Entering a Theoretical Void: The Theory of Social Fascism and Stalinism in the German Communist Party

Abstract

The German Communist Party slogan ‘Social Fascism is Socialism in word, Fascism in deed’1 demonstrated a dramatic ideological shift in the Comintern's parties. The term ‘social fascism’ was introduced to the German party shortly after the failed German revolution of 1923 and the subsequent period of relative stabilization, and by 1929 was being propagated as a theory. What is so remarkable about the term, and its development into a ‘theory’ is how the fluctuations in its popularity were mirrored by the power struggles taking place within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Comintern. The victory of the German hardliners and the transformation of social fascism into a theory directly coincided with Stalin's consolidation of power. The consequences of the theory, that is the creation and purging of enemies, the atmosphere of fear that ensued, and the shift away from Marxism were precursors to Stalinism as an ideology. This article will examine the metamorphosis of the term of social fascism into a ‘theory’, elucidate its development with the shift toward Stalinism in the Comintern, and explore the consequences. This article is based on research conducted at Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv, Berlin and the Hoover Institute Archive and Library. The analysis in this article is based on a combination of primary sourced communist party and Comintern documentation, including party propaganda, party bulletins and theoretical debates carried out in party publications. 1‘Was ist Sozialfaschismus?’ (1930) Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv [hereafter SAPMO] RY 1/I2/707/127 FBS 248/11605; Kursusmaterial Nr. 2: Grundzüge der leninistischen Strategie und Taktik in der gegenwärtigen Periode (Zentral Komitee der Kommunistschen Partei Deutschlands, 1930), p. 22: SAPMO RY 1/I2/707/99 FBS 248/11598; Earl Browder, The Meaning of Social-Fascism: Its Historical and Theoretical Background (New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1933), pp. 14–15.