Germany does not seek survival

Neither Liebknecht nor Zinoviev seemed to have expected that Faust would so directly reject the proposal to reorganize the Soviets.

Liebknecht hesitated and said, "The National Socialists have their own difficulties. I understand that the reorganization of the Soviets may reduce the representation of soldiers. This can be solved by adding soldiers' representatives to the Soviets..."

Liebknecht, however, said in a more friendly way: "If the National Socialist Party does not participate in the reorganization of the German Communist Party, the Spartacus League will have to reorganize itself."

Faust pondered and said, "Doctor, have you ever considered the issue of the Entente? The Entente will not allow the German Revolution to succeed easily. They will definitely intervene. The Entente's intervention will probably be two-pronged: one is to use the military to intervene, and the other is to use the Social Democratic Party to intervene. I think the most urgent task is to stop the Entente's two-pronged conspiracy."

Zinoviev said: "The purpose of reorganizing the Soviets is to fully mobilize the revolutionary enthusiasm of the proletarian masses. Then the German and Russian revolutions will be connected into one big movement, and the intervention of the Entente will inevitably fail."

Faust looked at Liebknecht and Zinoviev and said sincerely, "I will be frank with you both. I will not lie. Reorganizing the Soviets now would, firstly, violate the Four-Party Agreement and give rise to gossip. Secondly, it would force many people who originally supported the revolution to the side of the counter-revolution. The Soviet issue is not something that can be dealt with urgently. However, arming the masses to resist the intervention of the Entente is something that is very urgent."

Liebknecht felt that Faust attached too much importance to military issues, and naturally some people's malicious speculations about Faust emerged in his mind.

"Comrade Faust, your views are indeed too Bonapartist. You only value the army and ignore the power of the masses."

Faust smiled bitterly: "Of course the power of the masses is great, but even the greatest power needs to be organized and armed. Hasn't the situation in Soviet Russia proven this?"

The recent situation of the Soviet Union is not very optimistic, so Zinoviev hopes that Germany can carry out a full-scale revolution as soon as possible.

At the same time as the German Revolution, the Czech Legion rebelled within the old territory of Tsarist Russia, occupied Petrograd, and began to attack Archangelsk, the only remaining port city of the Soviet Union in Europe. Trotsky was ordered to go to Archangelsk to organize the defense. It is said that the city is still being held, but it is hard to say how long it can be held.

On other fronts, the Polish army advanced eastward and was invincible, occupying large areas of Belarus and Ukraine.

Denikin in the Caucasus region and Kolchak in the Far East both organized White Russian armies of more than 100,000 people, and were conquering cities everywhere. Denikin's troops were especially attacking Tsaritsyn, and Stalin was ordered to defend the city. This was also a battle that was vital to the life and death of the Soviet regime.

The situation in the Soviet Union’s own civil war was still unclear, but the counter-revolutionary counterattack that the German revolutionaries might face was likely to be much more powerful than that of the White Russian army.

The more Liebknecht came into contact with Faust, the more he felt that Faust had strong independent ideas. Faust was not, as he claimed, deeply influenced by Liebknecht's ideas before the war and was not a loyal disciple of Liebknecht.

However, Liebknecht still liked Faust very much. The German Communist Party lacked talents from the military. No matter which direction the German revolution would go in the future, talents like Faust must play a greater role.

Liebknecht said, "Comrade Faust, what do you think we should do? I am willing to follow your advice."

Faust replied seriously, "Doctor, on the surface, the situation in Berlin appears to be calming down. In reality, everyone knows that new and old forces are intertwined. Beneath Berlin's calm lies an undercurrent of unrest across the country. The royalists are not a concern, but if the Entente and the SPD join forces, neither can hold Berlin. My advice is that you should prepare to abandon Berlin in advance and establish a second base in the region for the next wave of revolution."

Zinoviev frowned, and the elegant Russian revolutionary's expression finally turned grim. "Abandoning Berlin is a defeatist argument. Giving up Berlin would be too much of a loss for the German Revolution. Perhaps it would even lead to its outright failure."

Faust said lightly, "If that happens, everyone will die if they don't leave Berlin. With so many dead people, what's the point of talking about revolution?"

Zinoviev said unhappily, "Mr. Faust, are you afraid of death?"

Faust did not answer. Liebknecht reached out to stop Zinoviev. Liebknecht did not talk to Faust about the revolution anymore. Instead, he talked to Faust about some daily life issues in Berlin.

Finally, Liebknecht said, "I will remember your advice... Comrade Faust, you have come a long way, so take a good rest today. Revolution is not something that can be accomplished overnight. In the future, we will still need you young people."

Faust stood up and said goodbye to Liebknecht and Zinoviev with a hint of reluctance:

"Doctor, you are the greatest card of the German Revolution. The name Liebknecht alone can unite countless people. Even Albert wouldn't dare to directly oppose the name Liebknecht. No matter what happens, I really hope you can remember this: your life, your continued survival, is more important than anything else."

Although Liebknecht and Luxemburg are often mentioned together, Liebknecht's prestige is definitely far higher than Luxemburg's. After all, Luxemburg is a woman, and even among revolutionaries in that era, she would be somewhat despised. Moreover, Luxemburg was not a German, but a Pole.

Liebknecht's father, Wilhelm Liebknecht, was also the founder of the Social Democratic Party. He had many students and former officials all over the world. Even people like Ebert and Noske had received favors from the elder Liebknecht.

Other trade union leaders, politicians from the Social Democratic Party and the Independent Party, and even many old aristocrats, old bureaucrats, and capitalists all had deep friendships with old Liebknecht. Only Karl Liebknecht could inherit and use these connections and political resources.

Liebknecht looked at Faust's sad face and seemed to have thought of something.

Liebknecht turned around, chuckled softly, and patted Faust on the shoulder. "Comrade Faust, in the Great Revolution, every life is of equal value. No one's life is inherently more important than another's. You make me sound so important, and you bring up the name Liebknecht. I'm ashamed of that... But I have a feeling that perhaps, in the future, you might be the card the German Revolution needs."

After saying this, Liebknecht turned and left with Zinoviev.

Faust looked at Liebknecht's departing figure and couldn't help but sigh: "Your survival is far more valuable than your sacrifice..."

Vasily stood behind Faust and asked, "Sir, should we arrange for the Stasi to secretly protect Dr. Liebknecht?"

Faust did not answer, but just shook his head slightly. Liebknecht was a man with a strong martyrdom complex. If Liebknecht really wanted to die, no matter how many people protected him, they could not save him.

Chapter 178 Labor Community

After Liebknecht and Zinoviev left, Faust knew very well that neither he nor the National Socialist Party could prevent the establishment of the Third International, nor could they prevent the Spartacus League from being reorganized into the German Communist Party, nor could they prevent Zinoviev's plan to quickly promote the reorganization of the Soviets.

These practices cannot be said to be wrong, but in Faust's view, they were undoubtedly inappropriate in the winter of 1918.

For the Germans, there is of course a big difference between the founding of the Third International in Moscow and in Berlin. If the Third International was founded in Berlin, it would mean that Germany would become the center of the world communist movement, and it would also avoid the problem of many people accusing Liebknecht of being a Russian spy. But if it was founded in Moscow, it would be difficult for a large number of Germans with national pride to accept it.

The same is true of the Soviet issue. In the future, the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committees can certainly be reorganized into Soviets, but if this issue is pushed today, it will definitely push large numbers of the urban middle class towards the Social Democratic Party.

Germany is not Russia. The middle class, including petty citizens, engineers, doctors, teachers, workshop managers... are numerous and powerful. If they turn to the SPD, it will be very unfavorable for the left-wing coalition.

The reorganization of the Spartacus League into the German Communist Party was soon put on the agenda. During the next week in Berlin, the Spartacus League did not take up arms as Faust emphasized, but instead spent a lot of time and energy on the party affairs of reorganizing into the German Communist Party.

During this period, Albert once again stood up and sang the high-sounding tune of "unity". First, in the name of the president of the provisional government, he launched a series of policies that ostensibly protected the rights and interests of the proletariat, such as promising not to exceed eight hours of work per day, expanding the social welfare system, establishing an unemployment relief system, and saying that he would soon formulate a plan to solve the workers' housing problem.

Shortly thereafter, on November 15th, Albert used his trump card again - organizing the so-called "labor community" meeting.

The so-called labor community actually means that the Berlin bourgeoisie and representatives of the major trade unions that emerged during the revolution can sit down at the same table and negotiate.

At first, whether it was Liebknecht, who was obsessed with reorganizing the German Communist Party, or Luxemburg, who had the most radical and firm stance, everyone agreed that the so-called Workers' Community Conference was simply a show put on by the Social Democratic Party to deceive the workers, and that the conference would not be able to produce any meaningful policies.

Faust thought so at first, but the whole process of the meeting soon made Faust realize that the German counter-revolutionary camp was not stupid. On the contrary, their methods were much more sophisticated than those of the Russian counter-revolutionary camp.

The Labor Community Conference was held at the famous Siemens Villa in downtown Berlin. This mansion was the Siemens family's private residence in Charlottenburg. It was designed by architect Paul Woloth and equipped with the most advanced electric lighting and central heating systems at the time. It was so large that it was no less magnificent than the palaces of some princes.

After the Berlin Revolution, neither the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee nor the Ebert Provisional Government issued a decree directly confiscating the property of the royalists like the National Socialist Party did, so the palaces in the city were only temporarily sealed off.

Many of the original office buildings of the imperial government were damaged to a certain extent during the November Revolution and the Battle of Berlin and were temporarily unusable.

It was Carl Siemens, the chairman of Siemens, who took the initiative to donate the Siemens Villa to the provisional government, which provided a venue for meetings.

In addition to the representatives of the four parties, the participants were representatives of several of the largest revolutionary trade unions in Berlin. Everyone took their seats first. Because the representatives of the revolutionary trade unions had close relations with the Spartacus League and the Independents, everyone naturally sat in a row.

Faust also met many familiar people here, including the Strasser brothers, whom Faust had met before at the Central Party Headquarters of the Independent Party.

"Comrade Strasser, long time no see."

Faust glanced down at the chests of the Strasser brothers, both of whom wore the compass emblems of the Spartacus League. "Have all of you joined the Spartacus League?"

Of the two Strasser brothers, the elder brother, Gregor Strasser, was much more influential. The elder Strasser puffed out his chest. He had served in the army, so he had a special admiration for Faust.

"Comrade Faust! Of course, there are too many Jews in the Central Committee of the Independent Party. This really makes people doubt. With so many Jewish Central Committee members, I doubt whether the Independent Party still has the determination to carry out the revolution and suppress the Jewish capital that is wreaking havoc in Germany."

In addition to the Strasser brothers, many other revolutionary trade union representatives who originally belonged to the Independent Party now also wore the badge of the Spartacus League, such as Wolfheim, the head of the Hamburg Revolutionary Trade Union.

Faust found it a little funny. The Spartacus League was not much less substantive than the Independence Party. Luxemburg was just a Polish Jew.

Young Strasser was still very young, completely echoing his older brother, repeating Strasser's theories: "Capitalism has had both positive and negative effects on Germany. The positive impact is industrial capital, primarily German capital. Although they also exploit workers, the process of exploitation, because it promotes industrial development, has a positive impact on German industrialization, enabling Germany to quickly develop a world-leading steel industry, precision machinery industry, and heavy chemical industry. But what about Jewish capital?"

Strasser, taking up his brother's words, said, "Jewish capital is primarily finance capital, which, unlike industrial capital, has a dual nature. Jewish finance capital has played a completely negative role in Germany. I long ago suggested to Kautsky that the nationalization of all banks should be announced on the first day of the revolution, but Kautsky refused."

"This incident made us decide to leave the Independent Party and choose the Spartacus League because at that time the Spartacus League was the only one that insisted on nationalizing bank capital."

"And," added little Strasser, "because you, Herr Faust, had not yet come to Berlin."

Faust knew that Kautsky's refusal to nationalize the banks had nothing to do with sympathy for the Jews, but was entirely because Kautsky was not as radical as Liebknecht in his nationalization policy.

In the eyes of the Strasser brothers, they understood that Kautsky was pro-Semitic and Liebknecht was anti-Semitic.

All I can say is that different people look at the world from different perspectives, and naturally see different things.

On the main stage of the Siemens Villa conference hall, Chairman Albert—perhaps we should call him President Albert now—this cunning fat man walked up to the stage, led the applause, and said:

"Now, let us welcome the representatives of German industry to our seats. After the revolution, I tried my best to persuade them not to leave Berlin, not to leave Germany. In the end, these industrial representatives, moved by patriotism, took great risks and stayed. Let us applaud and welcome them. Anyone who is willing to stay is not an enemy of the Republic, but a friend of the Republic."

The Social Democratic Party representatives at the meeting all followed President Ebert in applauding. Next to enter the conference hall was a group of gentlemen in tuxedos. Each of them wore a three-dimensionally tailored high-end custom-made suit. The leader was, of course, Karl Siemens, the owner of the Siemens Villa.

Everyone who came in behind Siemens had a unique identity. Even Faust, who was not familiar with the German business world, recognized many familiar faces among them.

"Karl Siemens, Chairman of the Board of Siemens AG."

"Hugo Stinnes, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Stinnes AG."

"Alfred Hugenberg, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Krupp Steel."

"Walter Rathenau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German General Electric Company."

"Karl Bosch, board member of BASF."

……

Those who entered the venue were all of prominent status. They were all capital tycoons in the German business world who could cause an earthquake with a flick of their fingers. The one with the weakest financial resources among them was Karl Bosch, who was also the second most important chemist in Germany after the Jew Fritz Haber.

The rest of the people, like Carl Bosch, are all big capitalists with strong technical backgrounds. In other words, their financial resources are so strong that the word "big capitalist" is difficult to describe them. They should be called monopoly capitalists.

This is also an important characteristic of the German bourgeoisie. Because the rapid expansion of German capital is linked to the rapid development of Germany's industrialization, many German capitalists, like Siemens and Bosch, are inventors and scientists who have left their names in industrial history.

The period of rapid economic development in Germany completely coincided with the Second Industrial Revolution. A very significant difference between the Second Industrial Revolution and the First Industrial Revolution was that the main inventors of the First Industrial Revolution were craftsmen like Watt who had not received higher education, while the scientific content of the Second Industrial Revolution was much higher than that of the First Industrial Revolution, and the main inventors were scientists.

Among this group of big capitalists, Siemens had the best personal relationship with President Ebert, and he also had high financial resources and prestige, so in this labor community meeting, Siemens was considered the representative of German capitalists.

Faust sat in his seat, already frowning. Good people don't come, and those who come are of bad intentions. President Ebert was able to put together such a situation. It seemed that the Social Democratic Party had slowly recovered from the panic since the November Revolution.

Faust turned back and observed the expressions of Liebknecht, Kautsky and others. It was obvious that the leaders of the left-wing coalition did not realize what Ebert wanted to do.

"Are you Mr. Faust?"

Chapter 179 Germany, united!

Faust was a little surprised that among these representatives of the monopoly bourgeoisie, someone actually came to talk to him.

The man who asked the question had a typical Jewish big nose, and on the collar of his tuxedo was a Star of David badge, representing the Jews.

"you are?"

"Walter Rathenau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German General Electric Company."

"Oh! Chairman Rathenau, I've heard a lot about you. I've heard a lot about you."

Rathenau was also an expert in electricity. He had a close personal relationship with the American inventor Edison and worked as Edison's assistant for a period of time. After Edison founded Edison General Electric Company in the United States, Rathenau bought the General Electric Company's trademark rights in Europe from Edison and returned to Germany to establish the German General Electric Company.

The Strasser brothers' evaluation of the Jews was biased, but they were right about one thing: German Jewish capitalists were mainly concentrated in the financial industry, and Jewish capitalists like Rathenau who were engaged in industry were relatively rare.

Like the group of big capitalists who participated in the labor community meeting organized by Albert this time, they were all industrial capitalists, and among them only Rathenau was a Jew.

"During the war, Chairman Rathenau, I heard your name frequently from the General Staff. As Director of the War Resources Bureau, I know you accomplished many things that no one else could have accomplished."

Although Rathenau was a monopoly capitalist, Faust still respected this Jewish businessman and took the initiative to stand up and shake hands with Rathenau.

During the war, Ludendorff advocated a "total war" system. However, as a pure soldier, Ludendorff had no knowledge of industrial management. Therefore, the adjustment of Germany's total war system was actually the work of Rathenau.

After the outbreak of the war, Rathenau became the director of the War Resources Office and founded the German War Materials Procurement Office to support the continued operation of Germany's massive war machine. In particular, in the military industry, without his presence, the production of ammunition in the Hindenburg Plan would have been impossible.

Rathenau lowered his head slightly. After the November Revolution, in the turbulent situation in Berlin, people like him who were both monopoly capitalists and Jews were in the most dangerous situation.

"Mr. Faust, you must be joking. Can coordinating wartime production plans still be considered an achievement today?"

Rathenau smiled bitterly: "I only hope that the Soviets will not regard this as a crime for which I should be hanged."

Faust shook Rathenau's hand and said, "You are worrying too much. The revolutionary government is not so blind as to kill innocent people."

Rathenau said: "The premise is that you really believe that I am innocent!"

Rathenau sighed and pointed at Faust. "Sir, I've heard about what you've been doing in Innsbruck and Munich. I understand you're organizing a committee for the socialization of the national economy in Munich. If necessary, I can recommend some very capable financial experts to you."

As chairman of the German General Electric Company, Rathenau was well aware of the potential for large-scale industrial concentration:

"The rise of the German economy was marked by the widespread use of electrical appliances, the introduction of the internal combustion engine, and the booming telecommunications industry – what is now known as the Second Industrial Revolution. New, technology-based industries such as steel, chemicals, electricity, and automobiles emerged on the historical stage, and small, specialized, owner-operated businesses gradually gave way to large, horizontally and vertically integrated, management-oriented medium- and large-scale enterprises."

Rathenau murmured, "Even during the war, we understood that improvements in transportation and communication technology made it possible to concentrate production in large factories, such as in the steel, chemical, and automotive industries. The key to achieving economies of scale in these industries lies in the ability to maintain stable operations at high production levels, which requires companies to have the ability to absorb raw materials backward or integrate forward into distribution."

"And to achieve this integration capability, Mr. Faust..."

Rathenau gave Faust a thumbs-up and said, "As you proposed in Munich, the national economy must undergo a socialized revolution. Major strategic industries and public utilities of social significance should be placed under public control. Only through unified planning can the problem of resource waste be solved."

Faust nodded. Rathenau became the actual manager of Germany's wartime industry during the war. His management style seemed a bit crude in the light of the planned economic model of later generations. But in 1918, Rathenau, a Jewish monopoly capitalist, rather than any revolutionary, was the most experienced person in the field of planned economy.

The difference lies in who is in charge of the planning, a revolutionary regime or a group of monopoly capitalists.

Faust said, "We have already done what you mentioned. For example, in the case of coal, both Bavaria and Tyrol have established coal administrations controlled by the revolutionary governments. We have acquired equity in many private coal mines and have unified production planning. In terms of management, we have also established labor-management decision-making committees to encourage worker representatives to participate in production decisions..."

In recent times, the order in Berlin is still somewhat chaotic and the public security is not very good. Rathenau, the Jewish capitalist, has received many threats. Under such heavy pressure, he originally planned to flee Germany.

However, as an industrial capitalist, Rathenau's industries were mainly based on physical factories and research institutes. Unlike financial capitalists, it was difficult for him to take these physical assets abroad. So after much consideration, Rathenau chose to take the risk and stay in Berlin.

Many of the big capitalists who came to attend the Labor Community meeting today had similar ideas to Rathenau, while others chose to stay after receiving some kind of guarantee from Albert.

Rathenau said somewhat dejectedly, "Mr. Faust, I support your approach. If the revolutionary regime in Berlin adopts the same policies as you did in Munich, I will definitely not leave Germany... I hope so. In fact, I believe that the revolutionary regime can find a balance between capitalists and workers. Otherwise..."

Rathenau didn't finish his words before changing the subject. "It's time for big business to make concessions," he said. "At the very least, they should transfer some of their shares to the state or some civic organization. Furthermore, those joint-stock companies should disclose their true financial data to the public, just as the government discloses its fiscal budget to the public. Big business deserves the same oversight as the government."

Faust's heart moved. He didn't expect that a super-rich and industrial giant like Rathenau would act like a stray dog ​​today.

It seems that these German monopoly bourgeoisie, perhaps because they have lived under an authoritarian system for a long time and are accustomed to being the lackeys of the emperor and princes, are far less "tough" than their Western European counterparts.

On the other side, after Siemens and many big investors took their seats, Albert announced the official start of the labor community meeting.