The Munich Incident
“Have you seen that incident?”
“In Munich? Of course I have. I never expected the Nazi bastards to pull something the instant the SA was banned.”
“From what I hear, they didn’t attack the unions or the government.”
“Then why the hell did they start a riot?”
The event that had broken out in Munich struck us like a refreshing shock while we prepared for the Comintern World Congress. The reason I call it “refreshing” is…
The legally dissolved and officially designated illegal organization known as the Sturmabteilung had not targeted government institutions or labor unions. Their attack had struck the offices of their own Nazi Party.
…because the true target of the assault had been neither us nor any state body, but their own superiors. In short, they had committed a team kill.
Naturally, the political world—which had been watching the Nazi Party’s ever-growing violence with alarm—could only respond with puzzled question marks. From the centrists came remarks such as,
“I have no idea, Vice Chancellor. We’ll need to investigate further before—”
Why had they done it?
From the left came similar bewilderment.
“Exactly why it’s so strange, Heinz. Why on earth…?”
“Wasn’t the SA supposed to move only on Hitler’s orders? Did he use them for an internal purge?”
Why had they done it?
Even the DNVP and the rest of the conservative camp poured out their own doubts.
Why had they done it? A self-orchestrated drama? The risk seemed far too high. What could the Nazis possibly gain from such a farce? Our lowered guard? We would never drop our vigilance over something so transparent.
In any case, because it was no simple mishap—several buildings had been occupied and the human cost was considerable—parliament was summoned.
“We’re already busy. Must we really attend parliament?”
“Don’t worry, Chairman Heinz. The Social Democrats will manage the matter. We would appreciate it, however, if Representative Thälmann and a few other Communist delegates could appear.”
“Understood, Representative Wels.”
With that, I remained behind while roughly one hundred and fifty others, including Wels and Thälmann, headed to the Reichstag.
“It’s dizzying.”
“Dizzying? They’re Nazis. That Hitler bastard must have orchestrated the whole thing.”
“He really is meticulous, I’ll give him that.”
Whatever the SA’s true intentions had been, no matter how fiercely the two sides clashed, both were still Nazis. The only reason the entire affair felt so unsettling was because Hitler stood at its center. The man was simply too cunning…
“Why do these disturbing incidents keep exploding at the worst possible moments?”
“Exactly. If they’ve been banned, they should at least stay quiet like we do.”
Our Communist comrades vented their dissatisfaction as well.
“That said, we’re hardly in a position to criticize. We’re ignoring the demand to shut down the Worker’s Factory and keeping it running.”
“It’s not as if we’re the ones running it. The workers themselves operate the cooperatives. We merely offer passive protection.”
True, we weren’t exactly spotless either… But their situation involved an internal split, while we maintained a consistent line. So why should we feel guilty? On the other hand, the current course of the People’s Front did feel somewhat ambiguous. We had officially declared ourselves revolutionaries and therefore refused to recognize the legal framework that oppressed us, yet we were still being cautious to prevent any large-scale bloodshed. Struggle and revolution were vital, but so was ensuring that innocent lives were not endangered in the process. That was precisely why we were spending this time laying careful diplomatic groundwork—to minimize the damage after the revolution as much as possible.
“How’s the speech coming along, Emilia?”
Ernst, who had been chatting with the others, turned to me.
“Oh, I’m not working on the speech right now.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Preparing various separate submissions.”
“Really? Let me see.”
Ernst picked up the neatly arranged documents with a soft clap.
“It’s nothing special. Just numbers and figures. Proof that we’ve achieved this much… that sort of thing.”
“…I see.”
Current results and targets of the Worker’s Factory project, numerical production volumes, wages, competitiveness, our battles with the capitalists—documents of that nature. The kind of paperwork that Comrade Stalin, who spent every day in the Kremlin clicking away on calculators and reading reports, would probably love.
“What? What were you expecting?”
I let out a small snort of laughter. Ernst scratched his head sheepishly.
“You always come up with something strange. I thought maybe you had another surprise in mind this time too.”
“Ah. Pfft!”
The laughter finally burst out of me.
“If it’s Emilia, anything is possible.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me?”
We spent the remaining time laughing and chatting until our departure for Moscow, but the political world was not enjoying such peaceful days. Beyond the riot caused by the Nazi SA, fresh trouble had arisen.
“Poland has once again provoked the government over its claim to Silesia.”
The diplomatic dispute that had remained unresolved since Poland’s full independence in 1921 had flared up again. We had thought the Locarno Treaties of 1926 had settled the matter to some degree, yet—
“This time the problem concerns the precise border of Silesia. It seems Polish nationalists, acting on orders from the Polish government, have staged a riot in Katowice.”
It was not entirely incomprehensible that Poland would react this way. Silesia was a region with a Polish majority, and after centuries of German rule, resentment was only natural…
“Moreover, Poland continues to quarrel with Russia, so the problem is even larger.”
“The political situation there is already chaotic after the recent nationalist coup. This is like pouring oil on fire.”
“They must also be provoked by the emergence of a hardline German nationalist like Hitler here in Germany.”
“In any case, we have no reason to involve ourselves in ethnic conflicts.”
“That goes without saying, but if Poland supports counter-revolutionary forces after our revolution, what failed to happen in Russia thirteen years ago could very well happen here in Germany.”
This was a shared concern on the left. Russia in 1918 had barely avoided capitalist intervention and civil war thanks to the heaven-sent opportunity of the Great War, but the Germany of today…
“That is why we must alter the Comintern’s line, encourage a global left-wing movement, and appeal for non-intervention from the Workers’ Socialist International. Since the League of Nations refuses to listen to us anyway, the best option is to influence the legal parties in the West.”
“That may be true, but the military dictatorships in Poland and the Balkan states are unlikely to refuse Italy’s hand…”
“Hungary in particular is a problem.”
“Hungary…”
Until the Great War, Hungary and Germany had been part of a dual monarchy, but with Germany’s defeat Hungary had broken away amid a wave of nationalism, like the other kingdoms. Russia had once tried to establish a Hungarian Soviet Republic, but the military suppressed it. Now Admiral Miklós Horthy—who had held the rank of admiral since the Great War—ruled through a military dictatorship under the title of “Regent.” Because we had once shared a monarch with Hungary, the relationship was relatively close; it was obvious what Hungary’s reaction would be if the Habsburg Empire were abolished.
“Yugoslavia is also a problem.”
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia had a long and bitter history with Germany. After all, the Great War had been triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist. Relations could hardly be warm. Having doubled its territory by absorbing Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, Yugoslavia was unlikely to ignore German-held Slovenia (present-day Carniola).
“Territory isn’t what matters now. If Yugoslavia wants Slovenia, let them have it. If that accelerates revolution inside Yugoslavia, it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.”
“The problem is that the current Yugoslav leadership is building friendly ties with Italy. Facing Italy alone would already narrow the front, but if Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Poland all try to intervene against the revolution, the front becomes far too wide.”
“We can only hope Russia takes responsibility on the military side.”
“The Red Army alone may not be enough.”
“Then we have no choice but to trust them, do we?”
In any case, the diplomatic situation remained one step forward, one step back, and was not an issue we needed to address immediately. Let Brüning handle it. Our theories and positions had been largely established, internal stability with the Social Democrats was complete, and preparations were finished.
Four days before the congress, on Wednesday, May 20th,
“We’re off!”
The fifteen-member German delegation, including Thälmann and myself, boarded the train bound for Moscow.