861.00 Congress, Communist International, VII/23: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union ( Bullitt ) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 26—3:30 p.m.]
306. The Congress of the Communist International met yesterday evening. The Congress was opened by Wilhelm Pieck, a German. A Presidium of 42 was then unanimously elected. It included the American citizens Browder and Foster. Stalin, Manuilski and Pyatnitski were among the Soviet subjects elected to the Presidium.
Thaelmann, the German Communist who is now in prison, was then elected honorary chairman of the Congress. A credentials committee of 18 including the American citizen Sherman and an editorial committee of 11 including a Jackson who may be an American citizen were then elected.
The following agenda was then offered by the Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Communist International and approved unanimously.
- 1.
- Report on the activity of the Executive Committee of the Communist International; speech of Comrade Pieck.
- 2.
- Report concerning the work of the International Control Commission.
- 3.
- The growth of Fascism and the problems of the Communist International in the struggle for the unity of the working class against Fascism; speech of Comrade Dimitrov.
- 4.
- The problem of the Communist International in connection with the preparation by imperialists for a new world war; speech of Comrade Ercoli.
- 5.
- The victory of Socialism in the Union of Soviet Social Republics and its universal historical meaning; speech of Comrade Manuilski.
- 6.
- Election of the directing organs of the Communist International.
The keynote of the Congress and of comments in all Soviet newspapers is “United Front with [against?] Fascism.”
Notable passages from Pieck’s keynote speech read:
“In those countries where there still remain the remnants of parliamentarism and democratic freedom the proletariat in spite of the heavy oppression of the capitalist system has nevertheless a certain or be it [albeit?] pathetic possibility of organizing itself and openly defending its class interests. In those countries where the Fascist dictatorship is supreme the proletariat is deprived of all even the lesser important rights and possibilities of legally defending its class interests.
“Therefore we Communists with all our might are struggling for every bit of democratic freedom together with those who in whatever measure remain true to the principle of bourgeois democracy in order to amplify this freedom and on this basis to carry on a fight for a real proletarian democracy for the destruction of exploitation of man by man. Together with the real supporters of bourgeois democracy we [Page 229] are ready to defend the remains of parliamentarism and democracy against Fascism in order that we may fight for proletarian democracy …48
“If German Fascism makes any attempt against the national independence and unity of the present independent small peoples of Europe then war of the national bourgeoisie of these countries as a defense against this attack will be a just war in which the proletariat and the Communist cannot help but participate …48
“During these 7 years we have seen great strike movements in the development and control of which we have taken a significant part. During these 7 years the proletariat has often raised itself in the political struggle against its bourgeoisie.
“Remember the heroic struggle of the toilers of Germany (applause). Remember the mutiny on the cruiser Sieben Provizen. Remember the strike of the sailors of the British Navy. Remember the movement of the veterans in the United States. Remember the peasant uprisings and the tremendous political strikes in Poland. Remember the historic battles of the Austrian and Spanish proletariat against Fascism. Remember the fights of the Chinese Red Army reflecting the numerous campaigns against the Chiang Kai Shek government of national shame and treachery (applause).”
Aside from the reference to the “bonus marchers” quoted above and the election of the Americans whose names are given above to the Presidium and committees there was no reference to the United States or to any American and it is noteworthy that in commenting on the Congress Pravda states “here in this hall proletarian solidarity, revolutionary unity, the high aims of Communism have united in one great family—Frenchmen, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Englishmen, negroes” carefully avoiding the word “Americans”.