THE GROUPINGS OF THE GERMAN LABOUR MOVEMENT AFTER AUGUST 4TH, 1914
.
The split of the Social Democratic Party developed the following various groups:-
1. Majority Social Democrats - Controllers of the old Party apparatus, supported the
imperialist war in every way, and captured the bulk of the Party members.
2. Social Democratic Labour Partnership-(Sozialdemocratische-Arbeiter Gemeinschaft),
later called Independent Social Democratic Party -in opposition to No. 1, but undetermined.
Supported, for instance, financially, the Left Radicals in Hamburg, but declined to share further activity with them.
3. Revolutionary Confidential men* (Revolutionaire Obleute), in factories and workshops
in Berlin. Their policy was class struggle, not imperialist war.
*NB. - since the old terms 'Leader', 'Official', 'President', etc. have become in
the minds of class conscious workers synonymous with another class, the German term
Obmann (confidential man) is the concept for trustworthy fellow workers - respected
class comrades.
4. International Socialists Berlin-Published a journal 'Lichtstrahlen' (Light-rays)
anti-war, criticised Nos.1 and 2 on Marxian lines.
5. Rhineland and Westphalia Group-around the propaganda periodical 'Kampf' [Combat],
advocated mass action, and fought Nos. 1 and 2 on revolutionary socialist lines.
6. International Group, Berlin - published excellent revolutionary socialist pamphlets
and the well-known Spartakus letters distributed by groups 3, 4, 5, and 7. The first
Spartakus Brief (Letter) addressed to the working class commenced with the words
'You are asleep Spartakus, instead of acting in a revolutionary manner' .
7. Left Radicals - later they changed their name to International Communists of Germany
- had groups in Bremen, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, Braunschweig, Hannover, Saxony, East
Prussia, and Stettin [ now in Poland]. Published from 1916 to the end of 1918, the
weekly paper Arbeiter Politik ['Workers Politics - Organ for scientific socialism'].
Advocated the programme of the revolutionary working class on dynamic Marxian lines.
Developed the Workers Councils movement. Their call to action in the war industries
was promptly followed by the workers. The Left Radicals saw in the blind belief in the
efficacy of Parties, one of the main reasons for the impotence of the working class.
8. There were also small groups of Anarchist Syndicalists - revolutionary pacifists,
bold comrades-in-arms who almost joined the Left Radicals.
It cannot be queried, history is made by all, and time forced to follow suit. In
1916, the spokesman of the Social Democrats, announced in the German Parliament,
'The peace which seems possible today will leave Germany and her allies in the eyes
of Europe, as a group of powers, whose spheres of economic control extend from the
marshes of the Elbe, to the waters of the Persian Gulf. Thus Germany will have won
by her arms, the kernel of a great sphere of economic control, worthy to be set as a closed
economic territory by the side of those of other world empires.'
This patriotic announcement was answered by the revolutionary socialist, Karl Liebknecht
- at that time a conscripted soldier - at an illegal, but quite open demonstration
in Berlin on the May Day of 1916 with the slogan,
'Down with the War! The principal enemy is in your own country !'. [Der Feind steht
im eigenen Land!]
Karl Liebknecht though an MP - was sentenced to 6 years penal servitude. But his voice
was heard in the workshops of the war industries, as well as on the battlefronts
and in the naval units at sea.
The Secret Committee of the North Sea Fleet and the Naval Base of Wilhelmshaven
LIEBKNECHT'S CALL WAS not in vain. It encouraged the opposition forces against the
war. On board the cruisers, destroyers, torpedo-boats and other small fighting units,
a whispering campaign went on among the sailors, and now and then acclamations; Es
lebe Liebknecht ! - [Long live Liebknecht!] Meanwhile signals were given by a secret committee,
later known as the Revolutionary Committee, or for short, RC. The Committee issued
definite instructions, warnings, information and these signals were promptly transferred from mouth to mouth within a certain alliance. No member knew more than two
comrades, one to the right, and one to the left like the links of a chain. The first
link was known by only one comrade - the Committee.
Under the cover of seamen's yarns in the lower decks, in the lockers, the munition
rooms, crow's nests of the fighting masts, even in the lavatories, an underground
organisation was built up which did its share towards stopping the imperialist war,
and sweeping away the semi-feudal monarchy. The examples set by this underground organisation
are of historical importance .
Besides the organisation of the RC there appeared some instances of individual peace
propagandists who were almost wiped out with the execution of two harmless conscientious
objectors, the sailors Reichpietsch and K?bes. Whatever their motives, their struggle formed part of our own struggle, and therefore they died for us and our cause.
In this connection, it is a fact that a representative of one of these unfortunate
sailors who consulted some prominent Social Democrat MPs, was shown the door. The
Social Democrat MPs were not interested. Meanwhile, the unrest grew amongst the seamen in
the Fleet. A purge of the crews of certain ships was ordered by commanders of the
Fleet, but the growth of the movement was far ahead of the measures taken by the
Naval authorities, and the purging was, no doubt, more of a nuisance than a wholesome cure! Suspects
- always the wrong ones, of course - were promptly ordered off to their Stammkompanie's
[Naval barracks]. From there, thousands of seamen were ordered off to the Marine Division on the coast of Flanders.[Regarded as a 'punishment division' - the British
Army had it equivalents]
In March 1917, leaflets written in block letters, signed by the Committee were distributed
by the sailors of the 3rd Sailors Regiment. Later on, meetings of the seamen were
held at the East End Park. These meetings were of course, illegal, but they were
well protected. Without doubt, the underground movement in the Navy did not stop on
the gangways and accommodation ladders of the warships!
Part 4
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