V. I.

Lenin

396

To:   DAVID WIJNKOOP

Berne, March 12, 1915

Dear Comrade, The enclosed letter is from Comrade Inessa whom we have authorised to
work on bringing the socialist women of the Left closer
together. [1] I earnestly request you to find a Dutch woman comrade who
shares your point of view and could be delegated to the conference of
socialist women from your party (if not in person, at least in writing).

My congratulations on Gorter’s pamphlet, which takes such a hard knock
at the opportunists and
Kautsky. [2]

I shall be greatly obliged if you will answer me as quickly as
possible.

With fraternal greetings,

N. Lenin ( Vl. Ulyanov )

Wl. Uljanow. Distelweg. 11. Berne (Suisse).

---
Notes:
[1]
The letter was written by Inessa Armand on behalf of the foreign-based
section of the journal Rabotnitsa giving notice of the convocation
of a conference of Left socialist women and inviting the Dutch
Social-Democratic Party to send its delegate.

The International Conference of Socialist Women was held in
Berne from March 26 to 28, 1915. It was convened on the initiative of the
foreign-based organisation of the journal Rabotnitsa and with the
close co-operation of Clara Zetkin, then Chairman of the International
Bureau of Socialist Women. All the preparations for the Conference were
made by Inessa Armand, Nadezhda Krupskaya and others under Lenin’s
guidance.

Materials relating to the Conference were published in the Supplement
to Sotsial-Demokrat No. 42 for June 1, 1915.

[2]
This refers to the pamphlet by H. Gorter, Het Imperialisme, de Wereldoorlog en de Social-Democratie (Imperialism, the World War and
Social-Democracy), Amsterdam.