800.00B Communist International/228: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 4—1:30 p.m.]
93. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Communist International the Pravda today devotes its leading editorial to praise of that organization. Although in general the views expressed coincide with those which have characterized recent proclamations of the Comintern in emphasizing the necessity and urgency of the unification of the forces of the international proletariat for the struggle against Fascism and reaction and in singling out Fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan for a special attack there is a more noticeable tendency in the present editorial to stress the identity of capitalism and Fascism which is treated as a manifestation of the “dying capitalism”. The article continues that the Soviet Union which is characterized as the support of the international proletariat has greatly increased its influence on the international situation as a whole and in particular “its effect on the development of the revolutionary movement in the world” and quotes a statement of Dimitrov to the effect that working-class unity in both the national and international field would render a working class capable not only of successfully defending itself against Fascism and the “class enemy but also of launching a successful counter-attack against those forces.” These words, the editorial states, constitute the program of action for proletarian revolutionists. The only reference to the United States is in connection with the alleged growth of the Communist Parties throughout the world in which it is stated that the Communist Party of the United States at present embraces up to 100,000 members.
Greetings from the Communist Parties of various countries are also published, including one from Browder in which emphasis is placed on the role of the American Communist Party in the creation of a united front “of all democratic forces of the country against the attacks of reaction and the Fascist incendiaries of war”. This greeting closes with the statement that “the vital task of the American Communists is to work for the active participation of the United States in the world front of the struggle against aggression. The natural friendship between the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America must be supplemented by cooperation in the struggle for common aims and against common enemies.”