Contribution to the 15^th International Communist Seminar
"Present and past experiences in the international communist movement".

Brussels, 5- 7 May 2006

www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org

The influence of the Communist International on the creation of a nationally united Communist party of Czechoslovakia

Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia

Czech Republic

By Radim Gonda,

Department of International Relations of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia

Dear comrades,

In my contribution I would like to describe briefly the question of influence of the Communist International on the process of creation of the nationally united Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, section of the Communist International.

In this context it is necessary to describe:

1/ the context of evolution of workers movement in the Czech lands in the first years after the I. World War in an outline of comparison with the different situation in other central European countries with relevant revolutionary movements (Germany, Hungary, Austria),

2/ the internal development of the revolutionary movements on the territory of the newly established Czechoslovakia and

3/ the process of creation and national unification of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and influence of the Communist International within this process.

1/ While the bourgeoisie in neighbouring countries of Czechoslovakia lost war, the state institutions and power collapsed and were profoundly disorganized and the bourgeoisie was temporarily ideologically destructed the Czech bourgeoisie on contrary was victorious, it smoothly took-over the state apparatus and power, it had its own repressive forces, it had a leading and omnipresent national ideology, it had cultural hegemony. In this respect the class struggle in the Czech lands was overshadowed with the ideology of national liberation that was used as a tool of control and pacification by the bourgeoisie over the working class. In other words the revolutionary situation in the Czech lands was objectively as well as subjectively not so favourable like for instance in Germany because the state was strong, the bourgeoisie was consolidated and organized and the workers´ movement was ideologically controlled and pacified with the national ideology.

On the other hand the workers´ movement in the Czech lands also had an advantage: a highly organized workers movement in the form of a social democratic party and trade unions. This was something that e.g. revolutionaries in Hungary did not poses in such a multitude. This Czech and Moravian advantage was nevertheless also bound with a problem: with a significant influence or burden of social democratic tradition and attitudes. It was a great task for revolutionaries to overcome this social democratic burden and it took a couple of years to do so.

2/ The revolutionary movements of the particular national groups on the territory of newly formed Czechoslovakia were different from each other. These differences were determined especially by different historical developments.

The Czech social democratic movement was a mass movement and it was highly institutionalised and organized. The split between social democratic right wing and the so called Marxist left within the party was progressing and came to a final rupture provoked by the right wing that was continuously loosing support in the party while Marxist left was becoming more and more stronger. The decisive battle between the right and the left came in December 1920 when social democratic right with state police force violently seized the Prague headquarters and printing works of the party. The Marxist left declared a general strike that nevertheless contained just partial demands. A strong conflict between the state power and revolutionary workers followed. The workers in some places established workers power and seized factories but the state brutally suppressed this revolt and thousands of workers were jailed. This conflict brought a decisive division between social democracy and communist movement in Czechoslovakia to its peak. It also showed openly the class nature of the state and alienated a large sector of the workers´ movement from the First Czechoslovak Republic.

The German social democratic movement in Czechoslovakia was also highly institutionalised and organized. But its evolution was partially different. The communist stream did not gain majority of delegates in the party congress in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) in October 1920. The German Communists within the German social democratic party wanted to create a nationally unified party with their Czech comrades to strengthen also their positions. Soon after, in January 1921 the German Communists decided to form a German branch of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia. That means that the German Communists decided to form a communist party earlier than their Czech comrades. The German Communists were also the second most influential left-wing group in social democratic movement in Czechoslovakia at that time. They were strongly influenced by the communist movement in Germany and they also had confidence by the Communist International.

Other left-wing revolutionary movements also exercised pressure in favour of creation of a nationally unified, centralised communist party accepting the 21 conditions of the Communist International.

Especially the Hungarian communists were under the experience of the Hungarian soviet republic extraordinarily active. Many of them fled to Czechoslovakia after Horthy´s regime launched a white terror in their country. Generally, the Hungarian left in Czechoslovakia was very important not only during the creation of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia but also in 1920s and 1930s.

The social democratic left in Slovakia did not develop a strong organization before 1918. In comparison with Czech lands the Slovak revolutionary movement was not so politically educated, it was organizationally weak, but on the other hand it did not bear such a strong social democratic burden, its members were younger than their Czech and Moravian comrades and they were more prone to radicalisation. So the communist movement in Slovakia was more spontaneous and radical than in the Czech lands. It was also more directly influenced by Hungarian and Slovak soviet republics and it was more directly influenced by the Russian revolution. In January 1921 the congress of the left wing of the Czechoslovak social democratic workers´ party in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ukraine in Ľubochňa accepted the 21 conditions of the Communist International and created a nationally unified party of Slovak, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian and/or Ruthenian and Jewish socialists in Slovakia. A leading role was played here by the Czech, German and Hungarian revolutionaries living or operating in Slovakia.

There were also other events directing the development of the left wing socialist movement in Czechoslovakia towards the formation of a unified communist party and its membership in the Communist International. For example, in February 1921 a nationally united Communist Youth Union (KSM) as a branch of the Communist Youth International was established. Its members were very active in the struggle for creation of a united Communist party of Czechoslovakia.

3/ The most important for the creation of a nationally united Communist party of Czechoslovakia and for its adherence to the Communist International was development within the Czech part of the Czechoslovak social democratic workers party (Left) that was led by Bohumír Šmeral. Therefore it is necessary to describe the interaction between Šmeral´s positions and the positions of the Communist International.

The Third International in august 1920 laid the Czech Marxist Left under an obligation to "create in shortest possible time a united, centralized communist party, incorporating revolutionary workers of all nationalities on the Czechoslovak territory." The relations between the Communist International and the Czech party were realized through various ways. Besides the congresses of the Communist International we can mention also resolutions and letters of the Executive bureau of the Communist International and special envoys of the Communist International in Central Europe that were also charged with organizing opposition against Šmeral´s line within the party. The Executive bureau of the Communist International also organized several meetings with representatives of the Czech party.

In May 1921 a founding Congress of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia was held. The Congress accepted 21 conditions of the Communist International and Šmeral was approved as leader of the Party. The Communist party of Czechoslovakia was established as composed only of Czech and Slovak organizations. In other words it was not a nationally united party incorporating all the nationalities in Czechoslovakia as the Communist International called for.

Šmeral made a speech where he summed up his general positions. He said that his party choose a method of gradual maturing from the social democratic into communist party, a method of teaching and experiencing the workers and winning them for the communist ideas organically and en masse. He stressed that conversion to communism was a slow and gradual process and not a jump. He distinguished two forms of disappearance of capitalism: 1/ a catastrophe, a rapid collapse or 2/ unstoppable rotting/decay, gradual decomposition of capitalism connected with consolidation of communist parties in Western Europe, increase of their revolutionary capacity and finally revolutionary explosion. He evaluated the contemporary situation rather as a period of gathering and organizing of revolutionary forces than a period of accession to revolutionary acts. He said that capitalism had reorganized itself between 1918 and 1921 and the new situation deserved a modification of tactics. Šmeral´s emphasis was put on creation of a mass party that was considered as the only tool for overcoming of the bourgeois state power and power of other political parties and for takeover of the state power by the revolutionary forces and creation of the dictatorship of proletariat in an industrialized developed country with consolidated state and civic society. Immediate task of the party according to Šmeral was organizational, material and ideological consolidation of the party. He also strictly stepped out against the so called "putschism" or coup d´etat without objective national and international revolutionary conditions. He also stated that it was not beneficial for a revolutionary party to go into open struggle and to takeover of the state power in the situation that was not, as he said internationally mature. Šmeral also preferred not immediate but gradual unification with German communist organization favouring action unity based on coordination through common top organizational body. He argued with different attitudes (Germans emphasizing quality, not mass character of the party versus Šmeral emphasizing mass character and gradual rise in quality) in the two parties that could obviously cause conflicts and thus difficulties to Šmeral. He found necessary some kind of federalism even after the unification of the parties. Šmeral also refused centrism but did not agree with strict struggle against its bearers and preferred communication with them with an aim to win them for revolutionary positions.

The Communist party of Czechoslovakia sent its delegation to the III. Congress of the Communist International in 1921 but Šmeral did not join this delegation from the start. Nevertheless the leadership of the Communist International considered it important to engage Šmeral personally into the negotiations in order to pave a way for solution of the problems in differing attitudes of the Czechoslovak delegation and the International. In the documents of the Congress regarding the Czechoslovak party was pro futurum emphasized what Šmeral´s leadership accepted with heaviest difficulties: "to pass through the 21 conditions... to insist on creation as fast as possible of the united communist party of workers of all nationalities...with solid communist program on the basis of centralism."

Šmeral´s positions were in many points formed and influenced by the mentioned social democratic burden and became a target of critique from the communist revolutionary point of view. It is useful to confront Šmeral´s positions with those of Lenin. Lenin´s objections to Šmeral´s views were generally focused on the questions of building and character of the party and of its international organization. Lenin e.g. commented with doubts a non-violent and not hasty way to proceed with minimal clashes and ruptures inside the workers´ movement. Lenin criticized a plan of building of the nationally united party first through common organizational body and activities. He found controversial Šmeral´s views of freedom of opinion and his casting doubts on interventions of the Communist International in Italy and Germany. Lenin very sharply responded to Šmeral´s opinion that an isolated revolution in a small state was impossible. Lenin also wittily noted: "Now, we got worried...whether the situation in Czechoslovakia arrives also at preparation for an attack or whether the whole case gets limited just to speeches about difficulties".

The internal pressure from inside of the revolutionary movement in Czechoslovakia combined with the influence of the Communist International soon led to unification of all the communist organizations within the Communist party of Czechoslovakia in October and November 1921. From historical perspective it turned out to be beneficial for the development of the communist movement in Czechoslovakia and for its capacity in coming decades to become an important political force that managed to start building of socialism after 1948 to create the Communist party of Czechoslovakia not as a tiny and marginal party but as a mass party. Nevertheless the party had to pass after its foundation and unification through a number of complicated conflicts and processes, especially through a process of bolshevisation climaxing in the party congress in 1929 when a new leadership led by Klement Gottwald took the party that on one hand brought decrease in party members and voters, but on the other hand it made the party a militant and efficient organization that was ready for organizing the largest strike movement in Europe in the first half of 1930s.