Overthrow the Cabinet #5: The Prime Minister's Sophistry
“Withdraw the closure order on the Frankfurt Zeitung! Withdraw it!”
“Hands off the freedom of the press!”
Brüning’s decision to shut down the Frankfurt Zeitung was nothing short of a declaration of war against the citizens. Centrist parties like the Center Party loved to accuse both left and right of “suppressing the freedom of the press.” Now the Center Party itself stood accused. I had no idea what they were thinking, but the Chancellor had once again poured fuel on the public’s rage.
“This closure is only the beginning.”
Wels, Thälmann, and I stood at the head of the march with members of the newly formed Red Revolutionary Front (RRF) Frankfurt branch.
“If he had any sense, he wouldn’t seriously talk about closing the Frankfurt Zeitung.”
“So the left-wing press will be the first to suffer.”
“Most likely. That’s why it’s crucial we publish as many newspapers as possible to fight back against the government’s pressure.”
The People’s Front choosing the revolutionary path carried several meanings. It meant the SPD and KPD would no longer wage line struggles inside the coalition. It also meant the SPD had finally grasped the importance of struggle, while the KPD had accepted the importance of the press.
“We’ll have to hear what the Chancellor is actually thinking before we can say.”
“I never thought I’d be back here again.”
Once more we stood before the Imperial Chancellery. Exactly two months had passed since the nationwide general strike in January.
“Stop suppressing the press! Guarantee freedom of the press!”
“Chancellor, resign! Hold a general election!”
As the protesters’ fury seemed ready to pierce the heavens, Brüning appeared—not at the ground-floor entrance but on the balcony above. The Chancellery balcony had been arranged like a small stage. Amid a torrent of boos, he lifted the microphone.
How many times had I heard this script? Brüning opened his mouth with the same canned rhetoric they used in the Reichstag.
“So the reforms the people demand are incitement to civil war?!” someone roared back.
What was he even saying? Dictatorship of public opinion? Democracy meant the people’s will being reflected in politics.
“Listen here, Chancellor!”
He cut off the protesters mid-chant.
“…What?”
He was withdrawing it? So everything until now had been nothing but theater?
No…
Yes. In the end, Brüning’s definition of “democracy” and ours had been different from the very first word.
“That’s not—!”
“He’s right. The newspaper’s coming back. Why fight the police over it?”
“It’s over, isn’t it? I’m going home. I don’t want to end up in jail.”
“Wait, everyone—!”
In an instant, the mood of the crowd flipped. The protest melted away before my eyes.
“Don’t be fooled! Those are nothing but silver-tongued excuses to delay the adoption of reforms even further!”
No matter how loudly I shouted, the citizens were already drifting off one by one.
“Why are you dispersing—?”
“They’re withdrawing the closure order, aren’t they? We should go home too, Deputy Heinz.”
“What?!”
And just like that, the demonstration dissolved in bewilderment.
“What on earth was that?”
The moment we returned to People’s Front headquarters I rounded on Wels.
“What do you mean, Chairwoman?”
“Why did we disperse back there?! Then why did we even bring the RRF?!”
“We brought them in case a clash with the police became unavoidable.”
“The organization is called the Red Revolutionary Front! The purpose of the protest was to condemn the closure and pressure the Chancellor into adopting the reform package. Instead he only heard demands on peripheral issues and conceded nothing of substance! He simply said his piece and left!”
“Then what should we have done?”
“We should have clarified the purpose of the demonstration and kept up the pressure! Why did we put the word ‘revolution’ in our name if we’re going to act like this?!”
“The revival of the Frankfurt Zeitung is still a significant victory. Once one core demand of the protest has been met, there is no reason the rest cannot follow. We can move step by step—freedom of the press first, then the reform package, constitutional amendment, general election.”
“Argh…!”
I felt like I would explode with frustration. Wels was far too complacent.
“If that’s how you think, why don’t we just sit quietly until the next election in three years? Why are we even here?”
“Wasn’t it you who proposed we adopt the revolutionary line, Deputy Heinz?”
“Weren’t we all supposed to be cooperating?!”
“And we did participate in the demonstration. What we achieved today is still one step forward. The government has shown that its ears are open and that the people’s will is of the utmost importance.”
“Ha…”
It seemed I was the one who had been naïve. I had believed the SPD had fully transformed into a revolutionary force in sympathy with the Communists. We were still a long way from that. Before we could draw the citizens into revolution, we would first have to persuade the SPD itself.
“Every single word the Chancellor spoke was pure sophistry, everyone.”
The next day, I decided to begin on the streets. I had to turn the Social Democrats into genuine revolutionaries while simultaneously convincing ordinary citizens of the necessity of revolution. Both tasks had to be done; I could not neglect one while pursuing the other.
“But the Chancellor did withdraw the closure order on the Frankfurt Zeitung, didn’t he, Deputy Heinz?”
“That withdrawal was nothing more than a performance to show you that ‘we are listening with open eyes and ears.’ The closure itself could not have genuinely restricted press freedom. Conversely, revoking it does not lead to any real reform. They simply made a grand gesture and then took it back.”
I had set up a small stand on the street and engaged passersby in conversation. Most of them had been at yesterday’s protest, so there was no hostility.
“What do you mean?”
“Even if the Frankfurt Zeitung had remained banned, the Chancellor never banned other papers. The People’s Front could still have made its voice heard. By announcing the closure and then withdrawing it, he merely pretended to listen to your demands. It was all an act.”
“In short, a fraud.”
“Simply put, yes.”
“Deputy Heinz, I have one question.”
“Yes! What is it?”
“I voted for the National Front in the last election. I fell for their claim that austerity was the only answer. The People’s Front opposes austerity, so what solution exactly are you proposing?”
“First let me explain why austerity is not a valid solution. Austerity, simply put, means not injecting money into the economy and instead hoarding it in the treasury. This rests on the belief that the economy revolves solely around capitalists. According to them, if we repay the debts of bankrupt capitalists who have lost everything, they will start businesses again.”
“My taxes are going to the rich?!”
“Exactly. While the government raises taxes and cuts welfare under the name of austerity, that money is filling the pockets of capitalists all over the world.”
“Good heavens… I had no idea.”
“Workers are excluded from such information. When you’re busy trying to survive day by day, who has time to care about politics or economics?”
“Someone I met last time said it was all the Jews’ fault. What did he mean?”
National Socialists, of course.
“There are people who blame everything on the Jews. They call themselves ‘National Socialists.’ They claim the Germans’ defeat in the Great War twelve years ago, the sudden stock-market crash that plunged us into this crisis, the reparations, capitalism, communism—everything—is the fault of the Jews.”
“But it’s true that Jews have accumulated a lot of wealth, isn’t it?”
“It is not Jews who accumulate wealth, but capitalists. At the level of class, nationality becomes irrelevant. German capitalists, British capitalists, Jewish capitalists—all behave the same way. Conversely, German workers, British workers, Jewish workers—all face the same conditions.”
“Then why are there so many Jewish capitalists?”
“Because Jews are a small minority, the number of Jewish capitalists looks large in comparison. If we calculate by population ratio, there might actually be more Flemish capitalists.”
“I see.”
“They simply redirect the anger of workers—who are constantly exploited beneath the gears of capital—onto the false enemy called ‘Jews.’ Even if those people seize power, the capitalists who exploit your wealth will continue to prosper.”
“Then, Deputy Heinz, how are you different from the National Socialists?”
“I get that question often. If you listen carefully to what National Socialists say, the premise ‘nation before class’ underlies everything. To them, class struggle that calls for the liberation of workers is a meaningless act that harms national cohesion. They believe workers should act like workers and capitalists like capitalists for the sake of national unity.”
“I run a small clothing shop on the outskirts of the city. If your vision of the country comes true, would someone like me be considered a capitalist?”
“No. Self-employed people are not capitalists. Capitalists are those who own the means of production—factories, land—and pay wages to the workers who labor inside them. You might think there’s nothing wrong with earning wages through work, but these people never work themselves. They monopolize wealth that hard-working laborers can never touch, simply because they ‘own the means of production.’”
“I understand that part, but does that mean I’ll be thrown out of my own shop?”
“Socialism does not force physical labor on everyone. Everyone works only as much as they are able, according to their capacity. Everyone contributes to society collectively. In return, goods are distributed fairly and without discrimination.”
“If my ability suits managing a shop like this, can I continue doing it?”
“Whether you continue that work or choose something else is entirely up to you. Under socialism, you can do anything.”
“Hey! That’s a traffic violation! What do you think you’re doing, blocking the middle of the street?”
Just as I was explaining with great enthusiasm, the police finally decided to interrupt.