honesty constrains me to point out that throughout the first 3 years of resistance Soviet Russia extended to China, for the actual purchase of war materials and other necessities, credits s«'veral times larger in amount than the credits given by either Great Britain or America."
Memorable are the unflagging efforts of the Soviet Union and its representative. Litvinov, at the League of Nations in behalf of invaded Ethiopia to bring about a complete blockade of Fa.scist Italy.
When the democr;itic capitalist governments, abetted by Social-Democratic leaders, engaged in that accommodation to the Fascist invasion of Spain hypo- critically styled "nonintervention," the Soviet Union declared through its i-epre- sentative on the Nonintervention Committee, on October 7, 1936:
"The Soviet Government cainiot consent to the conversion of the noninter- ference pact into a screen for concealing military assistance to the rebels against the legal government by some participants in the agreement."
And the Soviet Government acted upon that declaration. It sent guns and planes to the Spanish democrats, who faced Hitler's and Mussolini's mechanized forces almost unai'med. Soviet technicians and instructors went to their aid. Soviet ships bronglU food to the blockaded Spanish people. Spain and the world will forever remember the stanch struggle of the Soviet Union on the side of the Spanish people.
Dr. Kduard Benes, the former Czechoslovakian President, on arriving in the United States, revealed In an authorized interview with Erika Mann, published in the Chicago Daily News, on April 18, 1939. tliat the Soviet Union had stood ready to carry out its pledge of military assistance to Czechoslovakia even if France and Britain failed her. "Russia was faithful to the very last moment," the account of the interview quoted Dr. Benes as saying.
These actions of support to weaker nations attacked by fascism were an integral part of the Soviet Union's magnificent fight for collective security.
Today, as the United Nations look back amid the llanies of war to those crucial years, can they fail to see that had the npraised fist of the People's Front, not the
UN-AMERICAX PHOPAC.ANDA ACTIVITIES 59
bi-ibiiiir i>;iliii of ;ii)p(';is('niiMi(. bcrii jint fi)r\v;in1 ; Imd the (•(i\ins('ls of Moscow, iiof (if Miiiiirli. ht't'ii hot'dcd ; lind tlio M.um't'ssor liccii qu;ii;iiit iiicd the liordcs of Ililirr would not now 1>«' riding rouyhshod oxtT flio bodios of luitlonsV
Till' jinti-lIitltT alliiuict' today of Ilio Soviet Union. I'.i'itiiin. and tiu> I'nilcd Slatos at tilt* head of the I'nitod Nations is history's verdict of the correctness (»f the collective-security iiolicy which the Soviet I'nion ursred tli(> nations to adojit aiiiiinsl Fascist auuressiou.
Lilvcwise. hisloi-y has already conlirnied the wisdom of the l". S. S. II. in si;in- in.c the Sitvit't-C.ermnn Non-Afi,i;ression Tact. Let those who still persist in rejiresentins;: that pact as a "skeleton in the closet" be rennnded of the facts:
I'p to the last the Soviet Government endeavored to maintain the peace front of the democratic nations. The policies of the Miinichite camii hiid sabotaj^ed and utterly dismembered that froiil, and it l)t>canie manifest that iieace coulil no lonuer be preserved on the basis ol' collective secui-ity. The maiietivers of tlie reactionaries who were at the helm of the British, French, and Polish Gov- ernments W(M-e cynically directed at coming: to terms on another Munich basis with Hitler at the exiiense of the Soviet Union, at isolatinii' the Soviet Union .'Mid idun.nin.u her into a war of attrition with Hitler Germ;iiiy. The last sta.iie in tiie trasie re.iection of collective security was the Anslo-French-Soviet mili- tary discussions of tlie smnmer of 1R8!). in which every effort of the Soviet Union to implement the iieace front and to olitain workable joint snaranties of rolanrt asrainst Nazi aiiiiression was blocked. The Soviet Union adopted an independent policy and took the step which frustrated the desiiiiis of the imperi.-ilist in- Irijruers.
As events have well shown, that nonaggression pact, far from being, as the enemies of the Soviet T^nion rushed to proclaim, a move of "capitulation" to Hitler, was based, as Stalin pointed out in his radio address of .July H. 1!»41, "on one indispensable condition, namely, that this jieace ti-eaty does not infringe either directly 'or indirectly on the territorial integrity, independence, and lionor of the peace-loving states." Far from being "inimical" to the interests of the anti-Hitler forces, it was. on the part of the Soviet Government, that master stroke which enabled the Soviet Union to strengthen its strategic posi- tion and to pi-epare its lighting power for the day of Hitler's on.«laught. to pre- pare that ix)\ver for the war. not only of its own national liberation, hut of England, America, and all the United Nations.
During that entii-e i>eriod and up to the time when it was treacherously at- tacked, the Soviet Union pui'sued a policy designed to prevent the spread of the war ;ind to strengthen the democi-atic forces in struggle against fascism. It supported the national liberation struggle of the Yugoslav people and en- deavored to bring about an all-Balkan anti-Hitler coalition. It continued its aid to China. It liberated B.velorussia. western Ukraine. I'.essarabia and northern Bukovina from the toils of reaction and the imminent threat of Nazi enslave- ment. It suppoi'ted Uitbnania. I>atvia. and Estonia in their sti-uggle foi' national and social libei-ation : estal>lished mutual assistance pacts with these Baltic states marked out as points of attack against the Soviet Union: and on the basis of their plebiscitary request admitted the three new Soviet republics into the great family of free nations, the Union of Soviet Socialist Rep'ihlh-s. It frustrated and defeated the Xn/.i-Finnish intrigues and provocative attacks wliich were abetted by the Chambcrlaiii-r.onnet imperialist forces. The blow struck then again.st the Finnish Fascists — the smashing of the redoubtable .Mannerheim line, the prottK-tion of the Soviet boi-der, and the safeguai-ding of Leningrad — was a blow stiMick in behalf of the United Xati(ms of today.
I>ui-ing that entii-e jiei-iod the Soviet Union maintained vigilance on its own frontiers, strengthening its Red Army and its defenses against all contingencies. and standing as a great harrier to Hitlei-'s drive for engulfing the Balkans and the strategic Mid'Ue East, which woidd have meant disaster foi- Great Britain and the United Nations of today. By tlius immobilizimr a considerable ])art of the Nazi .-irmy. the Soviet Union contributed to holding back Ilitlei-'s in- vasion of England and his i)reparations for the att.-ick uixm the Americas. Hitler liim.self admitted in his proclamation of June 22. 1041. that it was the Soviet Union which had prevented him from conquering Britain :
"While our soldiei-s from .May 1<t. "U'U. onward h:id been breaking the j ower of France and Britain in the west, the Russi.an milit.-iry deployment on our eastern frontier was lieing continued to a more and more monacing I'xtent. From August ID-IO onwards I therefore considered it to be in the interests of the Reich no longer to i)"rmit oui' eastern pi-ovinces t<i remain unprotected in the face of this tremendous concentration of P.olshevik divisions. Thus came about
60 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
the result iiitendod by the British niul Russian eooperation — namely, the tying up of such powerful German forces in the east tliat the radical conclusion of the war in the west, particularly as regards aircraft, could no longer be vouched for by the Genua n High Command."
What a travesty on history is therefore the statement in a column of the New Yoi-k Times (September 20. 1IH2) : "Britain saved hereself in T.)4() without Kussian aid, without important American aid. Britain saved herself when she stood alone." And what more litting comment is needed on the contribution of every such statement to the cause of the Ignited Nations than the fact that that very column is now being circulated in thousands of broadsides by the Fascist Christian Front?
On June 22. 11)41, the Soviet Union took up arms against the Nazi invader.
On July 3 Stalin .spoke to the world :
"Our war for the freedom of our country will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Furope and America for their independence, for dem(»cratic liberties.
"It will be a united front of peoples standing for fi'eedom and against enslave- ment and threats of enslavement by Hitler's Fascist armies."
A united front of peoples !
Tlie war of the peoples against Hitlerism has pi'oclaimed collective security as its rallying slogan! The struggles of the nations for survival have merged — into one war indivisible, one camp indivisible.
The Atlantic, which once was vaunted by isolators as our ocean barricade, has become the symbol of a Charter of the embattled I'nited Nations — a Charter which nnist be made to extend to the Pacitic. The policies of the Munichmen to isolate and attack the Soviet Union have been transformed into the historic pacts and ngi-eements of Britain and the United States with the Soviet Union. In place of the unnatural division lietween the two great democracies — the United States and the U. S. S. R. — which the helpmates of Hitler long sought to foster, have arisen the natural friendship and the fighting .alliance of both nations.
This natural friendship has its basis in the innnediate and lasting conununity of interests of the two great democratic ijeoples — a truth expressed continut)Usly for years by Earl Browder.
Today it is l)roadly and increasingly recognized that the deepest principles of freedom and democracy actuate the men, women, and children of the Soviet Union in their struggle to destroy the Fascist invader. A few miserable and distorted creatures, like Lady Astor and that aspirant to the role of an American Doriot, Norman Thomas, veTiomously attempt to deny this. Such denial does not get far with the soldiers and sailors in the American armed forces, who take their hats off to the Soviet Union. The makers of guns and tanks and planes, the workers in civilian defense, the wives and sweethearts of our soldiers and sailors — the people on our home front; these spoke through Wendell Willkie their confidence in the Soviet Union and its leader. Joseph Stalin, in the land wbei-e the people rmi the people's war : where the fifth colunui has been ex- tirpated in good season; where the Red .\rniy, the i)eople's army, fights with a morale based on the knowledge that for democracy to live, fascism must be ruth- lessly amiihilated.
The example of the Soviet Union shows us that democracy gives the people the will to destroy those who would destroy it.
Military campaigns, hailed by MacArtliur as "the greatest niilitni-y achieve- ment in all history" — heroism uni)arnlleled on the part, not only of a magnifi- cently trained ami politically enlightened army but of an entire people — these can be explained only by the fact that these people fight for the country which they collectively and democratically rule — "street by street, and house by house." Only democracy — deniocracy of a kind never known before in history — democ- racy rooted in the bedrock of conunon ownei-sbip of the country's resources and means of i)roduction — democracy spread over a bi'oad framework of popular participation in all phases of govei-nment — democracy back by the strength of free, eipial. and united nations — such deinoci-acy has been able to give to the Soviet people the stamina and the statinv they show in this greatest war of all times. After 20 yeai's of Soviet power, the Russi.-m i)eo])le demonstrate with blow after blow, witli retreat only to attack again, that they cannot be l)eaten ; such a people will not go under; they are knit together in the vast indestructible morale of their Socialist democracy.
I'.ut (lay by day the pric(> our Soviet ally is forced to pay through the non- realization of full Coalition strategy is rising. Our .ally's costs are our costs. His l)eril is oiu- peril.
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 61
StiilitijrrMd. h;ii-(l ]>i-»'ss('(l dcftMidrr of tho citu's of (ItMnof^rjicy. cmUs to TiOiidoii. X«'\v York. \V:ishiiii;ton. Snii Frjiiicisco. Its (•nil stiniis tis to rcincniln'r tlit> words of GtMieral IM;u'Arthnr:
"Tho history of failure in war can almost he suiiuikmI \\\) in two words: Too late. Too late in nnitinjr all possilde forces for resistance: Too late in standiiijj Avitli one's riMends." "
Shall we h(> too late in standiiiir with onr friends?
The course for America is cleai-.
"We now hold the kt^ys to an adeuuate policy for winninj;- the war. These keys are: The American-Soviet-I>ritish facts and alliance — the hulwark of the Tnifed Nations and of world democracy: the Washington and Lmdon agree- ments to open the second front in Europe and to extend all-out aid to China. With the fultillment of these historic agreements, we will Ir.ive a guiding policy for victory."
So spoke Earl Browder. general secretary of the Comnmnist Party and chief protagonist for the fullest development of Am(>rican-Soviet friendship.
On this twenty-tifth ani\-ers;ir\ of the Soviet Union's founding, the American working class and people are eager to join the Soviet peojtle in Hghting comrade- ship on the western front for the decisive hlow against fascism and the com- plete triumph of the coalition of the democratic nations.
OtTR Nation Discovers the Soviet Union (By Hans Berger)
The discovery of America at the end of the fifteenth century altered the entire aspect of the world. Had we as a nation discovered the Soviet Union, as we are begiiming to do today, a (piarter of a century, or at least ^ years, or even ?> years ago, we should prohahly have a ditTeretit world than the one we now behold Today, one no longer need he a Conumuiist or a ''suspicious character" in order tt> appreciate this fact. Dorothy Thompson, in a speech delivered at Tangle- wood, Lenox. Mass., on August 2."), 1942, thus put into words what millions today ai'e thinking :
"The greatest disservice was done to the democracies hy those who believed in the Fascist accounts of Kilssia. It was said that Russia had no armaments, no air force, that the Russian people were on the verge of revolt, that it would morally collapse in the Hrst weeks of war.
"The greatest tragedy of this war, and one for which we have paid with un- limited sul'fei'iiig. and will contituie to pay with more sulTering, was the break- ing of the French-Russian alliance at Munich. It made this war certain and inevitable. In September 19;:^8, an aggressive Germany— had the European treaties not been abrogated at Munich — would have had what she could not face: a two-front war. From that day until now, it has been impossible to have a two-front wai' on (iermany."
But with resix-ct to the Soviet Union, we as a nation, and especially those who were looked upon as our most authoritative spokesmen, were assuredly no Columbus. Toward the U. S. S. R. we failed to display that undaunted, forward- surging pioneer spirit with which our forefathers were so richly endowed. There was no good reason why we should not have recognized, years before we did, the historical role of the Soviet I'nion, as Vice President Wallace, for example, recognized it in his famous speech of June 1, 1942, a speech that has been passed over in dead silence by the greater part of the press:
"The march of freedom of the past ISO years has been a long-drawn-out people's revolution. In this great revolution of the people, there were tlie Ameri- can Revolution of 1775, the French Revolution of 1792, the Latin-American revolutions of the Bolivarian er;i, the German Revolution of 1S4S, and the Russian Revolution of 1918. Each spoke for the conmion man in terms of blood on the battlefield. Some went to excess. But the significant thing is that the Ijeople g.roped their way to the light. More of them learned to think and work together."
Yet it was not until th(> year 19:i;! that we finally made up our minds to estab- lish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and the President who was responsible for this was looked upon as taking a very hold step, indeed. Hoover and his kind to this day cannot forgive him for it.
We Conununists have never hesitated about confessing our mistakes and .short- comings, when the occasion called for it. Is it not about time that all those
* Thf Ofticcrs" Guide, 9th I'dition. .Tiily l!t42 : The Military Service Publishing Co., HarrLs- buriL', Pa.
62 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
who did so iiiiich to create a misunderstanding of the Soviet Union were giving a little self-analysis to the matter? What a sorry role was played by so many of our scholars and scientists, by so large a part of our press, our literature, our radio, our motion pictures, our political parties, by so many trade-union leaders, churches, schools, and universities with resiject to the U. S. S. R. during all these 25 years.
The Assistant Secretary of War for Air. Robert A. Lovett, at a meeting of the I^ankei's' Club — at which, incidentally, he met with warm applause — thus formu- lated in sarcastic terms the ignorance which our countiy has displayed in the psist with reference to the Soviet Union :
"Two American officers in their official report said that 'from observation of the work of tlie Russian mechanics one could conclude that in certain respects they surpassed American crews in their mechanical intuition. Their ability to repair any and all difficulties was phenomenal.'
"No doubt the information that those officers had on Russia came from those- outrageous old geographies we studied in the sixth grade, you remember, under the heading of 'Characteristics of the inhabitants.' About the middle of the page opposite the map the comments on Russia were about as follows : "The Russians are a people largely given to agricultural pursuits. In winter the country is covered with snow and a type of sled, called the troika, is a common mode of travel.' Equipped with such pearls of knowledge, it is little wonder we were ripe for surprise."'
It was not. however, merely a matter of ignorance with its: it was what we in this country thought we knew about the Soviet Union : it was our prejudices, our lack of understanding, our Philistinism that made the relations of our coun- try with our Russian Soviet ally of today so full of tragic and fatal mistakes, thereby contributing to the world sittiation with which we now find ourselves^ confronted. If, after this war is over, an academy should be founded with the object of investigating the causes of the war, these learned academicians will surely find themselves in ix)Ssession of a flood of literature of all sorts, a flood of propaganda of every conceivable form against the Soviet Union, of a kind that has been produced in our counttry for the past 25 years. This academy would indeed be in a position to compile an encyclopedia of lies, slanders, and falsifica- tions, and foi- material they need only turn to Hearst's lyiich-law press, to the distinguislied literary section of the New York Times, or they may avail them- selves of certain allegedly profound scientific treatises, hypocritical sermons, open incitations to pogroms, statements by attorneys general, warnings issued! b.v trade-union leaders against the establishment of relations with the Soviets, lurid romances a la Jan Valtin. etc.. etc. Can one. for example, realize that even today there are people who would try to make out that the Soviet Government is .settling, Jews in Biro-Bidjan in order that they may serve as cannon fodder in case of a Japanese attack?
There was. of course, not the slightest reason for our being surprised at the Soviet I'nion. when in hundreds of books, newspaper ai'ticles. speeches — not by Communists, but by men and women of the most diverse shades of opinion — the development of the U. S. S. R. was to be found depicted in all its enormous diver- sity. The possibility of learning the truth about the Soviets, betimes, was all the time at hand, but the great majority of our peojjle wei-e not in a position to grasp it. For in this democracy of ours, in which, unfortunately, big bus'uess and its ideologists so largely control public ojunion. by means of the press, the movies, the radio, and the like, about 9 out of 10 ijersons. more or less, were likely in mental darkness regarding our Soviet ally. That a country in which there is no private ))i-oi>'>rty in the means of pi'oduction should liave made such giant for- ward sti'ides and should display so high a degree of technical, moral, and cultural development, was something which our p(M>))le must not come io know. That the Soviet I'nion was a land constitntina' the bulwark of civilization and progress must similarly be kept from them. What obstacles we Communists encountei-ed when, in the interest of onr own country and the war for human freedom, we attempted to spread the tiMitli about the land of socinlism ; how strenuously we had to combat the campaign of lies, slandei-. and c.-ilumnics. We were in a posi- tion s'milar to that of the great abolitionist. William Lloyd Garrison, with re- gai"d t<t slavery. When a friend said to him. "You are too excited, yoxi are on fire." Garrison i-eplird. "I have need to be on fii-e. for T have icebergs around me to melt."
'i'lie fire of war is beginning to molt our own national icebei-g at an nnpn^ce- d<'nted rate of s];eed. In the tire of war. in tb<' face of the heroic role that the Sftviet T^nioii is i)l:iying in the fight foi- freedom, our prejudices against the land
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 63
of socinlisni :irt' h(>iii.ix coiistiiiu'd :is l)y tl:iiii(v T) is mti iiicoiitrovcrtiMe fact tliat the majority of our jn'oplo arc (h'('])ly (Iciiioci-at ic, docply antifascist, and tliat they want to see the wai' against Hit Ici- carried forward to a victorioiis conclu- sion; wlienee the admiration which they fet'I for their Soviet Uussian ally, their desire to understand the Soviet Union better. Even the <liica;ro Trii)une, the Daily News, the Hearst pi-ess and the like are couipelled. much afiJ'insl their will, to coutrilnUe to the st I'enjilhentinij; of tliis admiration for oui' Itnssian fiicnds and to iiuhlish facts that lead to a better nnd(>rstandinii. For they nmst daily brinji news of the Russian Keds' heroic stand. Kven they cannot withhold from their readers the epic battle of Stalingrad. They cannot lvee[) the jjeople from know- ing that the socialistic Soviet Union is the on«' power in the world u\) to now which has been able to halt the Nazi armies.
The jtoor white in the South, chock full of prejudices that have been crammed intt) liim by the descendants of the slaveholders, the poor farmer in the .Middle West, the previously backward worker in a small inland town, even Mr. Bal>bitt himself — they have all been hearing now for To months of the heroic resistance of the people <'onceruing whom, foi" the |iast 12."i years, they had been accustomed to hear only the woi'st. All tiiese misinformed millions ai'e now engaged in drawing the correct conclusions for themselves, and in doing so display a hundred times more wisdom than do the gang of "scholarly" hacks who for so long now have heen sniping away at the Soviet Union. What ai'e these conclusions V The Soviet Kussians know what they are lighting for. These ai'e not those downtrodden Slavs, "languishing under Stalin's tyranny," these Red soldiers who would rather die than surrender, these embattled workers and peasants, women and children. And so they go on to reason in their own simple fashion : a country which can withstand so terrible an onslaught must have an outstanding militaiy and in- dustrial organization: it must have outstanding experts and leaders, with the confidenct^ tif the people behind them. A country whose population is made up of so many different nationalities, and which yet, amid, the flames of a terrible war, in spite of retreats and setbacks, has so few^ traitors in its midst — stich a country must have found the key to the brotherhood of nations. The great writer. Pearl Buck, has put these conclusions of our people into the following beautiful words:
"The Russian people in this war for freedom are setting an example for all of us because they are fighting as a united people withotit prejudice of race. As an American, this means more for me than anything else."
What a longing breathes from these words: a longing that we, the American people, might be able to heal our own form of the disease of racial prejudice, in the maimer of our Soviet all.v.
Even the malicious attempt to bring up the (piestion of religion against the Soviet Union, and to make this serve as a barrier to American-Soviet friend- ship, has come to naught. It is by no accident that we hear the pi-ominent Catholic. Alfred E. Smith, making the statement: "The Russian Army and people are serving magnificently as the spearhead of our tight."
It is no exjiggeration to assert that the attitude of oui- Nation towai'd the Soviet Union has changed, fundamentally. The knowledge of the Soviet T'nion that is possessed by a relatively small minority will more and more redound to the benefit ftf the vast majority of our people, and an alliance with the Soviets will no longer appear as something "criminal." but as a progressive step. The U. S. S. R. no longer appears as a mysterious Colossus, endeavoring day and Jiight to overthrow our democratic institutions. Today it is seen to be the best ally that we could have in this our war for national survival. Archibald Mac- Leish has put it this way:
"It is time, finally, to say to those who would divide the Americans from the Russians and the Russians from the Americans because they diffei- in their institutions and in the concepts of their lives, that it is precisely because of this difference — precisely because of this open and public and admitted difference — that the union of the Russian and American peoples is a powerful weapon in this war and a triumphant symbol of the meaning of this struggle."
The great majoi'ity of our jjeople ai'e beginning to realize that the Soviet T'nion is not fighting for "Red imperialist aims," as Hoover would have us helieve: that it is not even fighting foi- its own freedom alone, but for the freedom of all mankind. Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, was speaking in the natne of the American people, when he declared:
•The heroic resistance of the Russian peojde to tlie international bandits has aroused the admiration of the world. Our Russian allies are fighting success- fully not only for themselves but also for the rest of mankind. We must spare
64 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
no effort to give them every aid and encouragement in tlieir epic struggle against savagery."
And even though William Green, head of the American Federation of Labor, does not as yet clearly see the role of the Kussiau workers and the liussian trade unions, he nonetheless understands very well the meaning of American- Soviet friendship:
"This is a people's war. The people of America and the Russian people are in the same boat. They will share their resources generously, just as they will share the glory of victory triumphantly."
It was the very heart of our Nation speaking, when Senator (Taude I'epper's words rang out :
"When free men hereafter, in a free world, linger ttpou the record of this con- vulsive era, no name will be more luminous than that of Russia. * * * As one looks back over the wreckage of the last deciide, one can now appreciate, however, what a Herculean effort Russia made to arouse the rest of the world against Hitler's accelerated machine."
Our own people are beginning to realize, in spite of all the attempts that are still Iteing made to have it appear that the Soviet Union is a '-totalitarian dictatorship," that the people of the Soviet I'nion have forged for themselves a life that is worth lighting and dying for, and that it is this way of life wliich enables them to figlit the way they do against so formidable an adversary. How many lies and humbug tales have been strung together to make it appear that Stalin is a "bloodthirsty villain": yet today there are comparatively few Ameri- cans who do not have the deepest respect for Stalin's greatness, farsightedness, and iron will.
Millions also are discovering today that the Soviet Union does not "destroy the family" as they had been told, but that it rather defends the family and con- fers upon" it social security. They are discovering that in all the realms of art and culture the Soviet Union has tremendous achievements to show, and that, in the domain of technological development, in spite of the fact that it has had only a quarter of a eentttry's exijerience, it is not far behind ourselves. Millions of our people are beginning to realize that these Reds have developed prodigious .skills, as was shown by more than one young tighter at Stalingrad. At the same time, they could not help noting that, even as the battle for Stalingrad w;is in progi-ess, an effort was afoot in oiu' own Congress to raise the cost of living for the American people. These are the kind of things that, as this war goes on, are not likely to be forgotten.
It goes without saying that even today it is not made easy for some of our people to understaTid the "miracle" of the Soviet Union, as the Dean of Canter- bury, in his book, has described it in so wonderfully clear and simple a fashion. How ridiculous it w(rald seem to us, if Soviet journalists were to un<lertake to deny that we in this country have the highest degree of technological develop- ment and the most powerful industry in the world — all because the capitalist system still happens to exist with us. On the contrary, it is a well-known fact that the Soviet Union admires our technological achievements and has learned much from them, despite the fact that we live nnder a system of monopoly capi- talism. Still today we find not a few people — and not all of them in the ranks of the appeasens, by any means — who, having been forced to forget their old stu- pidities regarding the U. S. S. R., would now endeavor to trig them out in new garments. These gentlemen are to be lieard discussing in all seriousness the question ;is to whether the Russian people tight so valiantly because they have a socialist .system, or in spite of the fact that they have such a system. The rea- son for such discussions is clear: These gentlemen fear that our own people may come to have dangerous thoughts, to the effect that it takes a Socialist order of .society to i)roduce such a nation of heroes, along with the efficiency necessary to withistand so formidable an enemy. These gentlemen still sliuddei- at the thought that the Bolshevik Soviet I^nion is our fi-iend, and that it today stands in the forefront of the battle of humanity. One need not be a Comnuinist in order to clear up such speculations as these concerning the miracle of the Soviet Union, with its Russian, Ukraininii. .Tewish, Tnrkmenian. Rashkir. Kalnmk. and all its other n;iti(tnalities. Mr. R;ilph Barton Berry has given a complete and quite i-e!iiarkable answer to this kind of thinking, in a letter to the New York Times of July S, 1042 :
"But the heart of the matter is our attitude toward connnunism itself. It is conunonly said that Russia has renonncod connnunism and reverted to nation- alism. That the present struggle has drawn upon the older and deei)er reserves of Russian jiatriotism and blurred the lines between Red and White is no
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 65
doiibl inic. But it would be foolish iind (l:iiij;t'rous to (•o\uit uikiu tlio adop- tion of a oaiiitalistic democracy in Kussia. I( appears probable that the presetil luiity of Russia is ]ari;-ely the pi'edncl of her conununistic failh ; tiiat a military victory will conlirm tliat faith in the sentiment and ctinviclion of the Russian people. If we are to avoid wishlul thinking and avert a revival of old antipathies we nuist come to an uuderstandiufj; not with a Russia fashioned <ui our t>wn model but with a comnnniistic Ru^ssia. That is the other pier on which we must hope to build a bridji'e of ajireement."
The attempt to deny the socialist character of the Soviet Union, the allemjit to explain its heroisiu. in spite of its socialist character, the attempt to predict a capitalistic future for it, means to resume once more the old war against the Soviet Utdon. In the llames of war, the iceberg of our prejudices is rapidly melting. This is an undeniable fact. On the other hand, nothing could be more dangerous than to assume that the reactionaries, the api)easers, the narrow- iiumlcd ones, and those who never learn anything, will not make use of every means and take advantage of every oppcu-tunity to halt and indlify this course of development, to sow the seeds of new hatreds and dissensions — in short, to bi'cathe new life into the old abandoned pre.iudices. This Ls particularly evident right now in connection with tlie (luestion of opening a secontl front.
It is evident, also, in the ca.se of those who are ready to praise to death the Soviet Union. Beneath this is concealed their desire to tight the present war to the last Russian, along with a plethora of compliments and laudatory speeches. Such praise would have represented a brave gesture some years ago, but it comits for litth' at a time when Stalingrad is there to speak for itself. As soon as they find they can get no further along this line, the faces of these gentlemen are no longer wreathed in smiles of praise, and instead we hear from them a glacial laughter and cynical remarks.
The Hearst press, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily News, and similar organs engage in the crudest efforts to make the people believe that the Soviet Union is trying to force the Allies into a '"suicidal action," by demanding the opening of a second front.
The tempo and degree of stability of our friendship with the Soviet Union is bound to prove decisive for the outcome of this war for our own national exist- ence; it is bound to be a decisive factor in the shaping and development of the after-war world. That is why the fact that a vertiable revolution in the think- ing of our people on the subject of the Soviet Union is already being consum- mated, is of such tremendous importance. It is one of the arms of victory. But when we view the war as a whole, then we must at the same time realize that our Nation has not yet drawn the full and fitting conclusions from it all. For in this common war for survival, the indestructibility of our friendship with the USSR and victory itself will be assured only through con«non action — through conunon military action — through the fullest mutual collaboration on the part of the Soviet Union and ourselves.
To speak the es.sential truth, we have not yet completely left the domain of word.s — fair and honorable words, it is ti'ue. words of admiration, words tiiat mark a tlioroughgoing transfoi'mation in oui' way of tliiidviiig — to pass over onto the plane of action. Our Nation has not yet attained those heights from which it may sweep away all Chamberlainism, all opposition, all obstacles, all wavering, to throw it.self, along with Britain and the Soviet Union, into a decisive straggle for the annihilation of mankind's archenemy. Our Nation must draw the practical conclusions from its own words. On the decisive question of the second front, there are still huge icebergs to be melted. The patriots of our land have enormous tasks ahead of them, and especially the working cla.ss, the class whose patriotism is historic, in this great struggle for human freedom in which we are engaged.
exhirit c
The Glorious Vicxoriks of the Red Army
(By Dmitri Manuilsky)
The Soviet country, the Soviet people, and its Red Army are passing through stirring days. The significance of these historical days can be expres.sed in one word — "victory." It is not yet final victory. Much effort will still be needed by the Army and people to rout and destroy the enemy.
This victory is being born in great battles. The .smashing of the enemy fortified belt, which the Germans considered impregnable, by the Red Army ; the liquidation
66 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
of strong points whirh tlipy regarded as insuperable; the fording of rivers which they looked upon as impassable — all this is building up the victory.
It is emerging from the close pursuit of the enemy troops who are fleeing from the danger of encirclement looming over them, from the hundreds of thousands of German corpses, from the enormous cemeteries of (Jerman tanks, planes and guns. This victory is being forged by millions of people, by the \yhole Soviet l^eople.
German Fascist propaganda is now trying to have the world believe that the German Army is allegedly "withdrawing according to plan" for the purpose of "shortening the front." Only a perfect idiot could believe tliat the surrender of the Orel base by the Germans, that base from which they intended to ad- vance on Moscow; that the retreat of the Germans from their fortified line at Taganrog; that the opening of the "Smolensk gateway" by them is in any way in keeping with the plans of the German command.
I^ven to a baby it is obvious that once the front is shortened for the German Ai-my it is in like manner shortened for the Red Army t<io. However, it suffices to look at the map to see that the Germans have failed to effect any shortening of the front. Just the contrary. The winding line of the Dnieper where the Germans would have liked to retain a foothold, is if anything, lengthening the front.
However, the very fact that such fraudulent talk about "withdrawing according to plan" is indulged in speaks of the existence of panic in German Fascist circles. On July 5 of this year the German command launched an offensive»in the Orel and Belgorod directions which according t(t its words was to decide the outcome of the war.
Concentrating 17 tank, 3 motorized, and 18 infantry divisions on 2 small sectors, the German conunand hoped by concentric blows from north and south to pierce the Soviet defense and encircle and destroy the Soviet troo^^s situated on the arc of the Kursk salient. The Kursk arc was defended among other Red Army units by those which had played a decisive role in the encirclement of the German Sixth .\rmy at Stalingrad.
All the German war prisoners stated in one voice that intensive propaganda had been carried out among the Hitler troops on the need to place the Russian armies of the former Don front in "Kessel" in revenge for the defeat suffered by the Germans at Stalingrad.
Tile mass annihilation of German mani»ower and equipment, unprecedented in any of the most viitlent battles of the present war, started in the very first days and hours of the German offensive. The greatest battle in history, as the German Fascist command called its Orel and Belgorod operation, buried forever the illusions harbored by the Germans that after their winter defeats they would succeed in mending matters in the summer of 1943.
The German plan for a siunmer offensive utterly collapsed. On August 5. exactly 1 month after the German offensive was launched, tlie Red Army caijtured Orel and Belgorod, thus laying the basis for beginning the successful offensive operations wliich are still continuing.
After losing Oi'el the German Fascist command firmly held on to its highly important center of resistance at Kharkov. On August 23 the troops of the steppe front, actively supported on their flanks by the troops of the Voronezh and southwestern fronts, in violent battles crushed the enemy resistance and captured Kliarkov by storm.
The salvoes of the Kremlin guns heralding the glad tidings of the capture of Kharkov were heard in Kiev and Odessa, in ]Minsk and Vilno, in Tallinn and Kovno, in Riga and Kishinev. They were heard by tlie men of the southern front who were preparing an assault on the German fortifications on the Mius River, at the Taganrog fortifications, which the German command considered a mii'acle of engineering techni(pie and far sui)erior to the famous Maginot or Siegfried Line.
On August 30 the supreme high conunand of the Re<l .\rmy announced the glorious victory of the troops on the southern front who liad smashed the German Mius front. Kharkov and Taganrog to a considerable extent detei-mined the fate of the Donbas, which was liberated from (Jei'nian Fascist occujiation by September 8. Jus( a few days before this the front in the Smolensk direction was pierced and Yelnya was occupied by the Soviet troops.
While the Red Army was clearing the Donbas the ti-oops of the central front began their heroic mai'ch into northern IHvi-aine, looming over the flanks of the German Fascist troops who were trying to entrench in tlie central and southern
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 67
jiai'ts of tlio Uki-;iin(\ On Sci'tcinlxM- (> the troojis of tlio ccntrMl front occuj)i<Ml Koiiotop; iuul on yoplonibor it Biiklnnnch, ;in iniportjinl rnilwiiy jnnction, (•outer of enemy connnunications and docisivt' sti'onf; point >>( llio (ioinmn (lolVns<> in tlie Kiev direction.
On Soptenihor 15 followed tho liliornt ion of Nozliin. Every day brought uew and out standing Rod Army victories. On Seideniber 1(1 the troops of the nortli ("anrasian front in interaction with the ships and miits of the I'.lack Sea fleet, foUowinjr ."> (hiys of violent battles, stained possession of Novorossisk. Tliat same day the Soviet troops fordinu- the Kiver Desna captured Novf^orod-Seversky, and on September 17, Bryansk.
On September lit. Red Army units smashed tlH> German fortified belt covering the so-called Smolensk gateway. Then followed Chernigov and I'oltava. On Sept«>mber '27> the troops of the westei-n front crossed the Dnieper and captured, by assault. Smolensk, wliich the (icrmans regarded as tlie key to their defense on the Soviet-German" front. The Red Army emerged on the bank of the l)neii)er. As a resiilt, the Red Army smashed the enemy front in a nundter of imiiortant directions and forded tlie rivers iMius. Seim, Desna, Vorslvla. So'/.li, and others.
In a little under 2 months th(> Red Army advanced from its initial position ,314 kilometers and more, liberating from tlie German invaders territory of more than 3(M»,(t(l() square kilometers.
The Red Army returned to the Black Sea fleet the naval port of Novoros.sisk, second in inip(U-taiice to Sevastopol, tlius creating the conditions for successful naval operations in the Black Sea.
Economically the Red Army victories are of exceptional importance. The Red Army has given back to the couiiti-y the Donbas, the most important coal and industrial district of the country; it wrested from the claws of the German plunderers the most fertile section of the T'kraine. rich in grain and technical crops. The Red Army liberated from the German Fascist yoke tens of millions of Soviet people, tens of thousands of inhabited points, and hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian towns and regional centers. The Red Army entered the territory of Byelorussia. In its sweeping offensive operations the Red Army saved hun- dreds of thousands of Soviet people whom the German Fascist fiends were preparing to drive into slavery in Germany.
In the absence of a second front in the west, the Red Army, by its successful operation.s, rendered inestimable service to the Soviet Union's allies, hastening Italy's withdrawing from the war and facilitating the landing of Allied troops on Italian teiTitory.
Finally, the Red Army victories ai-e of immeasurable significance from the view- point of tbeir moral and political effect on the enemy's army. In the enemy camp the .successes of the Soviet troops are giving rise to feelings of despair and hopelessness and are affecting for the worse the already declining fighting capacity of the German Fascist soldiers.
*******
What are the reasons for the brilliant victories of the Red Ai'iuy? They are, above all, the biilliant strategy of the Red Army supreme high command; the foresight of its military plans to rout the enemy: the ability, not only to see through the enemy's designs but to upset them in good time; the ability to take advantage of the enemy's vulnerable spots, systematically to wear down the enemy and inflict a crushing blow on him at the most appropriate time, at the most suitable place, and thus impose our will on the foe.
Tlie reasons for the successes of the Red Arm.v are to be found in the sjilendid qualities of the Red Army men ; in their fearlessness, endurance i)ower. and fervent patriotism : in the qualities with which they have become imbued through the centuries of Russian history. Th(> summer fighting against the Germans revealed the Red Army's ability to maneuver boldly and frustrate the stereotyped tactics of the Germans.
In the summer battles the Soviet troops disjjlayed truly Suvorov swiftness, accomplishing long marches and suddenly appearing where the enemy least ex- pected them. They revealed unexampled cour.age and gi'eat skill in fordiuir river liarriers. At Novorossisk they showed theii- ability to combine blows from the ground with naval landing operations, which decided the fate of the Germans, not only in Novorossisk but also the fate of their l)i-idgeheiul fortificiiti(»n in the Kuban.
The summer battl(>s showed tlie world at largo that the Red Army has highly talented generals who are fully cai)ai)le of carrying out the brilliant iilans of the Red Army Suin-eme H'gh Command and of ruthlessly routing the vaunted
68 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
German generals who in their self-couMence considered themselves experts in military matters. Finally, the summer battles showed that Soviet industry supplied the lied Army with up-to-date weapons in such (piantities as to insure the success of the oftensive and to cut down to a minimum Soviet losses.
However, although the Red Army's successes are great it should not for a minute be forgotten that the Soviet people are face to face with a foul and cun- ning enemy. The peoples of the Soviet Union and the Red Army are fully justi- fied in holding the entire German Fascist army resiwnsible for all their des- picable and foul crimes. The justitiaide cry "Death to the German occupation- ists" is not only a call to retribution dictated by the feelings of justice inherent in every Soviet citizen. It is a wise measure of state and national defense against the imperialist adventurers, a measure which means the removal of the bandits and roltbers who have violated the standards of the human community.
From this rise the tasks confronting all Red Army men and commanders — tirelessly to drive the enemy off Soviet soil, allowing him no chance to recover, to rest, or to entrench on river positions or other natural barriers.
The Red Army troops must forestall the enemy, must break into the inhabited points and towns occupied by him before he has a chance to carry out his foul destructive work.
Let the glorious victories of the Red Army still further extend the partisan struggle which is inflicting blows on the enemy from the rear. Let the exami)le of the heroic :Minsk partisans, who removed the executioner of the Byelorussian people — Wilhelm Kube — serve as an example to all the districts of the Soviet country still occupied by the enemy.
Exhibit E
COXCERXING A CHARGE OF BeTIIAYAT,
(By Hans Berger)
Mr. Max Lerner, in an article entitled "The Unpopular Front." in PM (^f March 28, criticized the Communist policies as Earl Browder developed them at the January meeting of the national committee of the Connnunist Party. Since that criticism I)rought into focus all liberal criticism of an apparently "left" character currently directed at the Communists, it merits discussion. Lerner's main argument against the policy presented by Browder are the following:
"There are two premises in the new Communist Party line, as expounded authoritatively by Earl Browder in his interview given to PM's Harold Lavine, upon which everything turns. One is that the irorld'.s fate hinges on Riisxin's future and Russia's alone. The second is that American proffrcssires wust give 111) their home-front struf/ffle to fulfill the promise of American life, lest Wall Street fall out of the Tehran alliance. I consider the first a misconcep- tion, the second a betrayal." [My emphasis — H. B.]
The misconception lies in Lerner's interpretation of Browder's position. Browder took as the starting point in his basic report, as well as in his inter- view, not the Soviet Union, but Tehran — that is, the agreement entered into by the leaders of our own country, Britain, and the Soviet Union for strengthen- ing the leading coalition in the United Nations, for hastening victory through establishing the timing and the scope of the western front, and for laying tlie basis for postwar reconstruction through the continued Anglo-Soviet-American collabt)ration "in the w^ar and in the peace that will follow." Browder's starting point was not the question : What kind of policy must we pursue in order to help the Soviet Union? His starting point was the question: How^ best can the national interests of the United States — the winning of the war, the main- tenance of future peace, and the furtherance of economic and social well-being — be promoted?
If Lerner would attempt a serious analysis instead of indulging in general phrases, he could not deny that this is the central problem on wdiich the future of our Nation and of tlie world depends. P.rowd»'r explained in great detail that the significance of Tehran lies not only in the fact that it paves the way for effective nulitary cooperation (the second front) but in that it offers al.so the perspective of jiostwar collaboration between the democratic capitalist powers and the Soviet Union. The peaceful coexistence and cooperation of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain following the defeat of Hitler Germany and her satellites is the prerequisite for obviating another World War. If, after
UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 69
th»' coininoi) victory dvor Hitler, corlaiii iiuiH'rliilisIir (.iicli's were to suetrod in tlit'ir :iiin of unlenshiiiji uiil>ri(llt'(l iiilcrimiu'riMlist rivalry, or of settiiif; the course «.f tlu" I'liilcd Stati's or Euiiland toward war atiaiiisl the Soviet riiioii, tiie world would head for a still more lerrilile war calastroiilie. in the course of which ultra- reaction would proceed to hlack out the democratic life of our Nation. Such a war would be prepared, as was the case in (Jerniauy, by systematic reaction, by ji systematic campai.un for stupefying and brutalizing the masses, by systematic suppression of the workinjj-class mov»>ment and of :ill liberal opinion. The American fascistic reactionaries, just as IlitliM- did, wotild support the most anti- democratic adventurist elements in other couiuries, would intervene directly and indirectly to crush all workiiifi-cla.ss and generally progressive forces in other countries in order to obtain allies, gendarmes, and Quislings. American reaction, American Fa.scists would attempt to achieve with far more open means what English policy achieved between l'.>17 and IDIW, not without help on our part, and what was so "brilliantly successful" in ({ermaiiy.
This is the basis on which Browder focuses the attention of America on "Tehran." as the core of every present and future policy affecting our Nation and the world. Hrowder does this as a Marxist, warning with ^Marxist farsighted- nes..< against the horrible possibility of a new World War, with the nKKst terrible consetiueuces for the life of the entire Nation and especially for the conditionr^ of the American working class and all liberals, including the Max Lernerfl. Browder. the Marxist, has never declared that Tehran automatically guarantees against the possibility of such a development. Just because "Tehran"' nuist be fonglit for. and maintained and developed in strtiggle against its opponents, just because reactionary pro-Fascist forces are attempting and will increasingly at- tempt to destroy the basis it has given us, Browder warned so explicitly against the anti-Tehran' perspectives and urged upon the Nation full luiderstanding ani wholehearted implementation of the wartime and peacetime policies of collabora- tion agreed upon at Tehran.
*******
Where is the misconception of which Lerner speaks? Without question, the Tehran agreement is also in the interest of the Soviet Union. It is of utmost importance to the Soviet T'nion, and equally so to the United States and Britain, to end this war as swiftly as possible in coalition warfare through the second front. It is of the utmost importance to the Soviet Union, and equally so to the American and British Nations, not to be drawn into a new World War and to prevent such a war.
Nor is Tehran less in the interest of France and of the other peoples of Europe, whose liberation depends on the cooperation of the great powers, and whose postwar development would be in the greatest danger if American and English reactionaries attempted to make them gendarmes against the Soviet Union and other peoples.
Browder's premise, therefore, does, not. as Lerner falsely interprets, make "Russia's future and Russia's alone" the pivot of all policy. That premise is the premise recognized by the President of the United States in conjunction with the leaders of Great Britain and the Soviet Union, who voiced the deep-going sentiment of the American, British, and Soviet i>eoples, as the only basis for lK)lijcy for the three great coalition powers on the road to victory and an enduring peace. When the German Comnnuiists declared that friendly relations to the Soviet Union were a life-and-death matter for the German Nation, they were charged by the German Max Lerners with considering the Soviet Union "pri- marily"' and "in opposition to" the intere.sts of the German Nation.
Lerner declares he is for Tehran. But when Brow^der presents the full mean- ing of Tehran as the basis of every serious progressive policy, then Lerner talks about "misconception."" It behooves one in Lerner's position to accustom himself to thinking (piestions thnuigh to the end. Were he to discard the arrogance of superficiality, it might be possible foi' him to learn from the rommunists to be a consistent progressive.
* * ■ * * * * *
Lerner accuses Browder and the American Comnmnists of "betrayal." He assert.s that the Communists demand that the "American progressives give up their home-front struggle to fulfill the promise of American lif(>, lest Wall Street fall out of the Tehran alliance." Lerner writes :
"What is lirou'drr'.t bai^ic fdllary is the hrJicf that the Americnn isolationists (uhI the react iotuirt/ primitives ran he appeased rather than theii must he tnas- terefl ; it is his belief that they can be lured into good behavior on foreign pf)licy
70 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
if mily irr surrender to them on domefttic policy. This is to substitute the poh'- tics of hlaiKlishment and nianipnlation for the politics of a majority strengtli. To abandon the hoiiic-froiit atrufn/Ie thus is n bctraiml of the best American jiro- gressivc tradition. It is a betrayal of the Marxiaa tradition as well in its crucial principle — that men can, acting together, transform themselves by trans- forming their living conditions and their power structure. I know of vei-y few thinking American progressives who will not l)e surprised at the extent to which the Communists now depart from their basic principle." [My emphasis — H. B.]
Lerner lias often expressed hi.s spiritual concern about our existence, and has let it be known that in his opinion it would be best if we disappeared. Lerner belongs to that group of liberals who have a troubled conscience concerning the Conununists. They fear to be branded as fellow-travelers, since that would create difficulties "for their whole uiaterial and social existence. They must therefore continuously still their conscience and better .iudgiuent with new argu- ments against the Conununists. They must continuously prove to the woi'ld and to themselves why they are not consistent.
Wherein does this "betrayal" consist? Lerner does not make clear when this betrayal occun-ed. Does the beti-ayal consist perhaps in the fact that we sup- port the Roo.sevelt administration? That we aiv opposed to strikes in the war? That we oppose the raising of divisive issues that would weaken our Nation's fighting power and civilian morale? Ddos the betrayal perhaps consist in the fact that we are inflexibly determined to cari-y this policy through to victory? What other policy have Lerner aiid PM to ju-opose?
Where do Browder and the American Comnuuiists "appease" the American "isolationists" and the "reactionary primitives"'? Don't the Conununists cai-ry on a consistent struggle against tlie defeatists and pro-Fascists who would hin- der the prosecution of the war, who put all possible obstacles in the path of the administration, who systematically attempt to disunite and demoralize the Nation? Don't the Comnmnists carry on a constant struggle against tre reac- tionary, pro-Fascist forces who want to undei-mine our relations with our Allies and smash tlie strength of the United Nations? We ask Leriiei- and I'M: "In what does the l)etrayal consist?"
What other policy is a progressive one? If John L. Lewis, perhaps. Lerner's ideal? Is Lerner's ideal the Trotskyite camp, which defames this great war of national liberation as "imperialist"? Is Lerner's progressive ideal Norman Thomas, that Socialist helpmate of Ilitlerism who finds a dozen "progressive questions" a day, all of which have but one aim. to jjrove that the consistent prose- cution of the war is not in the interest of the American Nation?
Browder condemned the First World War as an imperialist war. He went to jail for his just belief. Browder and the American Conununists. in common with all eidightened American patriots, know this war to be a war for national lilieration. They, therefore, draw all the conclusions that will lielp i)roseciUe this war vigorously. The American Conmuuiists would be traitors to the inter- ests of the American working class and of the Nation if they did not make speedy and decisive victory in the war the guide to all theii- ])olicies, to which all other questions nuist be subordinated.
Hencf^. tlie Lcrners nmst be asked publicly: Wherein lies the betrayal by the Amei'icaji Comnuuiists in this war of liberation? And what, gentlemen, is your policy?
Does Lerner accuse us of betrayal because we do not consider socialism the issue on the order of the day? We do not know to what degree Leiner and PM and the liberals of whom he speaks consider the Socialist revolution to be an issue on the order of the da.v. That is not stated very clearly either in the articles of Lerner, or in PM. And if they really do consider it an actual issue for our day. they have been singularly skillful in concealing from the Nation the task which they propose it undertake.
Or is the charge of beti-aya! perhaps made on the assumiition that we do not regard the working class any longer as the most progressive <liiss in society. the class which, by its development, strength, and jiolitical maturation, qualifies itself ft>r functioning as a leading force in th(> Nation? But there are no Com- munists, thei-e have been none, and there will he none who ever doubted this basic thesis of M;irxism. On the contrary, our liberals, including Lerner, don't understand to this very day this unalterable principli> of Marxism — -despite their extensive libraries.
Or is the accusation of betra.val leveled on the assumption that we have given up the fight for the development of tmr democracy, for full equality foi- the Xeiiro
UN-AMEKICAN PHOPAGANDA ACTIVITIES 71
people, for wipins out tho poll-tax shaiiic. for s:^^t'^Ml;^^^nl>^ llu' (louioci-atic lib- erties so deaiiy won by the Anierlean peoph'V Can the Leriiers cite one instance from our prac-iiee or one sentence from our declarations that could substantiate such a charjjeV
Or is the accusation of betrayal made on the assumption that we have proposed that the workers, the toilinsi farmers, the fireat masses of the Nation say "amen" to whatever the reactionary forces in the Nation decree in the way of taxes, wajies. prices. <^tc.? Lerner cannot deny that we carry on an euerjjetic s'ti'Ujigle ajiaiiist all depretlations on the livinj; standai-ds of the men and women on the production front and support all campaijins that undertake sucli action. In conductinii this policy of struggle, we make clear that under war conditions we are opposed to all such actions that would distnrb war production and interfere with the i)rostH'Ution of the war. That is why we have vigorously opposed Lewis and all advocates of strikes during the wai-.
The I'resident in his animal message to Congress, in .Taiiuary. proposed an economic bill of rights, much clearer and more meaningful for victory and a progressive postwar development that anything proposed to date by liberals of the -Max Lerner type. It is a program of far-reaching reforms which can be carried out in the framework of American capitalism. We welcomed tliis pro- gram, as did millions of trade unionists and millions of Americans of the most varied strata and occupations. As Communists together with all labor and progressives, together with the American fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers in uniform, we support such a program which declares:
"In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, .so to speak, a second bill of rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all, regardless of station, race, or creed.
'•Among these are:
"The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms, or mines of the Nation ;
"The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recrea- tion ;
"The right of every .farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give hiiu and his family a decent living;
"Tiie right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at lu>me or abroad :
"The right of every family to a decent home ;
"The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health ;
"The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment ;
"The right to a good education ;
"All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being."
If. instead of re.sorting to general phrases, Lerner w<)uld present a bill of par- ticulars, he would di.scover that he has not the slightest grounds for accusing us of betrayal. If he endeavored to fornuilate concretely the needs of the American people, now and in the postwar world, he would find himself on the same plat- form with the great trade unions of our country, and also, whether it be to his liking or not. with us Communists. Only .so long as he stays in the hazy "higher regions" can he hurl lightning bolts at us — bolts that are cold, devoid of the fire of truth.
Lerner rei)roaches Browder for "bis acceptance of monopoly control of the American econom.v on the ground of inevitability and banding the w'orld over to the desitoilment b.v the cartels."
What does lirowder accept and what does he see as inevitable?
Browder realizes that in its dominant sections American mono^xtly capital sup- I)orts the war. The American capitalists have helped, by and lai'ge, to iirodnce everything nec-es.sary for the war. In this historic hour for the American Nation, the decisive sections of American capitalism are alined with all the patriotic forces of all clas.ses in the great national war of our coiuitry. This very signifi- cant fact, in contradistinction to the situation in those European countries where the decisive strata of the •bourgeoisie have brought national catastrojibe upon their peoples, taken together with the nonsocialist ideology of the ovei-wbt'liniiig mass of the American people, nmst be taken into consideration by every Marxist
72 UN-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES
who wants to pursue a practical progressive ix)licy. What, therefore, is the issue, the inevitable issue, as it presents itself to every serious Marxist?
Should one ascend to the "higher regions" a la Lerner, in splendid isolation from the actual present situation, howl meaningless phrases about the power of the monopolies? Or should one set himself to work with labor, with the people, toward the effective solution of the most urgent wartime and postwar prol)lems of the Nation? The.se are not little problems unworthy of a liberal custodian of Mai-xism. They are the problems of winning the war and of preventing a terrible postwar crisis with possibly 10,000,000 or 15,00O,fH3O unemployed, and the most dangerous social and political consequences, nationally and internationally. What have the Max Lerners to offer toward the solution of these problems?
Browder well put it :
"* * * Today, to speak seriously of drastic curbs on monopoly capital, lead- ing toward the breaking of its power, and imposed uiwn monopoly capital against its will, is merely another form of proposing the immediate transition to social- ism— or else it is the Utopian trust-busting program of return to an earlier, pre- monopoly stage of capitalism.
"National unity around a program to break the power of monopoly capital is possible only if and when the majority of the i^eople can be united for the iiisti- tution of socialism in the United States.
"That time is not now, and certainly not in the 1944 elections.'"
For the Max Lerners, who refuse to face this reality (not created by theCcmi- munists), the only perspective is darkness, hopelessness, and desperate charges of "betrayal."
Earl Browder and the Communists do not see any reason for desperation. The American Communists consider it possible, even within the framework of Ameri- can capitalism, to avoid the Lernerian darkness." The precondition for objec- tive postwar reconstruction is an appreciation of the extent of the problems to be solved after victory and the cooperation of all strata of the population who are determined in their mutual interest to avoid a colossal crisis.
Max Lerner appears outraged when Browder speaks of cooperation also with the patriotic sections of monopoly capital ; Max Lerner does not understand what cooperation means. Consequently, he accuses the Conununists of appeasing re- action. One can cooperate in various ways. Chamberlain cooperated with Hitler. The result was war and Fascist triumphs. The German Social-Demo- crats cooperated with Bruening in the great economic crisis. This cooperation consisted in i^ermitting the Bi-uening goveriunent to throw the full burden of the crisis onto the backs of the toilers. As a result, the Fascist offensive was the more successful. In the.se cases the word "cooperation" was a synonym for capitulation, sacrifice of the interests of the working class and of the nation to reaction and fascism, with the well-known consequences. But Browder has not proposed cooperation in order that the burden of a terrible crisis might be placed on the people. On the contrary, he proposed cooperation through anti-Fascist national unity, precisely for guaranteeing the adoption of such measures that will avoid the crisis.
Browder states to the class in control of American economy: The great masses of the American people are convinced tliat our rich and resourceful country can, by internal measures and through economic cooi>eration with other countries for achieving the Tehran objectives, avoid a postwar crisis and mass unemployment. To solve the postwar problems will not be a simple task. But they can be solved. If you wish to avoid crisis and disintegrating social conflicts, it is necessary that in conjunction with labor, farmei'S. and middle classes, you work for the adoi>- tion of sucli common policies, sui)p!eniente(l i)y governmental measures, that will solve the problems of the postwar world.
It is a proposal to cooperate against unemployment, against crisis, against the danger of fascism and new imperialist adventures. It is the proposal to solve all the (liffi'ult socijil .-ind economic pi-oblenis of the postwar woi'ld in a way which will guai-antee the maximum of peaceful development. It is cooperation in the intei-ests of an economic bill of rights, not cooperation a la Chamberlain, or a social-democracy.
But Max Lei-ner has still another argument against cooi>eration. The Com- munists are so weak that the "tough capitalists" will not cooperate with them at all. Of course, the American Communists are still too weak today to con-
lEnrl Hrowdcr, Tolicran aiul .\morioa. Workors liihrary Pnlilisliors. p. 2:'. 2 Wo would earnestly rt'conimcnd to Mi-. Lerner that he study the liiglily enlighteninR article by Gilbert Green in tlio Coniniunist for April.
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vinoe tonsrh Aiiiorican cnititnlists of tho n<'»><l for coojxM-jition. ThciM-forc, if this cooptM-ntion (IcpoiiiU'd on tlio Coniniuiiisls nloiio it WMHihl Ik' coiHU'inricd to failiiro. Cooperation anioiip: various classics, in their mutual interests, can only be successful, and not he transformed into l;il)or"s capitulation, when the woi-k- inji-class movement, on the basis of maximum unity and an undei-st.-indin^' of the whole situation, uses its strength to coopi'i'ate and to solve these urtjcnt i)r()h- lems with the organizations and representatives of the other classes. Therel'oi-e, at the very time that they establish the necessity for this cooi)eration, the Com- nunusts, as part of the labor movement, emphasize the necessity for labor unity, the stren.tftlieninip of trade-union organization and joint action.
Where in all the.><e considerations, in these conclusions is there betrayal V Who can seriously assert that the development of such a iM)licy as Hrowder has out- lined makes it easier for reaction, for fascism, in Americ.-i oi- in other countries? On the contrary, it is precisely such a polic.v — the policy based on Tehran — which shows the working class, the broad mas.ses of the people, the whole Nation, the sjivat liistoric course of achieving a speedy victm-y and of returnins to peace without a postwar crisis, without threat to national security, and of creating the preconditions for further social progress-
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