Political Works

"The production of private motor cars and champagne has increased enormously since the fascists came to power and installed their thousands of fat, easy-living officials in cushy jobs—for which the workers... pay."

"[F]igures issued by Dr. Vogler, official head of the Building Industry in Germany. First, comparing 1935 with 1928, he finds that only 87 per cent, as much building work is now taking place, and only 73 per cent, as much allotted to building. ...WHAT KIND of building is being done now, as compared with the earlier year. ...[T]wo classes of building have declined—housing and industrial... while one class has gone up—"." In 1928, 36 per cent... was for housing—in 1935... 17 per cent... Fascism means slums and overcrowding! Industrial ...factories, textile mills, etc.—in 1928 ...33 per cent ...in 1935 ...only 15 per cent.... Fascism means industrial decline. But "public works" leapt from 31 per cent... in 1928 to 68 per cent... in 1935. These " public works" are NOT schools, s and libraries—it's easier to burn books than build libraries—but barracks, aerodromes and fortifications. Fascism means, not homes for workers... but places for them to fight and die in."

"REAL wages must be reckoned in accordance with what they will buy, with prices. If prices rise, and wages are stationary, it is the same thing as a wage-cut."

"A... Nazi paper, the Arbeitsmann, official organ of the " Labour Service," had a circulation of only 65,000 copies up to the spring of 1936. This did not leave enough profit for the officials... or for the Nazi treasury. Therefore, a "campaign" was launched... regular subscribers rapidly rose to 240,000. The Labour Service workers were compelled to subscribe... under threats of punishment, curtailment of home leave, punishment drill... Many were not permitted to go to their homes for the Whitsun holidays until they had signed... This is a taste of Nazi tactics. ...[T]hat is what the workers get if they allow the fascists to get into the saddle."

"[Y]ou will hear British fascists quoting figures, referring to Germany or Italy, of the International Labour Office of the League of Nations, as though... arrived at by an independent agency. They do not tell you that ...[i]t merely ACCEPTS THE FIGURES SUPPLIED IT BY THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING THE FASCIST GOVERNMENTS. It has no machinery for testing them... Thus, I.L.O. figures, regarding Germany, are the German Nazi government's own figures..."

"[S]uppression of the trade union movement in any country aids the war-makers, because the international trade union movement can be a tremendous factor in the prevention of war, and the suppression of trade unions in any one country means the loss of a vital link in the chain of the anti-war forces of labour."

"The great increase in the ... allows for several hundred thousand...men coming off the unemployment register... enabling the fascists... magnificent achievement in "reducing unemployment." And... there are thousands of workers in the punishment camps because they... [were] loyal to their trade unions or political parties. The withdrawing of young people under 25 and of women—"woman's place is in the kitchen!"... also... freeing the unemployment register of thousands... what has become... these... is... conjecture. For many... women there were no kitchens to go into."

"In May 1935 COMPULSORY LABOUR for both sexes was introduced. ...[i]t was estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 young people had registered for "Voluntary Labour Service" ...Once ...on their register, the Nazis passed this law transforming "voluntary labour"—meaning ...forced only by hunger and social pressure to register—into compulsory labour ...Since then they have published no figures."

"The world-wide trade depression was... beginning to lift before the Nazis came to power. Between August and December 1932 (under the Republic), 121,000 more people found work. Then Hitler came to power. The process continued and he grabbed the credit."

"WE CAN BEGIN RIGHT NOW TO COMBAT FASCISM. The first step is EDUCATION—we must tell the truth about fascism at every opportunity: at our branch meetings, on the job, in the pub or on our way to the football game—wherever we come together with other workers."

"[I]mprovement is not BECAUSE of Nazi rule—unemployment had begun to decrease BEFORE the Nazis came in, owing to certain economic causes, and would have continued—PROBABLY AT A GREATER RATE—had they not come to power."

"A worker who is no Nazi must... [pay] to keep a Nazi paper going. ...[T]his helps ...understand how the Nazi Press keeps its "marvellous circulation.""

"If we do this we shall be able to banish the evil plague which has already fastened upon the German and Italian people, and make our country a country really of freedom, where the people may work out their own salvation, and control their own destinies."

"[[Liberty|[L]iberties]] are threatened. Let us hasten to defend them, here and now."

"On 7 June 1934, at the notoriously violent (BUF) rally at West London’s Olympia stadium, a young anti-fascist seaman... climbing on the roof... and crawling along the girders... above BUF leader Sir Oswald Mosley, where he remained shouting anti-fascist slogans. ...Eyewitnesses described unprecedented political violence... by fascist thugs... armed with... weapons. ... ...made it his business to speak out, actions that would lead to one of the most extraordinary legal battles of the period. ...Mosley founded the BUF whose 'Blackshirts' were frequently involved in street violence. ...Marchbank ...took on the aristocratic fascist leader in the courts ...Marchbank was reported to have said: “We strongly object to... assembling in the guise of a military machine with the object of overthrowing by force the constitutional government of the country.” ...Mosley ...sued for slander. ...Following ...legal victories, the [Almagamated Engineering Union] AEU and NUR general secretaries wrote a joint introduction to an LRD pamphlet aimed at trade unionists, called Fascism – Fight It Now."

"We can defeat fascism... if we are determined and if we spread the facts. And if we stand unitedly together, whatever our respective opinions or organisations, in this fight."

"We must be vigilant, for the conspirators would destroy all that we have built up, and make of our country, a barracks, a prison and a shambles."

"YOU who have read this pamphlet — trade unionist, cooperator, or wife, son or daughter of trade unionist or cooperator — it is YOUR job to help this fight."

"We can see that others secure copies of this pamphlet, that our branch or Co-op Guild places an order for it."

"[O]ur best defence against fascism is to STRENGTHEN OUR OWN ORGANISATION. Let us work towards an increased membership for our trade unions, the Labour Party, the Co-operatives, and all working-class organisations ; and, above all, everywhere within these organisations let us preach vigilance, VIGILANCE, VIGILANCE."

"[Y]ou will easily find other workers who are carrying on the anti-fascist agitation. JOIN IN WITH THEM. HELP THEM. DO YOUR BIT."

"Last September (1936), 300 men on public assistance in the town of Breslau were ordered.... to report at the railway station.... They were not told where they were being sent, nor for how long. They were taken to Koenigsberg, in East Prussia... They were segregated in a camp, their letters were all censored, they worked under military discipline and received nothing beyond bed and board for full-time work. Such cases occur frequently."

"The German economic review Wirtschafi und Statistik ("Economics and Statistics") admits... consumption of meat is falling lower and lower. ...Germany is suffering from a famine in fats ...Even if a housewife can afford ...a quarter-pound of —about twice as dear as in England—she may have to wait ...for hours outside a shop . ...The reason? Butter used to be imported from Denmark. Now the fascists are using that money to import materials for ...munitions. ...And the system introduced ...1937 is the most recent measure imposed by the Nazis."

"[S]hortage of fats, rising food prices and the decline in real wages and in housing must adversely affect... health... Let British... mothers note how the fascist rule has affected the health of the children... from the "German Statistical Yearbook " of 1935 ...prevalence of and among the children... mortality ...had risen 50 per cent, in ...three years ...and from measles 77.4 per cent."

"We must not sleep, we who believe in liberty, for the jackals may creep upon us unawares. We must not see England, Scotland, Wales—countries which we love, although conditions are by no means perfect within them—turned into grim lands where those who labour must move at the crack of the whip, wielded by the fascist agents of the exploiters of labour."

"In a trade union anti-fascist publication entitled Fascism, published by the — to which the great transport workers' unions of Britain and other countries are affiliated — a writer states as follows:"Between trade unionism and National-Socialism (fascism) no compromise is possible; under National-Socialist dictatorship there is no room for free workers' organisations. To-day, after three years of fascism in Germany, there is no more difference of opinion on this point, but when in 1932 the (German) unions had to decide whether or not to engage in open struggle for their existence, they hesitated and yielded, in the hope that some miracle would save them. Their yielding proved fatal.""

"The above figures were given officially at the last meeting of the treasury officials of the Labour Front. And they do NOT include the further deductions which are made each year for " Winter Help.""

"[C]ompulsory deductions is a sore point with the German workers... one of the methods by which the fascists reduce wages without... appearing in... official figures."

"[T]he figures of state insurance... [are] very difficult to "cook." They show the percentages of the population earning various rates of wages in 1929 (pre-fascist) and 1935 (under Hitler). ...[T]here has been a considerable drift from the higher-wages ...into ...lower wages are earned. It's reckoned in weekly wages. ...[F]rom 1929 to 1935 (three years pre-fascist and three years of fascist rule), the percentage of the German people receiving HIGH WAGES HAS DECREASED, and... receiving LOWER WAGES... INCREASED. ...German workers now ... are earning less while working than they would have received in unemployed benefit in 1932, before the fascists came to power and severely slashed the unemployment assistance rates."

"Here is a list of the compulsory deductions from German workers' wages... compulsory contributions to insurance, church taxes, rates, etc... 14.2% Payments to Labour Front and Nazi Public Assistance... 1.9% ayments to Party funds, air defences, etc... 1.6% Deductions for newspapers, radio in factory, Nazi Party journals, etc... 3.3% Payments to various state organisations : Sports Clubs, Ex-Service Men, etc... 1.0% Payments towards sundry other purposes : Nazi Party celebrations, etc... 1.3% Total 23.3%"

"23 per cent... is deducted from the wages... almost a quarter. ...[T]hese figures do not appear in the Nazi official wage statistics—they give... wages BEFORE... deductions..."

"[D]istinguish between real... and nominal, or money, wages. We reckon real wages in accordance with their purchasing power. If... you can only buy half what you bought last week—because prices have gone up—your wages have... been cut in half."

"German fascists claim... they have kept wages stable... Even with their power to doctor figures, the Nazis have not the face to claim that wages HAVE RISEN. But have they even remained on the pre-fascist level?"

"[I]f... deductions are made compulsorily from your wages... about which you have not been consulted... this amounts to a wage reduction... although... receiving the same sum."

"Why have the fascists stripped the workers of their defence? ... THE WORKERS' ORGANISATIONS AND PRESS STOOD BETWEEN THE WORKERS AND THE EMPLOYERS, THEY WERE A WALL OF DEFENCE AGAINST WAGE-CUTS, LONGER HOURS, HARSHER WORKING RULES, WORSE CONDITIONS GENERALLY. So, said the employers, they had to go. And the employers hired the fascists to do the dirty work..."

"[F]ascists or Nazis... deprived... workers of... open, independent action. Their unions have been destroyed as well as the working-class press. All... parties, except the Nazi, or fascist... have been forbidden. Thousands of working-class leaders and... trade unionists are in prison or concentration camps. Many... killed for... [being] active on behalf of the working class. ...[W]orkers are forbidden to organise and... express... discontent. Their factory councils have been abolished. Except for the courage... in their hearts, their secret will to... freedom, and... "underground" resistance, they are defenceless."

"Nazis maintain a continual barrage of propaganda... to camouflage the facts. ...[A]ll the figures at our disposal come from OFFICIAL FASCIST SOURCES."

"[T]he fascists in Germany have been rearming... Hitler and his pals are out for war... [T]o make war, they are increasing... armaments at break-neck speed. This means... more workers... employed in... armaments and munitions... [where] the few slight increases in wages have occurred... in one or two branches... But...looking into the wages of ALL... German workers... whether wages AS A WHOLE... And...prices—what those wages can buy. ...[T]he only stable factor is the MONEY WAGE, and even that has declined recently in some industries. Both the and compulsory and semi-compulsory deductions... introduced by the Nazis, have substantially reduced REAL WAGES."

"[B]ehind the employers stands the fascist State, with... new laws... courts, police, secret police, storm-troopers, concentration camps. In fascist Germany, as in fascist Italy, the workers have been robbed of the right to strike... It is illegal—a crime—to strike in Germany or Italy, or to "incite" others to strike. If workers endeavour to express, in an organised manner, any protest against evil conditions, they can be transported to a concentration camp... for years."

"We can see... the fascists... in Germany... have destroyed the workers' organisations, the trade unions, leaving the workers defenceless; while the employers are still strongly organised in a representative, active body. Thus the fascists have turned over the workers, unprotected and gagged, to the mercies of the employers. They... have acted as strike-breakers on a national scale.... betrayers of the common people, delivering them to their exploiters."

"Fascist law binds the worker to the employer, just as the serf of the soil, in feudal days, was bound to serve his lord. The millowner, factory-owner, mine-owner, multiple shop proprietor, or other employer is given sole power... [T]he "Law to Regulate National Labour" (Gesetz zür Ordnung der nationalen Arbeit) of January 20th, 1934, Paragraph two... the man who ALONE has the right to make decisions in any concern is the EMPLOYER. He is called "the Leader () of his factory." The workers are his "followers.""

"Dr. Ley...[the Labour Front's] chief, stated... 1933, in... Der Deutsche, official organ of the Labour Front, "it has always been clear that the trade unionist conception must be eradicated" ...[H]e proceeded ..."I have succeeded ...in rooting out from the organisation this trade unionist mode of thought." Thus the supreme leader of the Labour Front himself admits... this body fulfils none of the functions of a trade union. ...[I]ts main activity is the issuing of Nazi propaganda, besides which it aims at organising certain sports and leisure activities..."

"The shock came for these... believers in... Hitler... when... [he] announced, in July 1933, "The revolution is ended. I shall deal ruthlessly with any so-called second revolution." ...Soon these young people found themselves kicked out of their jobs, expelled from the fascist organisations—except for a few... bribed with official jobs. ...[T]hat was the end of any attempt to make the Labour Front live up to its name."

"EMPLOYERS... belong to the Labour Front. This should destroy the last plea of the fascist propagandist that the Labour Front performs any function... comparable with... a trade union."

"And, supposing you, as a German worker, don't like the way the "leader" of your factory runs things, and you want to find a job elsewhere... [W]e see a reversion to the practices of the Middle Ages, when the serf was not allowed to leave the service of the feudal lord. All through the [labour] laws... in fascist Germany runs this increasing... RESTRICTION OF FREEDOM TO MOVE ABOUT. Agricultural labourers are prevented from coming to work in the towns, and town workers from going to the country. There exists a system of compulsory labour... [T]he workers' freedom of movement is limited by the introduction of the Workers' Passport (Arheitsbuch)... [for] all workers earning less than 8,000 marks (about £650) per year. ...[O]nly highly paid administrative posts in industry...[were] above this figure. Fascist Party officials... are exempt... as are government officials. The police... inspect these passports at any time. Unsatisfactory entries... by the employer... particularly... referring to... political opinions, or showing... a "discontented" worker—practically debar him from... employment. So... however poor the conditions, he cannot risk leaving..."

"[L]ook... at the REDUCTIONS IN MONEY WAGES... under Nazi rule. Between 1929 and 1932 wages had been drastically reduced. But even so (using only Nazi figures) in the iron industry, the chemical industry and the building industry there have been slight reductions in money wages since 1935- Iron- workers' hourly wages were 92 pfennigs in 1935 and they fell to 91.3 in 1936. The 1935 average hourly wage of chemical workers was 82.5 in 1935—in 1936... 81.7 pfennigs. Building workers'... 84.7... per hour in 1935, and by 1936... 83.6. [T]he papermaking industry: skilled workers'... dropped from 71.2 in 1935 to 70.7 in 1936, and unskilled workers'... 59.6 to 57.6—a.... very nasty drop for... already less than... subsistence wage."

"After the trade unions were broken, their ample funds... stolen, were paid... in part, into the coffers of this dummy organisation."

"[T]he Labour Front (Arbeitsfront)... has no similarity... with any... previous organisations of... workers. It is officially connected with the fascist government and... fascist party; It exerts no efforts to improve the lot of the workers. The workers have no control over it."

"German trade unions were... "taken over " by the Labour Front. This means that, after their headquarters and funds had been seized, and many leaders and officials killed or imprisoned, the membership of the former trade unions was automatically transferred to the Labour Front, whether they liked it or not. ...[E]very former trade unionist is compelled to continue paying his contributions—but... to the Labour Front."

"In the first elections held for the Confidence Councils, in 1934, the workers... voted overwhelmingly against the lists in their entirety. ... [T]he fascists ...in the 1935 elections ...permitted voting ...only for candidates in the list ...as before. As they had this time included a few names of candidates who enjoyed a certain measure of confidence among the workers, the voting was consequently not so obviously hostile ...but ...strongly against the lists. In 1936, the elections were "postponed"... [i.e.,] did not take place at all."