The history of the 'Communist' Party of South Africa. Part three

'Communist' Party PAGE TWO THE BETRAYAL of the non - European workers in industry by the South African Communist Party's operation of the Industrial Conciliation Act began during the period when the Stalinist bureaucracy suddenly reversed its foreign policy of 'anti-imperialism' to 'social-fascism' and adventurism, and turned over onto its stomach with a 'right turn'.

Democracy had to be saved, fascism destroyed, Popular Fronts built up in place of the "revolutionary struggle against imperialism, old enemies made friends, old friends made enemies, expellers expelled, the old expelled reinstated as the new expellers, the black republic' dropped and replaced by "democratic' slogans.

The Simons make little analysis of the relation between Stalinism and the CPSA in this period.

Nor do they explain the social reasons why the Popular Front carried the white leadership of the CP, as it was, so readily along with the new policy, which was really return to the old days wner Andrews, Sachs and flourished.

policy appealed strongly to new The fact is that the which made way rapidly into the Left Book Club, the Anti-Fascist League and other Popular Front setips, and into the CP and its leadership The book of the Simons does, however, contain much useful material CPSA activities in this period. Thus they show that the CPSA repeated its 1923-1924 policy of moving close to the Afrikaner worker and radical, by issuing an Afrikaans monthly, 'Die Arbeider en Arme Boer' in January 1935 (p. 471). Afrikaners began to move into the CPSA.

The Anti-Fascist League, formed in March 1934, and the Friends of the Soviet Union, a patronizing, liberal, reformist organization dominated by proto - Zionists and other 'radicals, drew sections of the urban white middle class closer to the CP.

Labour Party "members helped to form the Anti-Fascist League (p. 471), which had no compunction in admitting profascists (pro-colour bar) members into an 'anti-fascist' front.

While the All-African Convention (AAC) against the 1935 Hertzog land and franchise bills was being formed, the initiated a League Bach importance and were suspended Korane toe sions aned was ed expulSIonS political positien the militant ne Kotane and togetner wi!n koux, Richter anc state the against Kotane vomas.

Both had, however, backed the "Third Period' line.

Simons reports (p. 477) that both, plus the brother of Richter, were expelled by the Comintern from the Party "for having shielded a follower of Leon Trotsky' (p. 477).

"The three men', write the Simons, 'were put on trial, sentenced to death and executed' (p. 477. 'South African Worker', June 19, in its paper given to Bantu languages (p. 479).

COLOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA' The South African Communist Party physically attacked Trotskyists who condemned them for glorifying the Nazi-Soviet Pact—Molotov is seen above with Hitler in Berlin in 1940. 1937. 'Sunday Express', July 18, 1937).

Thus former leading members of the CPSA were executed in Moscow by the The Simons have absolutely no comment on this!

Small wonder, for both were, at the time, deeple involved supporting Moscow Trials, and have no critical comment to make on this counter-revolutionary annihilation of the Bolshevik vanguard in the 1930s.

The Comintern was represented in South Africa for most of 1936 by George Hardy from the British Communist The CPSA was thus under the influence of a combination of chauvinistic British social democracy: (via the British CP), of Stalinism and of white liberalism patronizing an ineffectual and weak nonEuropean petty-bourgeoisie.

A worse combination could scarcely be imagined.

In this period, leading CP members like Sachs, leader of a segregationist Afrikaner Garment Workers' Union, could dare to propose an all-white front, for he 'wanted to free the hundreds of thousands of poor whites trom imperialism and fascist influences' (p. 478. 'South African Worker', January 1, 1939, February 5, 1938).

Hardy, in opposing Sachs, proposed, instead, what amounted to a white-controlled "common front' with the AAC as a member to 'assist in maintaining the higher standards of the white workers, while obtaining better wages for Africans' (p. 478).

The British Comintern representative thus counselled the CPSA on the basis of white supremacy racialism.

In giving up temporarily the struggle against imperialism and fighting, instead, 'to ward off fascism and war' (p. 478), the CPSA reduced the space A REVIEW OF 'CLASS AND atives 'sat on the plattorm'.

The leadership swung from the executed white, Bach, into the hands of men like Issy Wolfson, a Jewish, local-born white who, with Kalk, led the Party on the Rand after joining it only in 1934.

The CP proposed to support the segregationist Labour Party in provincial council elections. 'It was a pity that they stood complete segregation' (p. 480), "This apart, Labour was sincere ... ' (p. 480).

Sach's policy of an all-white front was enforced by Hardy.

"The Party joined in forming an all-white People's Front at a conference called in October' (p.480).

Bill Andrews warned: 'Let us not discuss details and reforms [ie segregation] in face of the great danger' (Forward', October 9, 1936).

The objections of Kotane were swept aside. The CP leaders were in no mood to hear his cry that 'anti-fascists were defending the existing state of affairs, which was rotten in the eyes of Africans and Coloureds' (p.48l. Minutes of CPSA meeting, Johannesburg, December 29, 1938).

Violating the policy of noncollaboration put forward within the All-African Convention by its real left wing, the CPSA 'put up its own candidates in elections held at that time under the Representation of Natives Act' (p.482).

A white advocate, Basner, later a leading liberal 'Native Representative' Senator, stood for the all-white Senate.

Harry Snitcher - later to leave the CP and author of the statement that 'under the Afrikaner nationalist lay a socialist'-stood for election to the all-white parliament.

The secretary-general of the party, Mofutsanyana, summed up the CP's role at the time:

'We have to admit a complete betrayal of the African people' (p.484).

is distilusionment led him o suggest a separate Africar section' of the Party, because the African members 'felt that the Party was not their own' but 'leaned heavily on' (was dominated by) 'the whites' (p.484). issued a call for a national convention of 'Bantu, Coloured, Indian, Malay' in September, 1937.

He spoke in 1936 on a platform together with bishop, a rabbi, Mrs Ballinger' (p. 479) and Labour Party and St John Ambulance representThe issue led to the removal of the Party headquarters to Cape Town from Johannesburg.

In Cape Town the new political bureau of six contained four Europeans, including Andrews and both Ray Alexander and H. J. Simons, authors of the book under The : new headquarters, set up at the end of 1938, made no change in policy. This, in turn, intervened more sharply on important anti-segregation organizations of which Cape Town had become the centre.

The Liberation League IN DECEMBER 1935 La Gum (of 'black republic' fame) and Cissie Gool, a recruit to the CP, led the newly-formed National Liberation League, an individual-membership organization against apartheid.

The aims included full poli ical equality. When the League opposed 'organization on racial and sectarian lines, R. Bridge man, international secretary of the League Against Imperialism, tried in vain to get the acceptance of racially segre gated organizations.

The League became more principled and militant when the late Dr Gool became the new president and This, the other side of the Popular Front (with the white liberals), was intensified in the Non-European United Front (NEUF), born out of the NLI in Cape Town in March 1938.

Dr Gool, the Simons do not tell us, was of a new generation who were to be persecuted as Trotskyists by the CPSA.

This generated the Left Opposition and, the Workers' Party and later Fourth International Organization. In Cape Town, Johannesburg and elsewhere they WCIC CPSA's most formidable opponents the turopeans Or Gool declared:

'Our only hope lies in unify. ing all those forces that feel the weight of oppression as we do, into a cohesive and determined whole in opposition to imperialism' (p.489. 'Liberator', vol. 1, No. 5, 1937).

The Simons gloss Others or work of Gool and others similar views by means of a thet are virtually dismissed as colourea intellectuals.

ist movement are conveniently.

omitted.

This, despite the verbal and physical attacks on the 'nonEuropean Trotskyists', as the CP chose to label them, in the National Liberation League and the AAC where they steadily fought for a policy non-collaboration as the basic method of struggle against apartheid At best, the Simons refer to this group as a stores aft-wing group, foresaw futility of working the Native Representation Act, as the CP was aoing, WiTh the liberals, yet made no headway against the missionary-trained reformist leaders, lured by the meagre stipend or the prestige of sit ting in a mock parliament' (p.495).

The Left Opposition in the Convention lost in the attempt o get the AAC to accept th boycott of separate racial elec other portunists playing into Simons comment feebly: "A foundation member of the British CP, Hardy 1884-1965) suspected a Trot kyist in every left-wing critic of communist policy' (p.496).

Against the Trotskyist polic of boycott as a weapon of th of non-collaboration, Hardy and the other white CP leaders proposed a policy 1936 working the apartheid Native Representation Act People's Front Organi south (p.496 CPSA, 'Organize Thus the Popular Front meant no more and no less than collaboration with the system of apartheid.

Nor could it be otherwise, for its essential basis was class-collaboration between the oppressed and their (liberal", "democratic") oppressors.

'Anti-fascism meant only the acceptance of the fascist system of totalitarian colour discrimination in South Africa.

The CP, assisted by the missionary-trained reformist leaders' defeated the Trotskyists of the All African Convention, al the moment when African workers at Vereeniging (September, 1937) and elsewhere were being killed, wounded and jailed by the olice of the system which the CP was defending against the boycott.

The CPSA carried its policy into the League where, as the they split the organization is Simons again do not tell the struggle against the so-called Trotskyists.

The NEUF called for a 'nonEuropean United Front of Africans, Coloured and Indians against all colour bars, and hoped that white labour would support their efforts to secure equality' (p.501).

A year later, on March 27, 1939, the NEUF organized a giant demonstration 1n Cape Town against the colour bar.

The government, for the moment, 'dropped its own [additional] segregation proposals. For once the militants could claim that they had blocked the way to racial totalitarianism' (p.502).

The CP waged a bitter war on the Trotskyists in the NEUF and NLL.

They expelled La Guma, Dr Gool and others.

The Simons say nothing about the real content of the struggle, but run away from the history of the time in a series of strange mis-statements.

They say (p.503) that Gool was backed by 'a group of white Trotskyists calling themselves the Workers' Party' (p.503). Unlike the CP of the time, the Workers' Party was not led or composed mainly of whites.

They say that the Workers' Party and its organ, 'Spark gave rise to the notion that the League or the Coloured intellectuals who composed it[!] were followers of Trotsky' (p.503). Decemi

In what sets out to be a history of the liberation movement, the Simons make not the least attempt to describe the origins, rise, influence, activities and policies of the Workers' Party and 'Spark", irrespective of how significant and weighty these were in the anti-apartheid movement of the late 1930s and afterwards.

They make only empty, eva'Communists, munists Trotskyists and sive such that members of every racial group sat together at a non-European United Front Conference in Cape Town on April 8, 1939; the Fourth International was represented and also the New Era Fellowship, a students' society allegedly under Trotskyist influence' (p.504).

Nor do they deal at all with the contribution of the New Era Fellowship, which played a role not unlike that of the early Jacobin and Cordelier Clubs in the days of the early French Revolution, in bringing liberatory consciousness to the oppressed.

Nor yet do they describe the real cause for the collapse of the NLL and NEUF, namely that they were killed by the CPSA for the sake of the "war against fascism'.

They say only that 'Dadoo [a CP leader-to-be] ... called off the campaign [a passive resistance struggle] ... The impact of external events had once again turned the national liberation movement away from the path of mass struggle' (p.507).

The facts, as the Simons fail to relate, are that the CPSA liquidated the NLL and the NEUF at conferences called after the Nazi invasion of the USSR.

Before this destruction of the most advanced anti-imperialist organizations formed (TLC) which discriminated against Africans.

up to that time, the CP was to go through a period of virtual collaboration with the Afrikaner Nationalists who now govern South Africa.

Not only on the political but also on the industrial front the CP worked segregation-quite apart from its working of the Industrial Concilliation Act.

During the Popular Front period, in 1937, Kalk of the CP, on the basis of a policy initiated by Hardy, of the British CP, proposed a scale of wages to the white-dominated Trades and Labour Council The 'anti-war period WHEN THE WAR broke out n August 1939, the CISA declared it to be 'an imperialist war for raw materials, markets, capitalist domination and the power to exploit colonial peoples in Africa and Asia' (p.528).

"The Communist Party, say the Simons, influenced by Hardy's reformist ideas and the argument that displacements might outweigh the benefits of equality, proposed "as an mediate practical measure", a differential minimum rate 10s. [a day] for whites and 5s. for Africans' (p.514. 'Umsebenzi, July 11, 1936).

Kalk's motion to the TLC, backed by Andrews and Wolfson, was based on Hardy's colour bar.

The white CP wage segregationists were opposed by a Coloured dockers leader, October, who said that many of members were, in fact, earning 8s. a day, or more than the wage proposed by the CP.

October was outvoted and the TLC backed Kalk's colourbar policy (p.515. TLC, Report of 7th Annual Conference, 1937). racial discrimination at home'.

It declared that there could be no war for democracy when there was 'a vicious system of war policy of Nehru, who, however, did not reverse his attitude in 1941, was jailed for being anti-war.

"The fight against fascism must start in our own country' (p.529).

Despite his own statement of the fact that the CP reversed this line after the invasion of Russia by Hitler, Simons says "That was the keynote of communist policies throughout the war' (p.529).

The I NLL and NEUF said that 'the first duty was to Rights' modelled struggle for democratic fights on the home front' (p.53l. 'Guardian', December 22, 1939), but La Guma and some others followed the Popular Frontist line out logically and enlisted in a segregated IndianMalay corps.

Simons has nothing to say about these whom the CP continued to call 'Trotskyists' and who, unlike the CP, maintained an anti-war, anti-imperialist line throughout the whole of the war.

Nor has he anything to say of their leading role in the NEUF until its liquidation by the CP in 1941.

Dadoo, following the antiwar' when they followed the Party in supporting the war of Smuts in 1941, despite the fact that full democratic rights, freedom and independence were not extended to the oppressed peoples of South Afria, tadia and the colonies.

He declared in 1940 and in 1941, just before the CP reversed its line, 'that the war would be just only if full democratic rights, freedom and independence were extended to the oppressed peoples of South Africa, India and the colonies' (p.533. 'Guardian' , August 29, 1940, June 2, 1941).

The CP expediently "forgot about Dadoo's and also Kotane's definition of a 'just IN JUNE 194], when Hitler's troops invaded the USSR, the CPSA adopted apro-war policy, covering up their reversal of policy by demanding that Churchill, Roosevelt and Smuts 'grant democracy' to the non-Europeans and arm them to fight for the democracy that did not exist in South Africa.

Unlike the anti-colour-bar policy of the anti-war Trotskyists, the CP continued to work apartheid during its 'anti-war' period.

Sachs, for example, submitted a clause to Madeley, Minister of Labour in the warcabinet, which 'would allow a factory inspector to prevent "objectionable contact" between white women and employees of any other class' (p.534).

'In 1940 his Garment Workers' Union in Johannesburg established a separate branch Coloured members' (p.535. 'Guardian', September 26, 1940).

The Simons say: 'Once introduced, segregation gradually spread, until it included separate entrances, lifts and offices for Coloured and African garment workers.

*They resented segregation, and Sachs maintained that it was the only way by which he could appease the "violent pre. ¡udices" of his white members' (p.535. TLC, Report of Annual Conference, 1942).

The Simons evade the 'flirtation' of the CPSA with the Nationalist Party from 1939 to June 1941.

During this time the CP published a special paper, 'Ware Republikein' in order to attract Afrikaner members.

It held joint meetings with Nationalist Party speakers, even while 'condemning' the Nationalists as Nazis.

In Johannesburg the CP organized special meetings from which non-Europeans were explicitly debarred in order to educate' Afrikaners to socialism and 'overcome' their colour prejudices.

At the same time as 'coquetting' with the Nationalists, CP members physically attacked Trotskyists who condemned them for glorifying the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

The book says nothing of all this, nor of the work of the Workers' Party, the Fourth International Club and the organ, 'Workers' Voice' in the war.

The dependence of the CP

December

on a white middle-class base was reflected by the sudden 545. NEUM, Conference, January 1945), secretary-gegeral of the SPA, which urged Africans struggle for full citizen rights THE REAL reason why PAGE imperialism has drained and