- Yg. 1931, No. 50 -

Mr. Hitler is preparing for the accession. He preaches patience once more to his impatient hosts; the due pogroms have to be postponed again a little bit. He designates his ambassador for the land that seeks his soul, the holy land of fascism: Prince Waldeck-Pyrmont is supposed to be his representative to Rome. He sends his Mr. Rosenberg to London, has him ask for good weather and announce his soon-to-be visit. And he goes to the front himself: he talks himself.

In the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin he received the representatives of the British and American press and assured them that the Nazis were not as bad as they are. For example, once they got to the top, they wanted to pay the private debt. As for the Boxheim document, it was "the work of a private person, which came about with the participation of an informer who later handed them over to the police". He, Hitler, is legal, especially since you already have one foot in the government, so to speak. No doubt about it, he says, it's our turn; now or in two, in five or ten months. The communist danger, he says, is terrible; you can be glad that we Nazis are there. But do not be afraid: under our government, the SA should neither become the police nor the state militia, he says, they should only serve "to protect the party" as before. They are his means of defense against a socialist or communist uprising. He says, and the German workers heard it and took note of it: the Oberosaf himself has assured foreign representatives of capitalist interests that the SA should not march against capital, but only against the workers. Because they are “more reliable” than the army and the police.

So the (stateless?) Austrian Hitler takes up diplomatic relations with foreign countries as if he were already Duce of Germany. Friendly relations with foreign capital are important to him; those to the German proletariat are hardly cordial.

According to various reports, it seems to be certain that Hitler sought and found contact in Berlin not only with the English and American newspapermen, but also with the center and with representatives of the "economy". He also apparently negotiated directly or indirectly with General Schleicher - to whom he was no stranger.

On the right one seems to agree. And left? Is the united front in the process of becoming? Is the SPD preparing for resistance?

No. There is no doubt that the masses of social democratic workers want to work together with their class comrades on a front against fascism. But who asks about the masses? The "Welt am Montag" claims that the man who wrote in a communist paper that the SPD party executive had already decided on a "national government" from Braun to Hitler had sucked the message out of his unclean fingers.

But did not Severing advise the swastika activists in a public meeting (in Leipzig) to give up their terrorist methods: “That is the only basis on which we can agree and which can lead to a resurgence of Germany.” What is that different than a toleration- , if not an alliance offer?

And did not the “Vorwärts” of December 3rd stated in a large article that the coalition with Hitler should not simply be rejected in principle. It depends on how the forces are distributed within the coalition. And after four years at the latest, the German people would have the opportunity to abolish fascism: by - new elections!

Can one hope for such remarks that the leaders of the SPD will find the decision to make serious against fascism and against Hitler? No. The SPD is not a bulwark against fascism.

A bulwark, yes, more than that: the only fighting force capable of dealing with Hitler and his traitorous system is the working class. But their agreement can only come from below. Only in active cooperation of the proletarians of both camps lies the victory. In the united front of the proletariat, if only the correct slogans are issued, one will find not only the socialist and communist workers, but also the flock of unorganized and a large part of the Christian.

If the workers are united and closed, no Nazi people will defeat them. Who Creating the united front is the most important and serious problem of our day. Perhaps Hitler's anti-grassroots, capital-friendly attack on power will lift the proletarian united front from baptism. Then his existence would have had a historical meaning.

1931, 50 · Max Barth