V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:LS/v14;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

RECORD OF THE DEBATES AT THE ZIMMERWALD CONFERENCE

V. I. Lenin.

* RECORD OF THE DEBATES AT THE ZIMMERWALD CONFERENCE.¹

6 [September]

Ledebour’s saying: (NB)
Germ[an] S. D. draft (Ledebour’s)
Talheimer do not want *
Lachmeier

Remarks:
L[enin]’s draft “unannehmbar”** (according to Grimm’s arguments)
“detaillirte Vorschriften für eine Revolution”......... in einzelnen Fällen gemacht werden kann*** nicht in die alle Welt hinausstrompetet****
| repeated twice |.
(this will be Blutvergiessen)*****
—
| possibly, th[at] in s[ome] countries this is possible |______
to speak from a place where you yourselves are outside the war__ I will go
in front, and not call upon others (one must act by example)
| Dem[onstra]tion in Berlin: places in advance!!! ;
| one cannot say
!
(Never speak in a manifesto about such things a[s] demon[stra]tions and agitation in the trenches)
|We do not “prunken” mit Mute wie Radek, but we also agitieren
(((only words here, not deeds...... )))
* — do not want. Ed.
** — unacceptable. Ed.
*** — detailed prescription for a revolution...
in individual cases can be made. Ed.
**** — does not trumpet to the whole world. Ed.
***** — bloodshed. Ed.
****** — do not “shine” with courage like Radek, but we also agitate. Ed.

180
Sicherheitsventil gegen Verfolgungen
| ((gegen “Putsche”))*
[Summary] (plan?) of my speech in reply to Ledebour
1. Protest: ²
2. (a) wie in R[u]ssl[an]d
3. (b) 1847 we are going towards a period of the most violent
revolutionary struggles
4. (c) rev[olutionary] struggles?
5. Persecutions?
Military dictatorship.

Trotsky:
(“Erzieherische Arbeit” (?).......
...... “Zwei Mal Artikel schreiben”__³........
“Mayer more lively........
Verweigerung **** of credits
.... (Ledebour “wir können das uns nicht vorschreiben lassen”.... *****⁴

Serrati (“changement...... de programme”......) ******

Plan of my speech in reply to Serrati:
1) trop tôt ou trop tard
2) unanimité
3) Bâle
4) changement de programme
5) Engels “contre la violence”
6) constituer l’Internationale *******
*
— safety valve against persecutions (against “putsches”). Ed.
** — 1. Protest: 2 (a) as in Russia 3. (b) 1847 we are going towards a period of the most violent revolutionary struggles 4. (c) revolutionary struggles? 5. persecutions? military dictatorship. Ed.
*** — “Educational work” (?)........ “Write an article twice”. Ed.
**** — rejection. Ed.
***** — “We cannot allow this to be prescribed to us”. Ed.
****** — “changes... of programme”. Ed.
******* — 1) too early or too late 2) unanimity 3) Basel 4) change of programme 5) Engels “against violence” ⁵ 6) form the International. Ed.

RECORD OF THE DEBATES AT THE ZIMMERWALD CONFERENCE

Tuesday
7 [September]:
(“tant”, “lointaines” * (Modigliani) — (“so distant”,
views a[s] here )........
[Bourderon:]
Mayer:
Barski “for all times” cannot be rejected (or weism’)....
(you have anarchism—abolition of b[order]s)
Hoffman against “Verteidigungs-nihilismus” ** (and if Asia )
“Le Parti, Jouhaux et le gouvernement c’est les trois têtes sous un bonnet” *** (from Meerheim’s speech)

¹ The content of the debates and, in particular, the speeches of Ledebour and Serrati, as well as Lenin’s replies, are given by Lenin in his article “Revolutionary Marxists at the International Socialist Conference, September 5-8, 1915” (Works, Vol. XVIII, p. 302). In Lenin’s text, Ledebour and Serrati are not mentioned by name.
² Lenin protested against the accusation thrown at him by Ledebour that he was “from abroad” throwing revolutionary slogans to the masses. See about this V. I. Lenin “New Articles and Letters Not Included in the 2nd Edition of the Works”, Issue 1, 1930, p. 30.
³ This refers to Ledebour’s refusal to accept a decision obliging socialists to vote against credits.
⁴ This refers to Ledebour’s refusal to accept a decision obliging socialists to vote against credits.
⁵ Obviously, Serrati referred to Engels’ well-known introduction to Marx’s “The Class Struggles in France”, which all reformists tried to arbitrarily interpret as Engels’ alleged renunciation of the use of violent methods of struggle by the working class.
* — “so”, “distant”. Ed.
** — defence nihilism. Ed.
*** — “The Party, Jouhaux and the government, that’s three heads under one cap”. Ed.