Notes: Includes plan and German text: Geschichte einer kleinen Periode

tes im Gegensatz zu den Interessen des Profils warzunehmen im
Stande ware.
«Jedem das Seine»: die Griitlianer als Diener und Agenten der
Bourgeoisie mogen das Volk durch Phrasen wie «Schulz der Neutralist» betoren.
Die Sozialisten, als Kampfer gegen die Bourgeoisie, sollen dem
Volke die Augen offnen auf die sehr reelle, durch ganze Geschichte
der schweizerischen burgerlichen Politik bewiesene Gefahr von «seiner» Bourgeoisie verkannt zu werden!
* TO THE ARTICLE:
"HISTORY OF A SMALL PERIOD IN THE LIFE OF ONE SOCIALIST PARTY."
END OF FEBRUARY 1917.
a.
* PLAN OF THE ARTICLE.
History of a small period of 35 days (January 7 - February 11), in a small country.
(or the collapse of Zimmerwaldism in the Swiss Socialist Party).
January 7. — Socialists Grimm + social-patriots against worker-socialists.
Platten's + Nobs' + Naine's protest.
Nobs + Platten give in; Affolter and Schmid reject the resolution on defense of the fatherland.
January 23 — Referendum = platform of the left.
Furious attack by the center on the left platform. Howling, filth, filth, howling (Grimm + Schneider + L. Schmid at the head). Huber**.
— Affolter and Schmid. Rejection of the defense of the fatherland. Reso.
— (Grimm Schneider L. Schmid at the head). Huber. Ed.

HISTORY OF A SMALL PERIOD OF ONE SOC. PARTY 

* To the nature of this bourgeoisie) than the defense of democracy in the true sense of the word, in contradiction to the interests of profit.
"Each to his own": let the Grütlians, as servants and agents of the bourgeoisie, deceive the people with phrases about "defending neutrality."
And the socialists, as fighters against the bourgeoisie, must open the people's eyes to the real, proven by the entire history of Swiss bourgeois politics, danger of being sold out by "their" bourgeoisie!
• January 22 — Volksrecht | Müller's (from Schulz) ultimatum
| Greulich's ultimatum (in the article, No. 4;
Large Article on the majority] and February 26, article 4 on the minority]
January 27 (Nobs) "does not share the motivation" (of the referendum])
Nobs renounces the motives of the referendum! Platten is silent.
January 31.— published February 1. Geschäftsführung. Half concession.
February 1. — Olten (No. 1) (Nil*** in print).
February 1. article Larraina].****
February 1. (article 1) Platten in Volksrecht
February 4. (article 4) Scheidemann oder Liebknecht?
February 6. Grimm "unites" Nobs + Platten (Olten No. 2)
February 9. "Ultimatum" of "Jak. Baum." Platten compromises (with social-patriots)
February 10. nil.]
February 9. Publication of new theses. ((Fertig!)) *****
February 11. Capital party congress. Apotheosis: first-class, solemn burial of Zimmerwaldism!!! ******
* — Large article. Ed.
** — Party management. Ed.
*’*— Nothing. Ed.
*** This line was added in pencil. Ed.
'*** — Ready. Ed.
’"*** — Apotheosis: solemn burial of Zimmerwaldism of the first class. Ed.

Platten in the 1st article on the Military Question (February 1):... "Certainly, the commission lacked the clear head and fearless, consistent fighter from Zimmerwald, who advocated putting the military question on hold until after the war"... "The military question is not only a battle of opinions on this issue, but also a direction for further party development, the fight against opportunism in the party, the decision against reformists and for revolutionary class struggle."
In the 4th article (February 6):... "Our party congresses must decide between the policies of Scheidemann and Karl Liebknecht......
n.
HISTORY OF A SMALL PERIOD OF ONE SOCIALIST PARTY.
January 7, 1917: Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Swiss Socialist Party. The leader of the "center," B. Grimm, allies with the social-patriotic leaders and postpones the party congress (which was to discuss the military question and was scheduled for February 11, 1917) indefinitely.
Against this, Nobs, Platten, Naine, and others protest and vote.
The greatest indignation against this postponement in the circles of class-conscious workers.
January 9, 1917. Publication of the resolutions of the majority and the minority. In the draft of the majority, there is no clear statement against the defense of the fatherland (Affolter and Schmid were against it), but in § 3, it is still demanded: "Commitment of party representatives in parliament, on principle, to reject all military demands and credits." Note this well!
January 23, 1917. The Zurich "Volksrecht" prints the justification for the referendum. In this justification, the postponement is sharply, but completely truthfully, characterized as the victory of the Grütlians over socialism.
A storm of indignation from the leaders against this referendum. Grimm in the "Berner Tagwacht," Jacques Schmid (Olten) in the "Neue Freie Zeitung," F. Schneider in the "Basler Vorwarts"—
all heap abuse and threats on the initiators of the referendum. R. Grimm leads this shameful campaign, especially trying to intimidate the "youth organization," and promises to take action against it at the next party congress.
Hundreds and hundreds of workers in German and French Switzerland eagerly sign the referendum lists. Naine telegraphs Münzenberg that the cantonal secretariat will likely support the referendum.
January 22, 1917. "Berner Tagwacht" and "Volksrecht" publish a statement by National Council member Gustav Müller. Müller sets an ultimatum to the party, stating on behalf of his group (he writes "our group") that he will resign from the National Council, as the "principled rejection of military credits" is unacceptable to him.
January 26, 1917. Greulich, in his fourth article in "Volksrecht," sets the same ultimatum to the party, stating that "of course," he will resign if the party congress adopts point 5 of the majority resolution.
January 27, 1917. E. Nobs states in an editorial note ("To the Referendum") that he does not in any way share the justification for the referendum.
Platten is silent.
January 31, 1917, the secretariat decides to convene the party congress on June 2 and 3, 1917 (remember that the secretariat had already once decided to set the party congress for February 11, 1917, but this decision was canceled by the party management!).
February 1, 1917, in Olten, a Zimmerwald conference convenes in incomplete form. It includes representatives of organizations invited to the conference of socialist parties of the Entente in March 1917. Radek, Zinoviev, Münzenberg, one member of the "International" (the Spartacus group in Germany, of which K. Liebknecht was a member), publicly lash out at R. Grimm and declare that his alliance with social-patriots against the socialist workers of Switzerland makes him a "political corpse."
The press persistently hushes up this conference.

February 1, 1917, Platten publishes his first article on the military question. Two statements deserve special attention:
First, Platten literally writes: "Certainly, the commission lacked the clear head and fearless, consistent fighter from Zimmerwald, who advocated putting the military question on hold until after the war."
It is not difficult to guess who this anonymous blow is directed against.
Second, Platten in the same article states in principle: "The military question is not only a battle of opinions on this issue, but also a direction for further party development, the fight against opportunism in the party, the decision against reformists and for revolutionary class struggle."
February 3, 1917, a private meeting of the centrists (Grimm, Schneider, Rimaté, and others) takes place, in which Nobs and Platten also participate. Münzenberg and Dr. Bronsky were also invited but refused to participate.
A resolution is adopted to "change" the majority resolution so that it is significantly worsened and becomes a "centrist resolution," especially because point 5 disappears and is replaced by a completely vague, nebulous expression.
February 6, 1917, a general meeting of members of the SDP in Zurich takes place. The most important point: election of the committee.
Few people gathered, especially workers.
Platten proposes to postpone the meeting. Social-patriots and Nobs are against. The proposal is rejected.
Elections begin. When it becomes known that Dr. Bronsky has been elected, the social-patriot Baumann, on behalf of four committee members, declares that he refuses to work with Dr. Bronsky.
Platten proposes to accept this ultimatum (to submit to it), as he declares (completely undemocratically and illegally) that all elections are invalid. This proposal is accepted!!!
February 9, 1917. Publication of the "new" majority resolution. Signatures: "centrists" Grimm, Rimaté, Schneider, Jacques Schmid, etc., then Nobs and Platten. The resolution has significantly worsened, and point three, as already mentioned, disappears.
There is no hint in the resolution of a fight against opportunism and reformism, of a firm decision to follow the tactics of Karl Liebknecht!
This is a typical centrist resolution, where "general," supposedly "theoretical" talk predominates, and practical requirements are deliberately formulated so weakly and vaguely that one can hope that not only Grimm and G. Müller, but even Baumann (Zurich) will perhaps take back their ultimatum and... grant amnesty to the party.
Result: Zimmerwaldism is ceremoniously buried in the "swamp" by the leaders of the Swiss party.
Addition, The St. Gallen "Volksstimme" (where Hüber = Rorschach often writes) on January 25, 1917:
"To this shamelessness (i.e., the justification for the referendum) it is enough to counterpose the fact that the proposal for postponement (January 7) was made by Comrade Grimm and energetically defended, among others, by Comrades Manz, Greulich, Müller, Affolter, and Schmid."
"Basler Vorwarts" on January 16, 1917, reports that the following comrades proposed the postponement on January 7: "Grimm, Rimaté, Studer, Münnch, Lang = Zurich, Schneider = Basel, Keel = St. Gallen, and Schnurrenberger." (sic!!? Possibly a typo? Should be: Schneeburger?)
Workers have every reason to be grateful to both newspapers for publishing these names!..
1 The drafts of the majority and minority resolutions of the commission were published under the common title: "Proposals of the Military Commission" in No. 7 "Volksrecht" on January 9, 1917.
2 In No. 19 "Volksrecht" on January 23, 1917, in the section: "From the Party" (From the Party), the appeal of the initiative group for organizing the referendum is published without any commentary under the title: "The Referendum Against the Decision of the Party Executive Has Begun." The appeal is signed by A. Bucher.
3 In No. 19 "Berner Tagwacht" on January 23, 1917, in the section: "Party News" (Party News), an anonymous editorial note: "The Referendum" is published, containing a sharp attack against the referendum and against the newspaper "Volksrecht," which published the appeal for the referendum. Additionally, the note cites articles from three other Swiss socialist newspapers listed by Lenin. We were unable to obtain these newspapers. Apparently, Lenin drew material from this same note. The individuals indicated by Lenin were the editors of the respective newspapers.
Greulich's fourth article: "On the Defense of the Country" (Zur Landesverteidigung) is published in No. 22 "Volksrecht" on January 26, 1917. Point three of the majority proposal, against which Greulich issued an ultimatum, reads: "Obligate all party representatives in parliament to reject, on principle, all military demands and credits."
5 In No. 23 "Volksrecht" on January 27, 1917, in the section: "From the Party" (From the Party), an anonymous editorial note: "To the Referendum" (To the Referendum) is published, with a sharp criticism of the "Appeal" calling for the referendum (see footnote 2).
6 There are no materials or records of the meeting in Olten available to the Institute.
7 In No. 27 "Volksrecht" on February 1, 1917, the lead article by F. Platten: "The Military Question" (Die Militärfrage) is published. Continuations of the article are printed in No. 28 on February 2, in No. 30 on February 5, and in No. 31 on February 6, 1917.
8 The draft amendments to the majority proposal of the commission is published in No. 34 "Volksrecht" on February 9, 1917. "Proposals for Amendments to the Resolution of the Majority of the Military Commission" (Änderungsanträge zu der Resolution der Mehrheit der Militärkommission).