IX
Socialist revival of 1936
(from:
From Marx to Horner and Guérin; socialism in Western Europe before the Second Great War by Anthony Blair, London 1999)
During the rather peaceful decade of 1925-1935, the worldwide opinion began to accept the polarisation of Europe between the socialist West and the imperialist East. Worldwide German hegemony was sufficient to preserve stability, but not strong enough to topple the triumphant left-winged movements of France and Britain. However, the principles of material dialectism and historical inevitability soon proved this balance of power to be fragile.
Let's focus on the socialist world first. First days of 1936 brought the downfall of Marceau Pivet, the creator of the Second Commune of France, due to a lack of reaction towards German persecution of trade unions. Elections were held and a new goverment was organised, with participation of all socialist parties of France. Daniele Guérin, one of the most charismatic anarchists of the time, took Pivet's place, with his followers occupying military posts and intelligence, while orthodox syndicalists were put in charge of industry. The most curious choice was the promotion of Nestor Makhno - a former Ukrainian anarchists to the post of Foreign Commissar. Sébastien Faure remained in his post as the head of Commune.
The Berlin Stock Crash of February mobilised the socialist world. Republic of Bengal was first to act, organising a social-democrat government and attempting to begin cooperation with other Asian socialist movements. On the other side of the world, in Mexico, Vincente Lombardo Toledano, chairman of the Socialist Party seized power after Zapata's death, begining an intensified armament programme, aimed at the increasingly influentian right-wing movements of the USA, noteably Long's "America First".
May saw the rise of socialist government in Bolivia, as well as seizure of power by more radical socialist groups in Bengal. Later that summer, Ukraine got engulfed by chaos, as Nikita Khrushchev attempted a coup d'etat. Even though his attempt to overthrow king Vasily I and his ataman Skoropadsky failed, the resulting deorganisation was enough to effectively cripple Ukrainian industry and army. The triumphant socialist march ended in November, when roits in Rio de Janeiro toppled the burgeoise government, bringing Astrojildo Pereira to power.
All this, however, was overshadowed by two great socialist congresses; one in Paris and the second in London. The first one was held on the 3-19 of May, with delegates from all over the world participating. The combined vioce of the Third Internationale promised help for Spanish, American, Italian and Indian socialist movements. The questions of sexual equality and combined struggle against the burgeoise have also been brought up. Delegates from Mexico and Centroamerica, however, left the assembly on the tenth day, when comrades Glais (Brtain) and Dunois (France) declared that the question of Euroasian revolution should be prioritised before the American one. Nevertheless, even without their complete participation, the Congress resulted in unification of worldwide socialism.
The second congress, held in September and October, was aimed to reform British policy towards both the Internationale and imperialist world. Just as in the French case, the Congress created a coalition of various options; the Maximists, led by Oswald Mosley, remained in control of industrial resorts, while the Federationists, led by Arthur Horner, kept their authority over Union's internal policy and foreign relations. The biggest change came in military affairs, with the Autonomists' proposition of organising national armies being accepted by the assembly. Not everything went smooth, however; elderly comrade Snowden suddenly annouced his resignation from the post. The shocked Congress was unable to elect his succesor, with every faction supporting their own candidate. Ultimately, it has been decided that until 1937, a collective body will take over Snowden's duties.
Not surprisingly, the imperialists and capitalists responed with ferocity to socialist revival. Germany dissolved the Free Workers' Union, Spain delegalised the CNT-FAI, beginning a purge among all leftist movement in the country and the newly crowned king of Canada, Edward VII, denounced all the leftist movements. Italian Federation acted with surprising dynamism, proposing a unified Catholic front against socialism just days after Julius IV succeeded Pius XI in February. In light of those events, the Internationale once again revised her priorities, setting sight upon the USA. The presidental elections there gave power to Charles Curtis, closely followed by three other candidates. One of them, Jack Reed of the Combined Syndicates of America, quicly rallied his followers and supporters in Chicago, contesting the elections' results. Simmilar thing happened in the South, where Huey Long started organising America First's "Minute Men" militia.
On the New Year's Eve of 1936, the world was as far from stability, as possible. Thus came the downfall of "Pax Germanica".