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Spontaneous Proletarian Organization in Hungary, 1918-19*

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Spontaneous Proletarian Organization in Hungary, 1918-19* Spontaneous proletarian organization in Hungary, 1918-19* Introduction In the previous 40 years of Stalinist-Kadarist capitalism, the proclamation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 21 March, 1919, was considered a holy day. Under the present period of liberal capitalism, we have crossed over to the opposite extreme, so that only with the harshest of invectives does one now refer to this recurrence. The reality is that both sides represent bourgeois views, regardless of their seemingly contrasting opinions. One group explains the series of events according to the actions of historical figures, while the other does not see a process, but only sharply distinct periods. They declare that a civil democratic republic came into being on 31 October, 1918, while the 21st of March represents the beginning of communist society. Through this they wish to tear asunder from history the proletariat’s permanent class struggle and thereby maintain their existence. The fact that the proletariat continued waging war against the bourgeois system after that date divests the anniversary of any significance. The above-mentioned insignificant events did not bring about any positive result for the proletarian movement, but precisely the opposite. What then happened on that day? On the night of the 20th of March, some leaders of the MSzDP (the Hungarian Social Democratic Party) visited Bélá Kun, the MKP (Hungarian Communist Party) secretary, in his prison cell. They invited him to become part of a unified leadership. The bourgeoisie had another ace up their sleeve before the eruption of the revolution. However, this young so-called communist party had not yet lost the confidence of the proletariat. The aim was simple: to cut down the global revolutionary wave which was sweeping Hungary as well. Up until the last moment, the communist party was to stand for the * http: //www. signalfire.org/?p = 10459 . – Barricade Collective Pamhlets 1 proletariat, centralize the struggle, and stymie the development of the workers’ autonomous revolutionary leadership. They were to organize workers into a party and destroy the capitalist system, democracy, and workers’ society with the use of a violent dictatorship of the proletariat. The 21st of March thereby turned into a special day in that the proletariat apparently had fulfilled the aim of achieving a communist society. The term sounds good, the workers might have thought, but what were the imperatives and decrees of the “revolutionary communist leadership” ? Anyone who steals or loots is to receive the death penalty The retail, trafficking, and consumption of alcoholic products is forbidden Weapons of any sort will only be carried by the military, the police, the gendarme, the guards, the people’s guard and other legitimate entities, as well as members of factory- and worker-guards Work! Order! These decrees speak of the protection of property, order, work; they cannot be called revolutionary communist in the least. The workers’ movement could not be struck down so easily, though. The proletariat still possessed formidable force, which unfortunately took up the cudgels of bourgeois counterrevolutionary leadership (as a consequence of a lack of independent leadership). Regardless of bourgeois leadership, they accomplished much that was revolutionary: they sabotaged workplaces, they looted, and destroyed any bourgeois elements they saw without mercy or any idiotically limiting humanistic principles. But without any autonomous centralization they could not destroy the state, which proclaimed itself as the repository of communal property. Thus, instead of the dictatorship of the revolutionary workers’ party, a political party played the role of the proletariat through Leninist means. The state became stronger and intensified the reduction of worker power. After 133 days, social democracy played out its directed role and a raging Horthyist terror annihilated the handful of revolutionary minorities that remained active. The political history of the Soviet Republic was nothing but the continuation of the social- democratic bourgeois clique’s attempts to isolate the anarchist-communist movement, which in spite of its radicalism reaped the unfortunate lesson of its compromised ability (). 2 Tibor Szamuely (1890-1919) I. The Zöld Gárda (Green Guard) What follows is an article entitled “About the Green Guard”, which appeared in Szociális Forradalom (Social Revolution), 28th of September, 1918. It originates from an article entitled “Revolutionary ‘bands’ in Croatia”. “The continuing struggle with the patrols and gendarmes in the monarchy killed time and again with increasing cruelty. As long as the military court executes deserters, as long as orders overstep the law, shooting people down all over the place, pursuing to the wilds those exiled soldiers nauseated by war, the more deserters will persist, the more will people join the “Green Guard”. They get involved in armed conflict with the persecuted but it is not always the case that they become the vanquished. On the contrary, they can just as often mount successful attacks. These soldiers of the Green Guard are principally situated in Croatia and the Szerémség. True “revolutionary bands” are fighting against the armed slave-drivers of state power, despite the harshness of the struggle. On the 5th of September, such a deserting group attacked the gendarme captain, József Radosevics, and the head of the guards, Pál Androvics, while on patrol in the area of Grabovci. The deserters executed the two gendarmes and destroyed their weapons. On the 6th of September, as the official news stated, “revolutionary bands” executed the gendarme Mile Utyesanovics in Erdevik. The band also destroyed their firearms and weapons. On the eighth of September the same band “with a greater number of men” found two gendarmes in the village of Velika Bastaja. One was headed to patrol the village, while the other remained in the municipal building. There, they executed the gendarme fraction leader, Miksa Deutsch, while they gunned down the night patrolman and the municipal policeman. The band members gathered all the weapons in the municipal building and took them away with them. The Green Guard “revolutionaries” also made a visit to the small town of Indija, in the Szerémség. They requisitioned 20 000 Crowns worth of wheat flour as tribute from the immensely wealthy Jakab Müller, taking his entire stock of flour. Mihály Motz, a wealthy land owner, and his associates paid the fearsome men 100 000 Crowns worth of goods, knowing full well that the gendarme would not come to their 3 rescue. The armed deserters looted and exacted tribute from every propertied man, clergy, clerk, and wealthy land-owner from Petrovicic, Karlovcic, Dec and Kupinovo. All this within the span of a week.” So recounts the newspaper Népszava, referring to a report from the Reichspost. It appears clearly from this information, regardless of the censor’s scissors, that the occurrence cannot refer to simple robbery. The article is not referring to a criminal group or a band of thieves, but, as Népszava remarks, to a series of events “judged to be of serious political significance” (). The armed Szeremség deserters were not merely fighting to their deaths in self- defense against their persecutors. They were obviously surging in armed revolt against the oppressing class-based state, its hangmen, and the bourgeoisie. There in the Szeremség, where the “revolutionary bandits” of the Green Guard instilled fear, lay the first fiery nest of open armed insurrection in the lands of the monarchy … II. The Lenin Youth Before the Soviet Republic and within the proletariat, many terror squads were organized (e.g., the Green Guard) aiming towards a dictatorship over capitalist relations and their activities peaked during the ruthless struggle against the bourgeoisie. The most famous among them were the Lenin Youth. This organization, after its spontaneous development, was subordinated to the Political Inspectorate of Interior Security. Yet after a while, the inspectorate was unable to direct the activities of this organization at all. Two communist “leaders”, Tibor Szamuely () and Ottó Korvin (), could manage to influence it in certain actions (but, of course, only when it conformed to their aims as well). Their appearance onto the scene is already wrapped in legend. They had the following provisions: leather trousers, leather coats, leather boots, service caps, a 4 rifle, a Steyre pistol, a bayonet, and a hand grenade. But the real legend is wrapped in ruthless anti-bourgeois struggle. Generally, they demolished organizations with the joint forces of the local proletariat, for instance, at Szolnok on the 1st of May, at Hatvan on the 2nd, at Devecser on the 7th, at Dunaföldvár on the 1st of June, at Dömsöd on the 21st, at Szekszárd on the 22nd, etc., and they contributed their share to the defeat of counter-revolutionary organization as well. “The Hungarian Soviet Republic even in its most extreme form of power is always more humane than those governments which bring the horrors of war to humanity”, declared Béla Kun (), and attempted to turn proletarian anger into a purulent humanism. However, Szamuely’s words stood closer to the Lenin Youth: “Everywhere counter-revolutionaries run about and swagger; beat them down! Beat their heads where you find them! If counter-revolutionaries were to gain the upper hand for even a single hour, there will be no mercy for any proletarian. Before they stifle the revolution, suffocate them in their own blood!” (Vörös Újság (Red News), 11th of February, 1919). Of course, the self-styled communist Revolutionary Governing Soviet mounted intense armed attacks against their actions in some places. “Judgments carried out in spite of laws and decrees and primarily unspeakable murders that some have perpetrated without government consent, nor that of free brigades and maximalists of the military or the Red Guard. These criminal activities have been first and foremost against the laws of the revolution. They have stained the purity of the revolution. The revolution and the revolutionaries do not claim responsibility for these acts,” Vilmos Böhm wrote (), the Soviet Government Military Commissar.
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