| Summary: | Bemerkungen: [] = Absatzmarken im Volltext des Originals;
LETTER TO A FRIEND ABROAD [] For us Germans the fateful question is whether we can make it clear to the workers of the West that there is such a thing as European Socialism, and not merely a totalitarian State Capitalism, with all its political and human implications, such as has now prevailed in the Russian Zone of Occupation. [] The other aspect of the question is this: at a time when the workers despair of European Socialism, Capitalism is undoubtedly once more in the ascendant in Western Germany. The position at present is as follows: 35 per cent. of the people have held on to everything they possessed before the war (in effect they are relatively better off than before, because the remainder are poorer); about 25 per cent. have insufficient to maintain a decent standard of life, but, through their association with the owners of property and the means of production, they are just able to carry on; 40 per cent of the Germans have nothing but their ration cards. [] This is indeed a situation in which a social revolution is possible. [] The fact that this revolution has not yet broken out is not merely due to the bayonets of the victorious Powers; Germans, although driven to extremes of frightfulness by Hitler, are nevertheless by nature inclined to develop by constitutional and peaceful means. That is why we must have solid grounds for faith in our future. The bulk of our young people are full of goodwill. We can only teach them to think in terms of humanity and internationalism if they are allowed the consciousness of an unpartitioned Germany. We can only set them free from the curse of personal despair when they know that they will henceforth work for the community, and not once again for the benefit of Capitalism. [] The greatest brake on political development in Germany is the fact that today there are less signs than ever of a common policy on the part of the victors. If the Iron Curtain which the Russians have drawn through the heart of Germany is not raised, serious consequences will arise for the Western Zones, and we Germans will make every effort to tear this curtain down. [] The partition of so large a peoble [!] is a direct incentive to nationalism and to future war. For us the present situation cannot be other than a temporary expedient. This does not prevent us from collaborating with all our strength, even during this discouraging period. [] So far there have been too few developments in Germany. Of the four victorious Powers only the Russians had a political philosophy - a philosophy which does not appeal to us. (I will not dwell on the senseless destruction of machinery, nor on the treatment of individuals, particularly women.) [] The three other Powers had no political philosophy at all; they are now slowly acquiring one. The advent of a Labour Government has no doubt given a favourable turn to our prospects. But developments are so very slow, and whilst some officers show themselves to be far-sighted, the best one can say of the majority is that they are decent men as individuals who have no conception of what the real problem is. [] A fundamental need is the changing of the social structure among the people and in industry. Applied Socialism is the most urgent need. Nationalisation of the land is essential if we are to improve the food situation, bring peace to our agriculture and alleviate the lot of many millions of refugees. In view of the shortage of building materials, it is obvious that in most cases new agricultural settlements will be large, commonly owned units. [] Germans want to know who is to pay for the Third Reich and for World War II. German Capitalists, true to tradition, would like to lay as much as possible of this burden upon the workers. The reparations demanded from Germany by one of the Powers at the meeting of Foreign Ministers in Paris were certainly beyond all reason; but they are not as severe as the terms demanded by those Germans who insist that the internal debt shall be honoured either in full or nearly so. This would make German capitalists into the most merciless creditors of the German workers, who would thus be condemned to decades of slavery. [] The true social struggle in Germany to-day is being perverted and obscured. The conception of nationality, which every Socialist may rightfully claim on behalf of his own people, threatens to degenerate into sheer nationalism. The Christian Democratic Union is, moreover, misusing the word "Christian" in the defence of private property. [] This Party, in the Western Zones, effectively represents those who have everything and will sacrifice nothing. It contains a minority of hopeful Liberals. [] The CDU in the Eastern Zone bears quite a different complexion, which is attribrutable to the peculiar situation in that Zone. Germany's future is threatened, unless the CDU comes to pieces in the hands of the Right Wing bourgeoisie and of those who play "practical politics" on the basis of so-called Christian principles. [] A diffrent kind of nationalism is seeking to infiltrate into the West from Berlin. The Communists, who - with deserters from the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Party - call themselves the S.E.D., preach a new form of nationalism. This nationalism appeals for a central and unified Reich, using the terminology of Goebbels and pointing towards the West. These nationalists make no mention of Eastern frontiers; yet the question of Germany's frontiers can only be considered as a whole. [] The third form of deception and side-tracking is the misuse of the whole conception of unity. The Communists are trying to make use of this idea for their own political ends; they are prepared, on behalf of the Occupying Power behind them, to resort to lies, denunciation and violence. As a result, against the desire of 90 per cent. of the Social Democrats in the Eastern Zone, the S.E.D. was formed. [] In the days of the Weimar Republic the CP. changed its leaders and its tactics every year. Nowadays it even changes its programme and its name! [] The Russian Zone of Occupation is the only region in the world where no Communist Party exists. Is it irony that, wherever the Red Army appears, Communism ceases to exist? [] No true union is possible except between independent parties. The C.P. is not independent. It is the political instrument of a victorious Power. [] We Social Democrats believe that we must not lose our nerve; we must wait until agreement has been reached among the victorious Powers. We cannot and will not act as the instrument of any Army of Occupation, nor of the ideas which it represents or claims to represent. [] To do so would not merely be shameful from a national point of view; it would be a crime against the spirit of Internationalism. [] Finally, a wide gulf divides us from a whole series of Communist conceptions. Obviously, the Social Democratic Party owes much to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. An equal debt is owed to the spirit of German classical philosophy, of the English and French Revolutions, and of the American Declaration of Independence. [] For us, Socialism and Humanism are indissolubly associated. This Humanism, particularly in its respect for human personality, is conspicuously lacking in totalitarian and dictatorial perversions of Socialism. [] A day may dawn when the Communists themselves will achieve inward independence. On that day they will begin to develop towards those great conceptions which once were familiar to every politically conscious German worker. When that happens there need be no further dispute about Unity; it will have been achieved. [] The so-called unity of the present day, as propagated by the CP., is nothing but an attempt to force Germany, Europe and all other countries into an unwilling alliance and to rob them of their voice in the great concert of peoples. [] Things are difficult nowadays in Germany. Want of food and of fuel is creating a distrust of democracy. This distrust we are fighting with all our strength, and we are confident that we shall win. That is why we are not afraid to criticise any of the occupying Powers, including the British. [] We feel justified in criticising because we not only were first in the field against Hitler, but because we also ruthlessly criticise our own people and its weaknesses. Criticism of the Allies may be dangerous, criticism of our fellow countrymen unpopular. We consider such criticism absolutely vital. [] We hope that, slowly but surely, the de-industrialisation of Germany may cease, so that industrial exports may begin to revive. It is the only means whereby Germany can hope to continue to live. Democracy and peace, however, will not be secure until the land and the means of production cease to be privatly owned and are made subservient to the various needs of the community. [] The very hardness of the struggle, the very insufficiency of our means, urge us to leave nothing undone in the pursuit of our great ideal. The old Germany, gagged and enslaved by Hitler, cannot be transformed into the new Germany we want in the name of a new nationalism. [] We are the mortal enemies of nationalism, whether it manifests itself in bourgeois or Communist guise. [] After years of struggle and danger we want to see Germany one day as an equal and respected member of the United States of Europe. We want a European Federation of States of which Britain must be and will be a member. We believe that national and international planning are part and parcel of one and the same policy. [] True love of one's country and nationalism are mutually irreconcilable. We Social Democrats take our pride in being just as good Germans as we are good international Socialists. [] With these thoughts in mind we salute your efforts to restore international friendship. Despite the hardships and cruelties of our times, each of us knows that, in co-operation with all Socialist, humanistic and progressive forces in the world, we can assure the survival of this country and in so doing assure the peace of the world. We wish you all success in your efforts, and send you greetings from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. [] Yours sincerely, [] (Dr.) Kurt Schumacher [] Chairman of the S.P.D.
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