The Speaker's Silence
The session opened with the usual formalities, but the chairman wasted no time before addressing the elephant in the room.
“Yesterday at noon, several regrettable incidents occurred. What should have been a chamber of reasoned debate in the Imperial Parliament devolved into a shouting match laced with insults and personal attacks. The representatives elected to speak for the people were instead busy throwing punches. The brawl spilled into the square, resulting in hundreds of citizens being rushed to hospital.”
As expected, he opened the meeting by referencing the chaos.
“Of course, the honorable members did eventually heed the security officers’ calls to cease fighting, and they assisted in transporting the injured civilians. No one lost their life, which is a mercy. Nevertheless, this represents an undeniable regression for democracy. I urge you all to remember that the Reichstag is a venue for dignified discussion and deliberation, not a battlefield for raw passion.”
The chairman paused, then turned his gaze directly toward me.
“In particular, Representative Emilia Heinz of the German Labour Party.”
Why is this my fault?
“And Representative Adolf Hitler of the National People’s Party.”
It’s that son of a bitch’s fault.
“Excessive personal attacks and vulgar insults will no longer be tolerated. As a form of disciplinary measure, neither of you will be granted speaking rights today. Do you accept this ruling?”
“The parliament once again seeks to silence my voice, but I accept,” Hitler declared theatrically.
God, does he always have to get the last word?
“Yes…” I muttered.
There was no point fighting it. I would simply have to sit and listen.
“Very well. The Chancellor will begin.”
The moment the chairman finished, Heinrich Brüning rose and took the microphone.
“I will continue from where I left off yesterday. As I have already explained, Germany has no choice but to pursue austerity. Cooperation with the West is not optional. At this moment, national pride and immediate bread matter less than preventing another war. We must work with the League of Nations to overcome this crisis and—”
Austerity again. Doesn’t he ever get tired of saying the same thing?
Well, it only showed how desperate the situation truly was. I could understand the logic. But the speech was so predictable that there was no need to keep listening. As Brüning droned on, I quietly pulled out the copy of the Frankfurter Zeitung I had brought with me. I’d bought it earlier but hadn’t had time to read it. I certainly hadn’t expected to read it here, in the middle of a plenary session. It felt exactly like sneaking a novel under the desk during a boring lecture back in school. Still, it wasn’t the worst way to pass the time.
As expected, yesterday’s brawl dominated the front page in massive headlines.
Such open confrontations were apparently rare enough to warrant this level of coverage. The article continued in a dry, factual tone.
Yesterday around noon, newly elected Labour Party (APD) Representative Emilia Heinz and National People’s Party (DNVP) Representative Adolf Hitler engaged in a vicious exchange of personal attacks and insults inside the Frankfurt Parliament building. The session was dissolved early, and the conflict spilled outside to the tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the square, escalating into a large-scale riot…
The rest was simply a concise recounting of events. There was no mention of the group of sturdy men carrying clubs who had been mixed in among the crowd. Of course they wouldn’t have noticed. How could they have distinguished them in that chaos? Honestly, the most surprising thing was that no one had died, just as the chairman had said. Then again, both the communists and several parliamentarians had immediately stepped forward to help transport the wounded once the fighting stopped. The National People’s Party had probably just fled the scene. Typical right-wing behavior.
I flipped past the main report. The editorial and opinion pages followed, featuring contributions from various journalists and intellectuals. Today’s guest writer was Dr. Walter Benjamin, who held a doctorate from Frankfurt University and was quite well-known in the field of Marxist hermeneutics.
The Scream of Reason, Bloodstains on the Square. Where Are We Heading?
A personal commentary from Walter Benjamin himself. This was quite the honor.
The piece was surprisingly sympathetic toward our side for a newspaper representing Germany’s centrist-liberal mainstream.
Yesterday’s session in the Imperial Parliament was no longer a temple of law and debate. Germans must recognize that the values of freedom and equality, which our liberals have shouted from the rooftops, were brutally defiled that day. The disturbance in the Reichstag was not a clash between two ideologies, but a confrontation between a woman crying out for happiness and a demagogue spewing hatred.
I wish to draw particular attention to the question posed by Labour Party Representative Emilia Heinz: “Why do you live?” This profoundly philosophical and fundamental inquiry has sent massive ripples through German politics, which has become mired in economic statistics and the vanity of ethnicity. Borrowing from Dr. Kurt Goldstein’s concept of “self-actualization,” she offers a piercing insight into the necessity of democracy and individual liberation that so many liberals and social-liberals before her have dreamed of.
So the term already existed even now. Though I recalled that its formalization as “hierarchy of needs theory” came later, in the 21st century.
Politicians and scholars claim that communism brings destruction and denies democracy. Yet Representative Heinz presents a remarkably fresh perspective on this so-called “common sense.” To her, communism is the ultimate form of democracy—one that grants every person the opportunity and qualification to achieve self-actualization. For that to happen, the people must seize the economic power that determines the direction and quality of their lives. Of course, the revolutionary path she advocates entails massive violence and the coercive dismantling of the existing upper classes. Even so, Germany would do well to reconsider the values she seeks to realize.
It was clear that perceptions of the left had improved considerably. For such words to appear in a centrist newspaper was no small thing.
However, all the values Representative Heinz presented were utterly tainted by the vile remarks of National People’s Party Representative Adolf Hitler.
Of course. There was no way Hitler’s name could be left out.
He hurled unspeakably crude and hateful obscenities at a fellow parliamentarian, reducing the values of human rights and happiness that Heinz represents to mere “temptation.” There is no logic in Hitler’s claims—only patriarchal posturing, baseless paranoia about imaginary enemies such as Jews and leftists, and irrational, belittling mockery.
The evaluation of Hitler was uniformly critical, which was reassuring. Still, I would have preferred they not mention him at all. That man benefits from any publicity, no matter how negative.
Beyond that, there wasn’t much else of note. A more detailed analysis of the causes and consequences of the incident would likely appear in the party newspapers rather than in the centrist Frankfurter Zeitung.
Our own Red Flag, published jointly by the Labour Party and the Communist Party, framed the event this way:
Tens of thousands gathered to support the Labour Party’s dazzling new star, Representative Heinz. Yet through that crowd crept the black shadow of Germany. Dozens of sturdy thugs wearing military caps and carrying clubs had infiltrated the masses. According to eyewitness testimony, they openly hurled insults and jeers at Representative Heinz’s speech while applauding Hitler’s crude slander and sophistry. When citizens protested, they swung their clubs and openly resorted to violence! Though they were eventually outnumbered and driven off by the enraged people, this incident marks a grave regression in German politics!
Our side had already concluded that these men belonged to “the criminal paramilitary organization nurtured by Hitler.” No one else was likely to take the matter seriously—except perhaps the Social Democrats. Still, something about it continued to nag at me. The symbol I had glimpsed inside their uniforms was unmistakably the Nazi Party emblem. Yet in this timeline the Nazi Party did not exist. That made linking them directly to Hitler’s National People’s Party more ambiguous. And even if we could prove it, there was little we could do about it.
In the end, the only real solution was for the people to awaken and seize power themselves. That was precisely why revolution was necessary.
While I was absorbed in the newspaper, the session somehow came to an end. Perhaps things ran more smoothly without Hitler and me. Honestly… no, better to face the truth than make excuses. In a parliament that only represented the narrow interests of a few, uttering a few more words here was far less effective than persuading workers on the street. To do that, both the Communist Party and the Labour Party needed to rapidly expand their organizations. Securing funds and establishing a solid base were essential.
The one bright spot was that our German Communist Party and Labour Party were not alone.
“We’ve received a reply from the Comintern, Heinz.”
The Communist International—commonly known as the Comintern. An international organization founded in 1919 under Russian leadership to promote the global expansion of socialism and communism. If the capitalist nations had the League of Nations, the communist nations had the Comintern. The German Communist Party’s steady growth since its founding had been made possible largely through the Comintern’s generous support.
“Really? What did they say?”
“They’re offering full assistance in investigating the uniforms we discovered yesterday. The Comintern has also concluded that those men are connected to conservative forces within Germany. So it’s worth looking forward to their findings.”
The news Ernst Thälmann delivered was quite encouraging.
“Oh… that’s excellent.”
Since the October Revolution of 1917, Russia had transformed itself through the New Economic Policy of 1921 and the first Five-Year Plan launched in 1924. It now stood as one of the world’s strongest industrial powers. In other words, it possessed overwhelming financial resources with which to operate the Comintern.
“It’s reassuring to know Russia is taking an interest and offering support.”
“Russia does not ignore the call of the people. Of course, they have their official position, so even if they uncover something, they cannot intervene directly in German politics. From that point on, it will be our responsibility.”
“Naturally, Thälmann. Has the Comintern’s stance on intervention not changed yet?”
“Not yet. While exporting revolution remains important, they still believe external intervention is premature.”
“I see. That’s a shame.”
Although the Comintern was an international communist body, it did not exclusively advocate for the immediate export of revolution. Within Russia itself there were hardliners who pushed for aggressive revolutionary expansion and moderates who insisted on first consolidating the domestic base. As I had said earlier, what mattered most in Germany right now was shifting workers’ consciousness and fostering a voluntary revolutionary movement.
“Ah, and there’s one more piece of good news, Heinz.”
Thälmann added with a small smile.
“What is it?”
“It seems word of you has reached Moscow. They have moved up the 8th Comintern World Congress, originally scheduled for 1932, to next June—and the Labour Party has been formally invited.”
“R-really?”
“It comes from Comrade Iosif Stalin, head of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. I doubt it’s false.”
An official invitation from the Comintern itself.