People's Front #1

The next day, Saturday morning, the Reichstag was naturally thrown into chaos.

"Everyone, please calm down! This is authority granted to the cabinet under the constitution!"

"Authority granted to the cabinet? In that case the parliament demands the dissolution of the emergency decree! The constitution clearly grants us the right to overturn such decrees by parliamentary vote, does it not?!"

The fact that the very system of liberal democracy they had placed so much faith in had been shattered by the hands of the Prime Minister and the Emperor seemed to drive the Social Democratic Party to the brink of madness. Otto Wels was the most agitated of all, pacing furiously and shouting.

"Let us all calm ourselves first!"

Not to be outdone, someone from the centrist faction bellowed back. "Whether we dissolve the emergency decree or reach any other decision, we must first calm down and then decide. Nothing can be accomplished in an atmosphere this heated."

"Tell me, Kas, does this look like an atmosphere in which we can calm down?"

By now the Communist Party and the Social Democrats were effectively one side.

"Where is the Prime Minister? Summon him at once. This absurd act of tyranny will be withdrawn before the day is out."

"Would it not be wiser to wait and see?"

"Wait? The cabinet has trampled on parliamentary authority without even the excuse of a military occupation of the Reichstag. If we truly mean to defend democracy, the proper response is to answer the summons immediately!"

The left wing that resisted the destruction of democracy, and the People's Front that had no choice but to defend it.

"And what about you fine noble gentlemen over there? Will you say nothing? Stop sitting there like mute fools who've swallowed their tongues!"

Ernst Thälmann, who had been protesting alongside Wels, now turned his fire toward the German National People's Party benches. They had been strangely silent.

"What would you have us say?"

"Did you not all cast votes against the budget bill? When the cabinet runs roughshod like this, where is your democratic countermeasure?"

"Why should we devise a democratic countermeasure?"

"This is..."

"Enough, Thälmann. Don't waste your breath on them."

What could we possibly say to conservatives? They simply despise democracy.

We therefore waited until the Prime Minister finally appeared around noon.

"Here comes the destroyer of democracy!"

We greeted him with jeers, but Brüning ignored us and stepped onto the podium.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...I was delayed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while coordinating opinions within the cabinet."

A steel mentality indeed. For good or for ill.

"What I must first state is that the proclamation of the emergency decree followed strictly constitutional procedures. Everything will be determined according to the constitution."

"In that case our Social Democratic Party demands the immediate revocation of the emergency decree."

"That, too, requires a majority vote of this house. I shall present my argument first, so I ask for your patience."

Brüning, apparently still having more to say, obtained the Speaker's permission and began his defense.

"First, the declaration of a 'national emergency' at the time of the decree was made because the present situation truly constitutes an emergency for Germany. Our country now faces three crises: unpaid reparations to the victorious powers, the freezing of industry caused by capital flight, and the swelling ranks of the unemployed. The only method capable of resolving all three at once is active investment attraction, debt repayment, the restoration of sound national finances and credit—in short, austerity."

"I question this notion of solving them simultaneously, Prime Minister," Arthur Crispien replied, as though he had been waiting for the opening. His voice rang with earnest passion. "All three problems are issues Germany must confront without evasion, yet clear priorities exist. First must come relief for the unemployed, second the attraction of capital, and only last the payment or reduction of reparations. We have already witnessed the failure of laissez-faire, Prime Minister. Would it not be wiser for the state to intervene directly in the economy, expand unemployment subsidies, and stimulate demand?"

"Did not the exact same situation seven years ago produce endless inflation? If the government intervenes recklessly in the economy, we must accept the depreciation of the mark. Even if the economy recovers through stimulus, excessive inflation will simply give rise to yet another problem that must then be solved."

"Yet doing nothing for the unemployed while slashing the national budget is even more irresponsible! Relief for Germany's jobless must come first. And you propose to cut unemployment support even further? That approach will achieve nothing in the long term!"

"Then let us assume the government does intervene. The nation is already running a deficit. Where will the additional funds come from?"

"That is..."

"There is no democratic means to achieve it!"

In the end even Crispien had run into the innate limitations of reformism. The answer to the problem Brüning posed was simple: redistribute wealth from the landlords and monopolists who had accumulated capital so inefficiently, or at the very least introduce a genuinely progressive tax. Either measure would largely eliminate the budget shortfall. The difficulty was that such steps would provoke ferocious opposition from the propertied classes, and in a Germany where wealth translated directly into voting power, no such transformation of the social order could occur without revolution.

That was why the Social Democrats inevitably reached their limit.

"Even so, what is wrong remains wrong. Austerity is merely the absence of policy. The absence of policy cannot itself be policy."

"The Social Democrats are correct. We will introduce a resolution to repeal the emergency decree!"

Thus the Social Democrats, the Communists, and I formed a temporary united front and demanded the lifting of the decree. Because the matter was so grave, the vote was held without further debate. The result...

"No...!"

It ended even more absurdly than we had feared.

"General strike! General strike!"

"Conservatives who mock democracy, get out! Respect the will of the people!"

Once the 'constitutional' path to oppose such undemocratic measures was blocked, the Social Democratic Party's official line swung 180 degrees in an instant.

"The cabinet must stop hiding behind the Emperor's coattails! The parliament must stop hiding behind its law books!"

"Since the government refuses to hear the people's voice, only resistance remains! Workers, strike! Cast off the capitalists and seize your liberation!"

The fury of both the Social Democrats and the Communists had exploded.

"You have ultimately refused to heed the will of the people. Mark my words. The power of an enraged populace will descend upon you."

Thälmann had all but declared war on the Prime Minister. Though it was not truly a declaration of war—after all, they had abandoned democracy first.

"...This session is adjourned."

With Brüning's emergency decree left intact, the Reichstag had nothing left to do and dissolved. The anger that had ignited inside the chamber spread like wildfire into the square outside.

"Representative Otto Wels! Representative Arthur Crispien!"

On our way out with the Communist comrades, Thälmann called the two Social Democrats over.

"How does it feel to watch the rule of law you fought so hard to preserve destroy democracy?"

"..."

The Social Democrats stared at us with bitter, resentful eyes. I could not fathom what they thought they had to resent, when they had brought this calamity upon themselves.

Outside the Reichstag, Wels and Thälmann finally clashed.

"How does it feel? It is profoundly sad!"

"And the Social Democratic Party bears no responsibility for that sadness? You were the ones who tolerated this outrage!"

"The Communist Party never raises its voice in parliament and merely engages in pointless street struggles. That is why there is no progress!"

"Enough, all of you!"

They were at it again.

"Is this really the time for us to fight one another? The democracy the Social Democrats tried to protect has betrayed the people. The constitution has become nothing more than a tool of dictatorship, has it not?"

In the end I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped between them.

"We have witnessed the limits of capitalist democracy. The parliamentary reform that Eduard Bernstein spoke of has reached its end. Will you stop here? All of you?"

The situation had gone far beyond the need for persuasion.

"Having seen the end of reform, the time has come for struggle. The Communist Party and our Labor Party will resist the Prime Minister's policies by any means—strikes, demonstrations, whatever it takes. Representative Wels, Representative Crispien, what will you do? Will you join us, or remain seated in a parliament that has been rendered powerless? Make your choice."

I had issued an ultimatum. Wels...

"We will cooperate."

Thus the foundation for a grand left-wing coalition across Germany was laid.

The emergency decree was not the end. On the contrary, it was a new beginning.

At the single word struggle, the people of Frankfurt who opposed austerity poured into the streets like a flood. Though not yet a formal alliance, it was more than enough to declare a temporary united front.

"Heinz."

Representative Crispien spoke to me. His tone was earnest and warm, the voice of a mentor.

"Do you remember when I said I would leave the possibility open?"

When had that been? Right after I first entered parliament—about a month ago.

"Of course I remember, Representative."

"Though we have met under the worst circumstances imaginable, we are now comrades. I look forward to working with you."

He extended his hand. I took it.

"The honor is mine. Please guide me well!"

A reporter stood before them as the two leaders made their formal statements.

"Heinz!"

Ah, of course. I was neither of them.

The three of us placed our right hands together and declared as one.

Thus the unofficial alliance of the Social Democratic Party, the Communist Party, and the Labor Party—the People's Front—was proclaimed.