Political Works

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

"[T]he employer is chairman of the council... he who convenes the meetings, leads the discussions... [I]n fascist Germany, the employer is... "leader" of the factory... a miniature Hitler... [H]e leads the workers... into the ditch of exploitation and poverty. ...[T]here are hundreds of thousands of German workers who see through this confidence trick, although Nazi tyranny prevents open exposure..."

"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."

"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..."

"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."

"Not only workers belong to the Labour Front... but... employers, company directors, managers, superintendents... [I]magine the Federation of British Industries, or any other employers' organisation, being allowed to affiliate with the Trades Union Congress! Capitalists are members of the Labour Front. ...[T]his would mean ...directors of our railway companies would become members of the executive committee of the ! Or that wealthy mine-owners would sit in high places with voice and vote at the conferences of the Miners' Federation... [T]hat is what the British Fascists mean when they talk about 100 per cent, trade unionism... the kind which kow-tows to the employer and hands him the keys of the office—and... !"

"[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."

"But... workers' councils in Germany... exists no more. In its place... a mockery of the old councils which the fascists abolished. The German workers now have no protection—they are at the mercy of the employers. Their trade unions have gone, and in their place... the Arbeitsfront, the Labour Front... Their factory councils have gone, and in their place, the Nazis have set up the Vertrauensräte or "Confidence Councils.""

"[W]orkers' councils met independently—no employers... attended their meetings. The councils exercised a certain amount of control over working conditions... maintenance of the health of the workers, safety from accident and disablement... and also saw to it that there were no breaches by the employer of the agreements... regarding wages, hours, overtime..."

"Purely upon the surface, the present councils bear a faint resemblance to the former factory councils. ...The present councils... further the designs of the employers."

"Shall we not be wiser... by determining that our unions shall never be broken... by getting together NOW and acting... as vigilant watch-dogs to guard our organisations against the wreckers?"

"The fascists,... the servants of the big industrial employers, were out to smash anything which had the faintest flavour of trade unionism, and the 1 \frac{1}{4} million Christian trade unionists... organisations [were] broken up just as ruthlessly as... small unions..."

"After the Nazis... seized power, they proceeded to destroy the German trade union movement. Everywhere, brownshirted bands of fascists entered the headquarters of the trade unions, seized the furniture, typewriters and cash. The machinery, presses, etc., of the labour papers were smashed..."

"[F]or the present councils, the candidates are not put forward by the unions... there are no unions. Nor... by the workers... The list... is drawn up by... THE EMPLOYER and THE NAZI LOCAL LABOUR CHIEF, a specially trusted... fascist..."

"[O]ur purpose... is to expose a plot... aimed at your safety... comfort, and... liberties. We shall show how this plot would harm you—if... the conspirators succeed...—by... example of another country where the plotters have been successful. That country is Germany."

"This pamphlet... gives fair warning that... fascism... would destroy our democratic institutions, deprive us of our freedom, and reduce... standards of living. It would... so fetter the... people that... restoration of democratic institutions would be possible only by... a sea of blood."

"The German trade union movement... had over eight million members in 1930. Now there is no trade union movement..."

"[A] "council"... elected from a list... hand-picked by the employer and a fascist party lieutenant, cannot... represent the... workers. ...[T]he employer... puts up... names of workers... agreeable to himself... those "boss's pets" who could never get on... the old councils."

"[T]riumphs of fascism... would result in the scrapping of that great political and social structure upon which rests the material well-being and spiritual freedom of our people. ...[T]he persecuted and oppressed would be those who... sought... standards... [made] possible by intelligent action in an enlightened community."

"[T]he nineteenth century ended with the outbreak of War in 1914. That was a century in which human ingenuity excelled, and the coming of the big industries made possible... living and working conditions... beyond the reach of previous generations. ...[T]he working class attained to a new dignity as a result of collective efforts through trade unions, cooperative... [and] friendly societies, and... political action. The brutality which accompanied the mechanisation of industry, with its unbridled exploitation... gave rise to the movements which have now become accepted facts... [W]ith organisation and collective action... humanising working and living conditions became successful, and untold benefits accrued... [A]s a result... the worker reaped the reward of his increased , and won the full rights of citizenship..."

""They can never do here what they did in Italy," said these German men and women... And then—it became too late..."

"[W]e can, if we choose, preserve ourselves from the evils which have befallen the workers in Germany and Italy. They have lost the right to live their own lives, and are... pawns... of a decadent capitalism. ...[F]ascism is the enemy of the working class: it seeks to enslave us and our children."

"FASCISM MEANS THE SUPPRESSION OF ALL DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS."

"[T]he former factory councils functioned... independently of the employer—he had no voice in their discussions, nor was he present at... meetings. Not so in the case of these "Confidence Councils"... of the fascists. ...THE EMPLOYER IS... CHAIRMAN OF THE "CONFIDENCE COUNCIL"!"

"The pamphlet, we hope, will be read widely by those who have attained to manhood and womanhood since 1914. ...YET TO MAKE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE MARCH TOWARD FREEDOM AND EMANCIPATION OF THE WORKING CLASS ...The great battles were won before their day, and their young lives have been overshadowed by the Great War and its terrible aftermath. ...[T]he better conditions they enjoy were obtained as a result of action in a State with a democratic form of government, by trade unions, and other organisations which are not permitted to function in fascist countries. ...[T]he triumphs of fascism here as elsewhere would result in the scrapping of that great political and social structure upon which rests the material well-being and spiritual freedom of our people. It would mean a new inquisition where the persecuted and oppressed would be those who... sought to make available for all... standards... possible by intelligent action in an enlightened community."

"The instruments of working-class endeavour are the trade unions, the Labour Party, and the co-operative movement. They are the protection... against oppression, and... our only insurance against fascism, nazi-ism, and kindred terrors."

"This freedom... these creative opportunities... this democracy... are our heritage, and we are their custodians. ...[E]ach... generation has made its contribution to raising human standards and human values. WE REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE PEOPLE... WILL ALLOW IT ALL TO BE BURIED IN A FASCIST GRAVEYARD."

"It is to such men and women that the Labour Movement makes its appeal. , J, C. Little. January 7th. 1937."

"Before the Nazis smashed it, the German trade union movement was the largest in the world, with the exception of the Russian unions."

"[T]he Christian Trade Unions were broken up and dissolved by the Nazis, just as arbitrarily and brutally as were the other unions."

"[W]hatever the political attitude of a trade union—whether Socialist, non-party, Catholic, Conservative or Syndicalist—the fascists are out to destroy it if it bears the least trace of INDEPENDENT WORKING-CLASS EFFORT TO INFLUENCE WAGES, HOURS AND WORKING CONDITIONS."

"[T]he German trade union movement. ...In May, 1933, the fascists seized it in order to smash it. Now it exists no more..."

"The funds of the unions... were confiscated. Some leaders were killed, often after... revoltingly brutal torture, and others were thrown into prison or condemned to... the concentration camps... These... people... were not punished for any specific offence—they had violated no laws, they had committed no crime. Their only offence... to represent the interests of their fellow trade unionists, to maintain... standards of wages and conditions and to better them. They were not "Reds," for the most part... just... ordinary trade unionists. But they represented the... view of the workers, and... in the eyes of the fascists... [were] obedient flunkeys of the employers... [a] sufficient crime."

"[B]efore the Nazis destroyed them, [there] were the Betriebsräte, or FACTORY COUNCILS. The German Republic, by a law passed in 1920, established and recognised these... in all industrial concerns. These... were elected... by the workers by a FREE AND SECRET BALLOT... to represent their interests."

"Thus we see that, under the Republic... [t]he wage-earner did not feel that his wages, hours and working conditions could be changed... at the whim of the employer. He felt... to some extent, safeguarded, both by his trade union, on a national scale, and by his factory council in the... place of work."

"This is the function of trade unionism—to establish... decent conditions... and to preserve those... against... attempts to lower them. ...[T]o work towards an ever improving standard for the workers. ...The trade unions exist to help them get a larger share, and to produce under healthy, safe and decent conditions."

"[[Progress|[P]rogress]] is possible only if we retain our right to think and our freedom to act."

"The old councils had the power to make independent decisions. They could take up individual cases of workers, with regard to wages, hours, unjust dismissals... [T]hey had the power of the unions behind them to enforce... decisions... But the... new councils... have no such power. They are merely "advisory bodies"... they can talk, but cannot enforce... And... the range of their discussion has been severely limited. ...Some of the council members are even spies of the fascist secret police ...to report on any member who dares voice any grievance of the workers."

"Most people in Germany are of the opinion that there will be no more elections to the Nazi factory councils."

"[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."

"The objects of the Labour Front, it is announced, are "educational." It has abandoned... defending the workers' interests. In the early days of German fascism... a few working-class people, unemployed and others, who really thought that National-Socialism... was something more than a name by means of which the fascists sought to win over some of the less intelligent workers. These young fascists were sincere... and did not at first realise... they had been the dupes of... unscrupulous political careerists, financed by the capitalists and banks."

"Among... British fascists one may... sometimes find young men and women... sincere... idealistic, and... shortsighted. Well, these young Nazis—workers, unemployed, or clerks, for the most part—were soon undeceived. It became evident that the main object of the Labour Front was to provide "eye-wash" for the workers while the bosses picked their pockets, and... to provide... jobs... for... minor bosses of the Nazi Party."

"Now the real fruits of human nature – the arts, sciences, great enterprises, lofty conceptions, manly virtues – are due especially to the state of war. […] In a word, we can say that blood is the manure of the plant we call genius."

"When the human soul has lost its strength through laziness, incredulity, and the gangrenous vices that follow an excess of civilization, it can be retempered only in blood. Certainly there is no easy explanation of why war produces different effects in different circumstances. But it can be seen clearly enough that mankind may be considered as a tree which an invisible hand is continually pruning and which often profits from the operation. In truth the tree may perish if the trunk is cut of the tree is overpruned; but who knows the limits of the human tree? What we do know is that excessive carnage is often allied with excessive population, as was seen especially in the ancient Greek republics and in Spain under the Arab domination."

"Men gather the clouds, and then they complain of the tempests that follow."

"Unhappily, history proves that war is, in a certain sense, the habitual state of mankind, which is to say that human blood must flow without interruption somewhere or other on the globe, and that for every nation, peace is only a respite."

"This makes me think that the French Revolution is a great epoch and that its consequences, in all kinds of ways, will be felt far beyond the time of its explosion and the limits of its birthplace."

"It is from the shadow of a cloister that there emerges one of mankind's greatest very greatest scourges. Luther appears; Calvin follows him. The Peasants' Revolt; the Thirty Years' War; the civil war in France; the massacre of the Low Countries; the massacre of Ireland; the massacre of the Cévennes; St Bartholomew's Day; the murders of Henry II, Henry IV, Mary Stuart, and Charles I; and finally, in our day, from the same source, the French Revolution."

"There is nothing but violence in the universe; but we are spoiled by a modern philosophy that tells us all is good, whereas evil has tainted everything, and in a very real sense, all is evil, since nothing is in its place."

"If Providence erases, it is no doubt in order to write."