DOCSLIB.ORG

REBIRTH of GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
REBIRTH of GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY [Beilage 2 zu SM, Nr. 79/80, 1945] [Seite: - 1 - ] REBIRTH of GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY R E P O R T of the Socialdemocratic Party Conference in Hanover, on 5th to 7th October, 1945 * CONTENTS 1. Preparatory Work 2. The First Central Party Conference 3. The Political Attitude of the Conference 4. Problems of Organisation 5. Relation to the Representative of the Party Executive in London 6. [ 7.!] Relations to the Communists 7. [ 6!] Amalgamation in the Socialist Camp 8. Absorption of the Emigration into the Work of the Party inside Germany 9. Tasks confronting the Party in the near Future 10. Final summing up HANS VOGEL TO THE HANOVER PARTY CONFERENCE [Seite: - 2 - ] 1. Preparatory work. Immediately after the collapse of the Hitler regime and the military occupation of Germany by allied troops Social Democrats appeared in the field in all parts of Germany. Many of them worked with the Allies in the reconstruction of the German administration. The rebirth of the party organization, however, became possible only after the allied military governments rescinded the ban on the political activities of the antifascist democratic parties. The lifting of the ban on political activities occurred first in the Russian occupation zone on 10th June, 1945. On 15th June, 1945, a "Central Executive Committee of the Socialdemocratic Party of Germany" published in Berlin a first manifesto to Socialdemocrats, calling for the formation of party groups and for the enlistment of members. The members of the central executive committee are socialdemocrats who before 1933 or during the time of illegality, have been active for the party. A short time after the appearance of the manifesto, the central executive committee was able to publish a daily paper: "Das Volk". The setting up of the party organization progressed very speedily in Berlin and the other districts of the Russian occupation zone, supported by the formation of provisional district executive committees. By the end of September Greater-Berlin organization had 70.000 registered members. Immediately after its formation the central executive committee formed a working committee together with the central committee of the Communist Party of Germany. The executive of this Joint Working Committee consists of five members of each of the two parties. On 14th July 1945, the four parties, permitted in the Russian occupation zone (Socialdemocratic Party, Communist Party, Christian-Democratic Union and Liberal-Democratic Party), formed a "United Front of the antifascist parties". This United Front was led by a joint committee consisting of 5 representatives of each of the four parties. The independence of the Socialdemocratic Party organization is not infringed upon by the joint committee with the Communist party nor by the United Front with [Seite im Original:] - 3 - the other anti-fascist parties. The Central Executive Committee of the Socialdemocratic Party of Germany led by its chairmen: Otto Grotewohl and Max Fechner, tried to get in touch with the comrades in the other occupation zones and with the representatives of the Party Executive, which had been elected in 1933, and who are now living in London. But otherwise their activities were limited to the Russian occupation zone. In the British, American and French occupation zones the ban on political activities and on the formation of political parties was lifted considerably later - not before September 1945. And even then only local or district organizations of the party were permitted. A central executive may be set up only after the organizations have been built up locally. Nevertheless the organization of the Socialdemocratic Party in the western occupation zones developed very quickly. Everywhere Socialdemocrats formed local groups in order to apply to the military authorities for a permit to set up a party organization. This work was considerably furthered by an exchange of experiences inside the different districts and among the different provisional district executives. The comrades and organizations in the western zones made comrade Dr. Kurt Schumacher their central representative and adviser, who gave them valuable political and administrative help by his personal contact with the different comrades and by an extensive correspondence. Comrade Schumacher was one of the most active younger politicians inside the German Socialdemocratic Party before 1933. Despite severe wounds received during the first world war - he lost his right arm - he fought courageously against the National Socialist Party, in close comradeship with Carlo Mierendorff. After Hitler came to power, Schumacher was arrested and for ten years, from 1933 to 1943, the Nazis kept him in concentration camps, where he was ill treated and tortured. In the camp, Schumacher gained the confidence and admiration of his antifascist fellow-prisoners through his upright and firm attitude. In 1943, after his release from concentration camp, he was not allowed to [Seite im Original:] - 4 - return to his homeland, Wurttemberg, but had to stay in Hanover. Owing to his initiative, supported by active young Hanoverian comrades, Hanover became the provisional centre of the Party in the Western zones in Summer 1945. One of the main causes for the differentiation in the development of party organizations in the western zones, is the fact that parties have been permitted in the western zones only quite recently. But reports received from all districts agree that almost all the former party members are returning to the party and that the party's position among the politically interested people is very favourable. For the time being the activities of the party in the western zones are limited to the rebuilding of the organization and to verbal information, as the publication of a party paper has not yet been permitted. 2. The first central party conference Immediately after the formation of political parties had been permitted in the western zones, Schumacher prepared with the district representatives a first central party conference for the 5th, 6th and 7th October at Kloster Wennigsen, a small place near Hanover. Invitations to the conference were sent to the delegates of the districts in the western zones and besides to the members of the Party Executive, now living in London: Hans Vogel, Erich Ollenhauer, Fritz Heine and also Erwin Schoettle, formerly Stuttgart. The Central Executive committee in Berlin was also informed. Originally it was planned to hold the conference with the party representatives from all the western zones. In three days of discussions all topical political questions were to be dealt with. At the very last minute these arrangements had to be changed by order of the military government. They were only permitted to hold a one day conference of the delegates from the British zone together with the guests from London. In addition, Dr. Schumacher was allowed to have private conversations with the delegates from the two other western zones. Despite these technical difficulties, the conference was [Seite im Original:] - 5 - wholly successful. Delegates from all party-districts in the Western zones were present. 18 former party districts were represented and in addition also Lübeck, which formerly belonged to the Mecklenburg-Lübeck district, and is now in the Russian zone. Each district was allowed to send three delegates to the talks, but most of the districts had sent a further number of guest delegates, many Socialdemocrats among them, who are now holding important posts in the new German administration. Part of the delegates were comrades, who had already a leading position in the Socialdemocratic Party before 1933, and who now, in spite of advanced age, had begun immediately to rebuild the party. Among others were present the former Members of the Reichstag: Karl Schreck - Bielefeld, Josef Simon - Nuremberg, Hans Lau - Hanover, Henssler - Dortmund, Martin Treu - Nuremberg, the present Lord Mayor of Nuremberg, Kaisen, the present Mayor of Bremen. Carl Severing - Bielefeld was prevented from attending the conference by the sudden death of his wife. Apart from the "old ones", the "middle-aged" were prevalent, mainly former functionaries of the Socialist Youth Movement and the "Red Falcons", who are now holding responsible posts in the party organization. The comrades Erich Ollenhauer, Fritz Heine und Erwin Schoettle had come from London. Hans Vogel was prevented from attending through a serious illness which led to his death on 6th October. The comrades Otto Grotewohl, Max Fechner und Gustav Dahrendorf had come from Berlin. The Conference was held in a hall, decorated with flowers, red flags and a large picture of Karl Marx. For most of the delegates this was the first free conference and free exchange of opinion in twelve years. Most of them had spent the time of the Nazi regime in imprisonment, many had been in concentration camps or prison for six, eight or ten years. The joy about the meeting after so many years was intermingled with deep sadness because so many, many good comrades did not live to see this day: those who had been [Seite im Original:] - 6 - executed or tortured to death or had died a natural death in this long interval of twelve years. The technical problems of such a conference are almost insoluble under present circumstances in Germany. Travelling facilities for the delegates, their billeting and feeding called for such an extent of organization, ingenuity and foresight, the like of which can hardly be imagined by an outsider. The solution was possible only thanks to the exemplary solidarity of the comrades in Hanover and the surrounding localities. On the evening of the 6th October all the delegates were invited to attend a ceremony arranged in their honour. The "workers'" choir and the "Workers' orchestra" gave their best. In fact they were so excellent that it was almost unbelievable that singers and musicians had only restarted their activities four weeks ago. When, after so many years, the workers' choir sang again in public the "Sozialistenmarsch", most of the audience could not help crying.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Otto Grotewohl (1894-1964): Eine Politische Biographie'
    H-German Roth on Hoffmann, 'Otto Grotewohl (1894-1964): Eine politische Biographie' Review published on Friday, November 19, 2010 Dierk Hoffmann. Otto Grotewohl (1894-1964): Eine politische Biographie. Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 2009. viii + 721 pp. Pictures, notes, list of abbreviations, bibliography, name index. EUR 69.80 (cloth), ISBN 978-3-486-59032-6. Reviewed by Gary Roth (Rutgers University at Newark) Published on H-German (November, 2010) Commissioned by Benita Blessing Against the Stream Otto Grotewohl, the first president of the German Democratic Republic, was one of the few socialists to embrace the Soviet system in the post-World War II era. Grotewohl was an anomaly, and he has puzzled observers ever since. A prominent and committed Social Democrat over many decades, he nonetheless supported the drive for a combined Social Democratic-Communist Party, pushed through this unification despite considerable opposition in the Soviet and Allied zones of occupation, and then, to the renewed shock of his colleagues, helped purge the new party of members who equivocated at Soviet dominance and the replacement of the electoral system by an elite political cadre. During an era when Stalinist politics were characterized by unceasing defections, Grotewohl moved in the opposite direction. Discerning his motives has not been easy. Grotewohl discussed his political trajectory neither in letters, nor in memoirs. From Dierk Hoffmann's biography emerges an understanding in which Grotewohl's belated embrace of Stalinism was quite consistent with the social democratic practices he had followed previously. No great divide existed between these two worlds. To explain this requires a close examination of Grotewohl's personal and political trajectory, to which Dierk Hoffmann's excessive, yet extremely informative, biography is dedicated.
    [Show full text]
  • March 26, 1948 Record of a Conversation Between I. V. Stalin and the Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl
    Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified March 26, 1948 Record of a conversation between I. V. Stalin and the Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl Citation: “Record of a conversation between I. V. Stalin and the Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl,” March 26, 1948, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, APRF. F. 45. Op. 1. D. 303. pp. 24-49. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/123209 Summary: Stalin, Pieck, and Grotewohl have a lengthy conversation about the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the activities of the Socialist Unity Party. Original Language: Russian Contents: English Translation Record of a conversation between Cde. I. V. Stalin and the leaders of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl, 26 March 1948, at 1900 hours Top Secret Present: V. M. Molotov, A. A. Zhdanov, G. M. Malenkov, V. S. Semenov (SVAG [Soviet Military Administration in Germany]), and interpreters - G. Ya. Korotkevich and F. Elsner. PIECK thanked I. V. Stalin for the welcome and also for the aid which the Soviet Military Administration in Germany gives the SED [Socialist Unity Party]. I. V. STALIN asks whether the Military Administration is actually giving aid or if this is a compliment. PIECK and GROTEWOHL say that they are actually receiving aid. STALIN, joking, asks again, does this mean that they don't just oppress you, but also give aid? PIECK, laughing, confirms [this]. Then he says that he will describe political issues and Grotewohl economic [ones].
    [Show full text]
  • German History Reflected
    The Detlev Rohwedder Building German history reflected GFE = 1/2 Formathöhe The Detlev Rohwedder Building German history reflected Contents 3 Introduction 44 Reunification and Change 46 The euphoria of unity 4 The Reich Aviation Ministry 48 A tainted place 50 The Treuhandanstalt 6 Inception 53 The architecture of reunification 10 The nerve centre of power 56 In conversation with 14 Courage to resist: the Rote Kapelle Hans-Michael Meyer-Sebastian 18 Architecture under the Nazis 58 The Federal Ministry of Finance 22 The House of Ministries 60 A living place today 24 The changing face of a colossus 64 Experiencing and creating history 28 The government clashes with the people 66 How do you feel about working in this building? 32 Socialist aspirations meet social reality 69 A stroll along Wilhelmstrasse 34 Isolation and separation 36 Escape from the state 38 New paths and a dead-end 72 Chronicle of the Detlev Rohwedder Building 40 Architecture after the war – 77 Further reading a building is transformed 79 Imprint 42 In conversation with Jürgen Dröse 2 Contents Introduction The Detlev Rohwedder Building, home to Germany’s the House of Ministries, foreshadowing the country- Federal Ministry of Finance since 1999, bears wide uprising on 17 June. Eight years later, the Berlin witness to the upheavals of recent German history Wall began to cast its shadow just a few steps away. like almost no other structure. After reunification, the Treuhandanstalt, the body Constructed as the Reich Aviation Ministry, the charged with the GDR’s financial liquidation, moved vast site was the nerve centre of power under into the building.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulletin 10-Final Cover
    COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN Issue 10 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. March 1998 Leadership Transition in a Fractured Bloc Featuring: CPSU Plenums; Post-Stalin Succession Struggle and the Crisis in East Germany; Stalin and the Soviet- Yugoslav Split; Deng Xiaoping and Sino-Soviet Relations; The End of the Cold War: A Preview COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 10 The Cold War International History Project EDITOR: DAVID WOLFF CO-EDITOR: CHRISTIAN F. OSTERMANN ADVISING EDITOR: JAMES G. HERSHBERG ASSISTANT EDITOR: CHRISTA SHEEHAN MATTHEW RESEARCH ASSISTANT: ANDREW GRAUER Special thanks to: Benjamin Aldrich-Moodie, Tom Blanton, Monika Borbely, David Bortnik, Malcolm Byrne, Nedialka Douptcheva, Johanna Felcser, Drew Gilbert, Christiaan Hetzner, Kevin Krogman, John Martinez, Daniel Rozas, Natasha Shur, Aleksandra Szczepanowska, Robert Wampler, Vladislav Zubok. The Cold War International History Project was established at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., in 1991 with the help of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and receives major support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Smith Richardson Foundation. The Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and seeks to disseminate new information and perspectives on Cold War history emerging from previously inaccessible sources on “the other side”—the former Communist bloc—through publications, fellowships, and scholarly meetings and conferences. Within the Wilson Center, CWIHP is under the Division of International Studies, headed by Dr. Robert S. Litwak. The Director of the Cold War International History Project is Dr. David Wolff, and the incoming Acting Director is Christian F.
    [Show full text]
  • Dierk Hoffmann, Otto Grotewohl (1894-1964)
    Format de citation LaPorte, Norman: Rezension über: Dierk Hoffmann, Otto Grotewohl (1894-1964). Eine politische Biographie, München: Oldenbourg, 2009, in: German Historical Institute London Bulletin, Vol. XXXIII (2011), 1, S. 132-137, DOI: 10.15463/rec.1189742156 First published: German Historical Institute London Bulletin, Vol. XXXIII (2011), 1 copyright Cet article peut être téléchargé et/ou imprimé à des fins privées. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, intégrale ou substantielle de son contenu, doit faire l'objet d'une autorisation (§§ 44a-63a UrhG / German Copyright Act). DIERK HOFFMANN, Otto Grotewohl (1894–1964): Eine politische Bio - gra phie, Quellen und Darstellungen zur Zeitgeschichte, 74 (R. Olden - bourg Verlag: Munich, 2009), viii + 721 pp. ISBN 978 3 486 59032 6. €69.80 On a fact-finding tour of the Eastern Bloc in 1954, the British Labour MP Desmond Donnelly had a two-hour long meeting with Otto Grotewohl in his capacity as head of the GDR government. The East German Minister President made a broadly positive impression on Donnelly, who noted: ‘In manner he [Grotewohl] was a mild person. His immaculate dove-grey suit, dove-grey shoes and rimless specta- cles made him look like a prosperous American.’ The substance of the discussion, in Donnelly’s view, was also punctuated by some encouraging aspects, in particular, Grotewohl’s readiness to express ‘outright a sense of remorse’ for the war—a sentiment conspicuous by its absence during the MP’s recent visit to Bonn.1 In his articles for the British press and the books he subsequently published, Donnelly appeared unaware of Grotewohl’s political past as a Social Democrat; he was merely described as the ‘communist head of state’.
    [Show full text]
  • <B><I>Joint Communiqu of the Soviet Union and the German
    Volume 8. Occupation and the Emergence of Two States, 1945-1961 Soviet-German Communiqué (August 23, 1953) After the Soviet Union had failed in its attempts to move the Western powers toward negotiations on a peace treaty and on a neutralized, unified Germany, and after the June 17th workers’ uprising had laid bare the weakness of the Communist regime in the GDR, the Soviet Union and the GDR engaged in direct negotiations in August 1953. The Soviet Union used the opportunity to repeat its offer of a peace conference with the participation of a newly formed unified German government. At the same time, however, it also upgraded the GDR’s value as an independent state through an ambassador exchange. Moreover, it sought to solidify SED rule and to stabilize the regime’s economy by ending East German reparation payments, forgiving its debt, and providing it with shipments of goods and new loans. From August 20 to 22 negotiations took place in Moscow between the Soviet Government and the Governmental Delegation of the German Democratic Republic. On the Soviet side the following took part in the negotiations: The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., G. M. Malenkov; the First Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the U.S.S.R., V. M. Molotov; the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, N. S. Khrushchev; the First Vice- Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense of the U.S.S.R., N.
    [Show full text]
  • Complete Report
    INTERNATIONAL CO N G RESS OF JURISTS WEST BERLIN 1952 Complete Report Discourses Pro tocols Printed by Rudolf Ofto, 63, Lutzowsfrcsse, Berlin W 35, Germony « The first greatINTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF JURISTSfor the protection of Right against Systematic Injustice was recently held in West Berlin with the cooperation of Delegates from 43 countries, amongst whom were 31 Ministers and Statesmen, 32 Professors, 35 Presidents, Judges and Counsel in High Courts of Justice. The names of these Delegates warrant that the resolutions were passed by the Congress unprejudiced by political questions of the day and after scrupulous examination of the documentary material and the hearing of witnesses. The publication of this report is being done not for propaganda purposes, but with the object of spreading the truth in order to maintain and defend Law against an im­ minent danger not yet sufficiently understood by the Free World. Published by the International Commission- of Jurists 47, Buitenhof, The Hague, Netherlands Berlin■ Offices: 5, Lindenthaler Allee, Berlin-Zehlendorf-West, Germany i 1/0t f a k e tin likexhp to inform you that the Collection of Documents often referred to in this report as hearing the title “Injustice as a System” is in the original entitled “Injustice the Regime C ontents Page Page Part One: The Development of Public Law in Latvia, by M. C a k ste............................................................ 26 Preparation Legal Development in Estonia, , and Plenary Meetings of Congress by H. Mark ............................! ...................... ................ 27 FOURTH D A Y ................................................................... 30 IDEA AND PREPARATION ....................................... 1 Discussion and adoption of the Resolution of the Committee FIRST PLENARY MEETING......................................
    [Show full text]
  • Der Untergang Der Sozialdemokratie in Der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone
    LUCIO CARACCIOLO DER UNTERGANG DER SOZIALDEMOKRATIE IN DER SOWJETISCHEN BESATZUNGSZONE Otto Grotewohl und die „Einheit der Arbeiterklasse" 1945/46 Mit den Worten, der Eiserne Vorhang habe sich nun herabgesenkt, kündigte Otto Grotewohl, der Führer der Sozialdemokratischen Partei in Berlin und in der sowje­ tischen Besatzungszone, am 4. Februar 1946 dem Leiter der politischen Abteilung der britischen Militärregierung in Deutschland, Sir Christopher Steel, die bevorste­ hende Kapitulation seiner Partei vor dem kommunistisch-sowjetischen Druck und die Fusion von KPD und SPD an1. Einen Monat später präsentierte Winston Chur­ chill in Fulton/Missouri der Welt die Metapher vom „Eisernen Vorhang". In seiner Rede ging der ehemalige britische Premier auch auf das Drama ein, dessen Protago­ nist Grotewohl war. Churchill beschuldigte die UdSSR, sie versuche, in den von der Roten Armee besetzten deutschen Gebieten „in einer einseitigen Aktion ein pro­ kommunistisches Deutschland zu schaffen". Indiz und Signal für diesen Plan sei die angekündigte Verschmelzung der beiden Arbeiterparteien in der Ostzone: „An attempt is being made by the Russians in Berlin to build up a quasi-Communist party in their zone of occupied Germany, by showing special favours to groups of Left-Wing German leaders."2 Der gequälte Berliner Parteiführer Grotewohl wie der britische Kriegspremier ver­ banden die Auflösung der SPD in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone mit der Vorstel­ lung von der beginnenden Teilung Deutschlands, doch erschien das Schicksal der Sozial­ demokraten in der Ostzone beiden in unterschiedlichem Licht. Für den konservativen englischen Politiker waren die Ereignisse nur eine weitere Bestätigung für den Unter­ gang der Großen Allianz, für Grotewohl hingegen markierten sie das Ende des im Sommer 1945 konzipierten ambitiösen Entwurfs, eine autonome nationale SPD aufzu­ bauen, die eine führende Rolle im künftigen ungeteilten Deutschland spielen sollte.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulletin 10-Final Cover
    COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 10 61 “This Is Not A Politburo, But A Madhouse”1 The Post-Stalin Succession Struggle, Soviet Deutschlandpolitik and the SED: New Evidence from Russian, German, and Hungarian Archives Introduced and annotated by Christian F. Ostermann I. ince the opening of the former Communist bloc East German relations as Ulbricht seemed to have used the archives it has become evident that the crisis in East uprising to turn weakness into strength. On the height of S Germany in the spring and summer of 1953 was one the crisis in East Berlin, for reasons that are not yet of the key moments in the history of the Cold War. The entirely clear, the Soviet leadership committed itself to the East German Communist regime was much closer to the political survival of Ulbricht and his East German state. brink of collapse, the popular revolt much more wide- Unlike his fellow Stalinist leader, Hungary’s Matyas spread and prolonged, the resentment of SED leader Rakosi, who was quickly demoted when he embraced the Walter Ulbricht by the East German population much more New Course less enthusiastically than expected, Ulbricht, intense than many in the West had come to believe.2 The equally unenthusiastic and stubborn — and with one foot uprising also had profound, long-term effects on the over the brink —somehow managed to regain support in internal and international development of the GDR. By Moscow. The commitment to his survival would in due renouncing the industrial norm increase that had sparked course become costly for the Soviets who were faced with the demonstrations and riots, regime and labor had found Ulbricht’s ever increasing, ever more aggressive demands an uneasy, implicit compromise that production could rise for economic and political support.
    [Show full text]
  • On 10 March 1952, the Soviet Leader Iosif Stalin Proposed—Or
    RuggentThe 1952ha Stalerlin Note on German Unification The 1952 Stalin Note on German Uniªcation The Ongoing Debate ✣ Peter Ruggenthaler On 10 March 1952, the Soviet leader Iosif Stalin proposed—or seemed to propose—a peace treaty that made the reuniªcation of Germany contingent on establishing a neutral status for the country, an offer that sur- prised much of the world and seemed appealing on the surface. In Moscow, Soviet Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko handed identi- cally worded notes containing a draft version of a German peace treaty to dip- lomatic representatives of the Western powers (the United States, Great Brit- ain, and France). Politicians, diplomats, and, above all, historians have long debated whether Stalin was sincere about the goals he laid out in the so-called Stalin Note.1 In the ensuing “Battle of Notes” that dragged on well into the autumn of 1952, the U.S., British, and French governments declined to engage with Sta- lin’s offer and demanded instead binding guarantees that free elections be held everywhere in Germany. After years in which the Soviet Union had shown it- self averse to holding free elections in Germany, Western leaders considered Stalin’s “offer” a propaganda coup at best and a proposal fraught with dangers at worst. Washington in particular was unwilling to abandon the integration of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with the West. The treaties that were to make West Germany part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) via the European Defense Community (EDC) were ready for sign- ing.2 Relationships between Western governments and the USSR had been 1.
    [Show full text]
  • December 18, 1948 Result of the 4-Hour Meeting with Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Otto Grotewohl, Fred Oelsne, and Stalin
    Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified December 18, 1948 Result of the 4-hour Meeting with Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Otto Grotewohl, Fred Oelsne, and Stalin Citation: “Result of the 4-hour Meeting with Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Otto Grotewohl, Fred Oelsne, and Stalin,” December 18, 1948, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Wilhelm Pieck: Aufzeichnungen zur Deutschlandpolitik 1945—1953, edited by Rolf Badstübner and Wilfried Loth, pp. 259—263 (ZPA [Central Party Archive] NL 36/695, pp. 42-47) http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/134382 Summary: Stalin meets with German officials to discuss various aspects of the post-war German economy and government. Original Language: German Contents: English Translation Result of the 4-hour MeetinK on 12.18.1948 [Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Otto Grotewohl, Fred Oelsner, Stalin) Affair Gniffke — how possible — parity what lessons — Pol. bureau Situation of the KPD sever connection (with SED) — Tasks in consequence of split G[ermany] because of sep. Western state other — also because of split of the work[ers] movement other tasks — Struggle for democracy Help to KPD Literature — 5 Paper — print shop — money Nutrition monthl. 1 80,000 W[estem] M[arks] Subsidies Paper [Ztg.] 80— 1 00,000 Instructors in sm[all] secr[etariat] 1 man Dahlem especially for the West Party app[ aratus] Radio send simple people into SPD Fight too open — mask discuss only with Reimann whether companies from East to West Econ. penal law DWK [German Economic Commission] Oct. Economic questions Law against speculation Law excl[usive] buying right of the state in companies a[nd] stocks Law not cult[ivated] land will be retracted Law regarding agricultural workers situation Contradictions between Work[ers?] - Day [Arb.
    [Show full text]
  • E U R O P E S P E A
    I S K (Militant Socialist International) 24 Mandeville Rise, W.G. Eichler Welwyn Garden City, Herts E U R O P E s p e a k s [Heft 62,] 5th October, 1945 [Seite: - 1 -] Germany Berlin Socialdemocrats discuss the Past and the Future On September 14th, 1945 a meeting of the Berlin Socialdemocrats took place in the large meeting hall of the "Neue Welt"[1]. For several hours an audience of thousands of people listened to the speeches of OTTO GROTEWOHL[2], chairman of the Executive of the Berlin Socialdemocratic Party, and of WILHELM PIECK[3], chairman of the Communist Party. We reproduce below the most important passages of Grotewohl's speech - published in the Berlin Socialdemocratic paper "Das Volk"[4] of September 15th and 16th - which throws considerable light on the situation in Berlin, and especially on the views and ideas which are to-day held by working class circles there. Our readers should bear in mind the external conditions prevailing in that city which, in one way or another, compel everyone to express his views in a more or less veiled form. Where do we stand? Loud applause greeted Otto Grotewohl as he got up and spoke: "June 17th, 1945 was a historic occasion for us Socialdemocrats, for it brought us the rebirth of the Socialdemocratic Party of Germany. In the midst of economic, political and cultural chaos more than 1,500 Socialdemocratic fighters met together to lay the first foundations for the beginning of the work of reconstruction. Three months have passed since then and to-day we put ourselves the question: Where do we stand and whither do we want to go? We want to answer this question clearly and with complete sincerity and frankness before the German working class and the world at large.
    [Show full text]