Barta 1941
Source: French section of the MIA;
Translated: by Mitch Abidor for marxists.org 2006;
CopyLeft: Creative Commons (Attribute & ShareAlike) marxists.org 2006.
Workers of the World Unite
Long live the Red Army of Workers and Peasants!
German capitalism has attacked the Soviet Union. The heroic Red Army, issued from the proletarian revolution of October ‘17, has now come to blows with imperialism. The hearts of the proletariat and the oppressed of the entire world beat in unison with the heart of the Red soldier: the victory or the defeat of the USSR will decide the immediate future of all of humanity.
The victory of the Red Army will open the road to socialist renewal; its defeat will make the entire world imperialism’s prey. Soviet comrades! It is in the consciousness of being the vanguard of all the oppressed, the vanguard of the world revolution that you will find the strength needed to stop the capitalist enemy. Your fight is ours! You are only a portion of the immense army of the exploited who are holding the front of the worldwide class struggle.
The enemies of the Soviet Union are the capitalists of the whole world and their supporters. All the imperialists: Germany, England, the United States, France, Japan, Italy and their allies have only had one goal: the destruction of the conquests of October ‘17. The current German attempt was preceded by the Anglo-French anti-Soviet attempt in Finland in 1939.
But torn apart themselves by profound contradictions, the rival imperialisms cannot entirely agree against the USSR. It is in this inter-imperialist rivalry that can be found the origins of the extremely precarious support that the bourgeoisie sometimes gives the USSR; it is in the profound hatred that the bourgeoisie nourishes against the October revolution that can be found the permanent danger of imperialist coalition against the USSR. This is why if Soviet diplomacy must distinguish between present and future enemies, communist policy must on the contrary raise up the exploited classes of the whole world against all imperialisms without stopping before the “momentary friendship” that certain give – especially in words- to the Soviet Union.
In the first place the allies of the Soviet Union are the workers of the imperialist countries. It is incumbent upon the German, French, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, and Finnish workers to block imperialism’s second armed attack against the Soviets. It is incumbent upon the English, American, etc workers to fight so that the greatest possible aid be given to Red Russia and, through independent class politics, to push aside the future dangers that imperialism is preparing for the USSR by taken power in their respective countries.
The peasants, everywhere crushed by militarism, will assist the workers in emancipating society forever from the wars to which imperialism gives birth.
The decisive military support will come to the USSR from the struggle of the colonial and oppressed peoples against their imperialisms, above all the magnificent Chinese and Hindu peoples. 350 million Hindus, 400 million Chinese, the Arab and European peoples constitute a bottomless reservoir of allies who can and must be made to rise up by a revolutionary policy. The first military intervention of the fourteen imperialist nations against the Soviets in 1918-1920 was smashed thanks to the indissoluble union of the Soviets with the proletarians of the imperialist countries and colonial and oppressed peoples.
In this titanic struggle, which is that of rotting capitalism trying to survive against the proletarian revolution, the military struggle which is now taking place is not alone in deciding the fate of the Soviet and world proletariat. Compared to the forces of imperialism the forces of the Red Army are inferior because imperialism still dominates 5/6 of the world. We must return to the internationalist concept of socialism on 6/6 of the globe, under pain of seeing it perish on 1/6 as well. The resistance of the Red Army must allow the revolutionary forces of the whole world to enter the struggle. The communist strategy has as its task the coordination of the struggle of the Red Army with the development of the class struggle in the capitalist countries.
Only an open struggle for the socialist revolution is capable of electrifying the exploited masses and making them ready for all the sacrifices needed to strike down capitalism. Unfortunately, the current Soviet leaders, in order to maintain the “support” of the imperialist rivals to Germany, hide the stakes of the current struggle: they proclaim “national struggle” the “war against fascism.”
“National” struggle? The conquests of October are the property of all workers.
Struggle against fascism? Imperialist Germany and the USSR above all else oppose each other as irreconcilable economic systems: capitalist economy on one hand, planned economy on the other.
“Against fascism” means that the Soviet leaders renounce bringing into the anti-imperialist struggle 350 million Hindus and ten of millions of Arabs exploited by so-called democratic English imperialism. Could a true revolutionary hesitate even for an instant between English “friendship” and that of the exploited Hindus and Arabs? The policies of the current Soviet leaders place the USSR in danger.
ONLY A TRULY REVOLUTIONARY POLICY CAN SAVE THE SOVIET UNION BY MAKING ITS STRUGGLE THE STRUGGLE OF THE COLONIAL AND OPPRESSED PEOPLES AGAINST IMPERIALISM.
The only movement that in this moment of extreme danger brandishes the flag of Lenin and Trotsky – organizer of the Red Army- and that remains faithful to the victorious principles of October is the Fourth International.
The Fourth International is the stainless flag of victory. Communist workers, socialist workers, unite around this flag! The Fourth International calls on you for the defense of the Soviet Union and for the world revolution.
Workers, all of you who have only your chains to lose and a world to win: USING ALL MEANS STOP THE IMPERIALIST WAR MACHINE FROM FUNCTIONING AGAINST THE USSR.
United in this common struggle German, French, Italian, Hungarian, Romanian workers will move towards the SOCIALIST UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, which will offer a fraternal hand to the USSR, so that together they can carry out the final struggle for the freeing of all of humanity: the Socialist United States of the World.
LONG LIVE THE RED ARMY! LONG LIVE THE SOVIET UNION!
LONG LIVE THE SOCIALIST UNITED STATES OF EUROPE!
LONG LIVE THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL!
June 30, 1941