Karl Liebknecht

[p072] - savagely murdered by Stalin (Yakir, Petrovsky, Antonov- Ovseyenko, Berziz, Yenukidze, Bukharin, Vavilov, Piatnitsky, and others) also expressing their concern at the rebirth of Stalinism and the tendency to forget the crimes committed by Stalin and his henchmen. The letter also recalls the decision of the 22nd Party Congress to erect a monument in memory of the victims of Stalinism. Translations of articles in Czechoslovak newspapers—the ‘Two Thousand Words’, Smrkovsky’s speech over Czechoslovak radio, etc. _ A list of persons subjected to Party and administrative repression for having signed various documents protesting against violation of Soviet law and of elementary human rights by the courts, the pro- curacy and the KGB. A typewritten text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reproduced in the USSR in small numbers - and only in special editions for jurists. A typewritten text of the (unpublished in the USSR) Pacts on Rights adopted two years ago by the General As- sembly of the United Nations: the Pact on Social and Econ- omic Rights and the Pact on Political Rights. The complete texts of the speeches made at the funeral of writer A. Kosterin. Among the literary works confiscated were Anna Akhma- tova’s ‘Requiem’ for those who suffered in Stalinist dungeons including her only son; a num- ber of Marina Tsvetaeva’s works not published in the USSR; ‘Tanka’, a poem by N. Korshavin which exposes the corrupting influence of Stalin- ism; the book ‘My Testimony’ by A. Marchenko, describing present-day prisons for politi- cal prisoners; and a type-writ- ten copy of Hemingway’s book, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. This list gives a fairly clear idea of the principle on which the confiscations were based. I hardly need add that every- thing I had written was also confiscated, even scraps of paper on which I’d written a single word. Thus I was de- prived of all my _ scientific work, my private correspon- dence, drafts of various docu- ments, including those already disseminated, as well. as those which had never left my desk. 46 It is clear that if I had not passed on the night before Korolenko’s ‘Letters to A. Lunacharsky’, Gorky’s ‘Un- timely Thoughts,’ and the verses of Osip Mandelshtam, these would have been confis- cated too. I had a copy of a manu- script of a book dealing with the first months of the Second World War—‘Notes Of An In- telligence Agent’, the mem- ories of V. A. Novobrantsey— with a personal inscription from the author. When the KGB agents de- cided to confiscate this work I vigorously protested that it could in no way be classified as falling in the category of materials authorised for confis- cation. Then fustice Comncillor Berezovsky, who had just received Vragov’s order to ‘confiscate!’, decided to dem- onstrate the book’s slander of the Soviet social and political order by reading the following sentence from the author’s foreword: ‘Stalin is dead, but the poisonous seeds sown by him continue to germinate’. After that I refused to re- main at the search any longer. But they didn’t need me anyway. Without even taking the trouble to make a note of half of what they were taking, they then threw the unrecorded items into a sack with the seal KGB 14 on it and took it all away. . Judge for yourself the degree to which the integrity of the sack’s contents is guaranteed! All the more so as the open- ing of the sack, in which I refused to take part because it would have been absurd. was performed in the presence of ‘witnesses’—who are all agents of the organization conducting the search. None of the true witnesses I insisted upon were invited. THIS is how the guaran- tees of legality were observed in this case. But this is not the only case that interests me What I would like clarified is the relationship between the organs of the Soviet procuracy and Soviet law. My personal experience in- dicates that these organs are interested in only one thing in political questions: collecting articles of the legal code which can give the appearance of legality to the savage despot- ism of the authorities. But I naively assumed that even for this it was necessary to know the law. Apparently, it is not. Obviously ‘specialists’ on the law collect the appropriate articles. But the practical en- forcers are in no way inter- ested in the laws. They do what they are ordered to do without asking whether or not it is legal. Berezovsky appeared with- out a copy of the Criminal Code or the Code of Criminal Procedure. With the help of friends present at my apartment I often showed him how he was violating the laws, but he only changed his behaviour with the greatest reluctance. The following incident shows how heavily the law weighed on him. As the search was drawing to a close my wife said, ‘That is illegal’. Berezovsky couldn’t contain himself any longer. He let all the irritation of a long day explode and said _ ironically, ‘Oh yes, What jurists you are! Look, your husband has a whole shelf of juridical litera- ture!’ IN CONCLUSION I would like to try, with your help, to answer the question: why was all this done? Was it a simple attempt at intimidation? That is doubtful. The KGB and I know each other too well to count on that. Well, perhaps it was moti- vated by the hope of finding something that could be used to build a ‘case’ and put me away in some remote corner from which I could not make my voice heard? It is entirely possible, but stupid. To stage a trial based on trumped-up_ charges is risky these days ana to count on my engaging in criminal activities ... No, the KGB knows me too well to rely on that. I too, have never counted on the stupidity of an enemy. Accordingly that leaves only one hypothesis: they wanted to control my activity, and at the same time to hinder my work by depriving me of my material and ‘means of production’. This last hypothesis is con- firmed by the fact that they confiscated my two typewriters (office and portable) with no official authorization. The confiscation of a type- writer in our present condi- tions is intolerable despotism. Judge for yourself. Taking a sample of a typewriter’s print requires only a few minutes. Furthermore the owner of the typewriter should be present. Why then were my typewriters ranficratad? At best, to deprive me of using them. At worst—I will explain it to you in case you do not yet know—to prepare falsifications compromising the owner of the typewriter. In response to my protests that I hadn’t checked the documents they had confis- cated Berezovsky asked me: ‘Are you suspicious by any chance?’. I fear that you too may ask the same question. And I will answer you in the way I an- swered Berezovsky. ‘I am not suspicious. I am merely indicating the possibili- ties resulting from procedural violations. And the future will show what will actually develop out of these possibilities’. In any case I don’t intend to wait passively for the out- come. Therefore I have decided to demand the annulment of all the violations of law com- mitted against me. Accordingly I demand: @ The immediate restitution of all the confiscated docu- ments and my two typewriters. @ That all illegal actions with respect to me and my family be discontinued: surveillance, observation of my apartment by visual and other means, the tapping of my telephone, and the reading and confiscation of correspondence. I assume that your authority and prerogatives (from the Strictly legal point of view of course) are sufficient to com- pel the appropriate persons to Satisfy my demands. It is in this spirit that I await your response. I hope that you appreciate that for 14 days I have held back from making my com- plaint, therefore leaving the ‘investigators’ time to examine their plunder. Hoping that you will take this into account, I will expect your answer in not longer than 15 days, the time fixed by the presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. December 4, 1968 Fourth International, Summer 1970

[p073] THIS book brings together for the first time in a _ single interest. As the working class, particularly in Europe, enters a new and decisive stage of its struggles, the revolutionary movement has the respons- ibility of establishing amongst the most advanced layers of workers the lessons contained in the rise to power of fascism and the destruction of the organized German working class. The material collected here reflects Trotsky’s insistent analysed in this volume was Trotsky’s decision of 1933 to begin preparations for the new Fourth International. Des- pite the numerical weakness volume Trotsky’s major writ- warnings of the dangers to of his forces he decided that ings on Germany during the the German and international Germany proved beyond doubt the impossibility of reforming the Third Inter- 4 national, which had been his perspective until this time. critical years 1931-1933. But they must not be seen as of purely literary or historical working class involved in the emergence of the Hitler move- ment. What added enorm- ously to the dangers was the criminal and sectarian policy being followed by the Kremlin during this period, a sectar- ianism forced onto parties of the International, including the German Communist Party Thus the greatest signifi- cance of the German events Above all, Trotsky’s analy- sis of Stalinism stands fully vindicated. ~ : - PRICE: TWENTY-FIVE SHILLINGS NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS LTD. 186a Clapham High St., London S.W.4. Telephone 01/662 7029

[p074] THIS book brings together for the first time in a_ single volume Trotsky’s major writ- ings on Germany during the critical years 1931-1933. But they must not be seen as of purely literary or historical interest. As the working class, particularly in Europe, enters a new and decisive stage of its struggles, the revolutionary movement has the respons- ibility of establishing amongst the most advanced layers of workers the lessons contained in the rise to power of fascism and the destruction of the organized German’ working class. The material collected here reflects Trotsky’s insistent warnings of the dangers to the German and international working class involved in the emergence of the Hitler move- ment. What added enorm- ously to the dangers was the criminal and sectarian policy being followed by the Kremlin during this period, a sectar- ianism forced onto parties of the International, including the German Communist Party Thus the greatest signifi- cance of the German events analysed in this volume was Trotsky’s decision of 1933 to begin preparations for the new Fourth International. Des- pite the numerical weakness of his forces he decided that Germany proved _ beyond doubt the impossibility of reforming the Third Inter- national, which had been his perspective until this time. _Above all, Trotsky’s analy- sis of Stalinism stands fully vindicated. ~ De PRICE: TWENTY-FIVE SHILLINGS NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS LTD. 186a Clapham High St., London S.W.4. Telephone 01/662 7029

[p075] Subscribe to Fourth International FOURTH INTERNATIONAL is the theoretical journal of the International Committee of the Fourth Inter- national. FOURTH INTERNATIONAL continues the work of Laspour REviEW which concluded its 12th year of publication with its issue of Summer 1963, the fifth number of volume 7. FouRTH INTERNATIONAL continues the work and traditions of Revolutionary Communism since the