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墨書 Inktalez
"If I say Bukharin was shot dead by Strasser, would that count as dark humor? It's laughable and tragic."
In the office, four men stood motionless, as if time had frozen. Bukharin was stunned into silence, while Goebbels and Speer were contemplating whether this situation would lead to an international dispute.
As for Strasser, to be honest, he was also quite shocked. The accidental discharge of the Walther P38 pistol just now was not intentional; he had simply gotten a bit too excited. He really did not intend to shoot Bukharin in his own office. It’s ridiculous—if he truly wanted to kill Bukharin, there were plenty of other places to do it. Why would he choose to do it in his own office? That would be foolish.
The tense atmosphere in the room was quickly shattered by the sound of gunshots from outside as the guards burst in. The old door was quickly kicked open by the anxious guards, and a vanguard member and a security officer rushed into the office, one after the other.
"Are you alright, Comrade Bukharin?" the head of the security team asked nervously. If anything were to happen to Bukharin during this private visit, he would be the one primarily responsible.
The powerful figure from the Soviet Union was currently facing away from the captain of the guard, and no one noticed that a deep groove had been carved into his hair, styled with hairspray, by a bullet, with faint traces of blood seeping from his scalp. If Strasser had aimed just a little more accurately, this leader of the Communist International would have died eleven years earlier. After a moment, Bukharin finally managed to utter a sentence.
"I'm fine, you all go out."
"That's right, it was just a little accident. You all should go out."
Strasser chimed in.
The guards, who received a positive response, finally felt relieved and slowly walked out of the room, closing the door they had kicked open behind them.
As soon as the door was shut, Strasser quickly walked up to Bukharin with a fawning expression. "I'm sorry, Comrade Bukharin. I didn't expect this gun to go off. I truly didn't mean to; please believe me."
Strasser sincerely apologized.
"I believe, I truly believe."
Bukharin clutched his left chest, feeling a tightness in his chest.
"Because if you did it on purpose, then it wouldn't be my scalp that got hit, but my head."
"Comrade Bukharin, please have a seat first."
Goebbels astutely brought over a chair and helped Bukharin sit down.
Bukharin lay on the chair, truly not expecting that staying in Moscow was already very dangerous, only to find that it was even more dangerous in Berlin.
"Let's get straight to the point," Bukharin said weakly.
Strasser nodded and said, "Before Comrade Chairman's arrival, we had already held a meeting internally. We believe that considering the future of the revolutionary cause, it is necessary and timely to join the Third International." Strasser conducted a thorough analysis regarding whether to join the Third International and ultimately decided to join this organization.
Although Strasser does not believe that the Labour Party needs theoretical guidance from the Third International, he currently lacks talent. If the Third International could send people to assist Strasser in organizing the workers' movement in Germany and further develop its influence, that would be ideal. Moreover, Strasser could also strengthen control over various countries in Europe through the Third International.
Although the actual leader of the Third International is the Soviet Communist Party, this does not affect the situation. To achieve the final victory of National Socialism in Germany, it is completely acceptable to temporarily acknowledge the Soviet Union as the leader of the Communist International. "We would be very pleased if you are willing to join, but joining the Communist International comes with conditions."
Bukharin did not expect Strasser to agree so readily, so he recited the twenty demands regarding joining the Communist International that Comrade Lenin had drafted and presented at the second representative conference of the Communist International.
Strasser nodded along as he listened, noting that they seemed similar to the conditions he had read about in history books, though he was unsure if this definition was strict.
"Do you have any questions regarding these conditions?"
Bukharin After reading a long passage, he asked, "Is there, among them, the twelfth point: Similarly, regardless of whether the entire party is currently legal or illegal, all regular and irregular newspapers, all publishing institutions must fully obey the leadership of the Central Committee of the Party; publishing institutions must not abuse their power and must implement the party's policies thoroughly. The fifteenth point: Every party willing to join the Communist International must fully support every struggle of the Soviet republic against counter-revolutionary forces."
Article 17: All decisions of the representatives and executive committee of the Communist International, to which all parties joining the Communist International must adhere.
Article 18: In view of the above, all parties willing to join the Communist International should change their names.
"We do not agree with these four articles, but the other articles are open for discussion."
Strasser expressed his opinion. In his view, Articles Twelve and Seventeen are absolutely unacceptable. The propaganda machinery of the Labour Party must be under the control of the Central Committee, rather than following the directives of the Communist International.
Article 18 is actually the least important; after all, no matter how nice it sounds, it's just a name. What truly matters is the essence. If it weren't for the desire to avoid frequently changing names, Strasser wouldn't even bother listing Article 18. However, in reality, Strasser has more conditions, aiming to inflate prices while still offering refunds.
If it were the Communist International led by Lenin, Strasser might seriously consider obeying the central leadership. However, under Stalin's control of the Communist International, Strasser decided to prioritize the independence of the ethnic group and the Labour Party. He was well aware of what kind of character this leader of the Soviet Union possessed.
If we say that under the leadership of Lenin, the Communist International still had some idealistic color, then during Stalin's rule, the Third International completely became a tool for the Soviet Union to control other countries. The communist parties of various countries and the Labour Party or Labor Party are all branches of the Third International in terms of organization, so the directives issued by the Communist International to the parties always revolve around the Soviet Union's foreign policy, with the core and starting point being to safeguard the interests of the Soviet Union.
This is also the reason why Strasser is unwilling to further cooperate with the German Communist Party. The leader of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann, will completely lose his independence and become a puppet of the Soviet Union after the events in Vitebsk this year.
Strasser has no doubt about the expansionist ambitions of the Soviet Union; he desires a great Germany, not a Germany under the Warsaw Pact. He is currently only cooperating with the Soviet Union temporarily to counter Anglo-French imperialism.
After this, if the Soviet Union had any intentions towards Germany, Strasser would not mind opening the left faction of the Communist Party and re-establishing a Fourth International.
"This is impossible. The ethnic group must become a local branch of the Communist International in Germany to join it; your application cannot be approved at the conference," Bukharin dismissed Strasser's opinion. After all, the Communist International is equivalent to a political party, and the communist parties of various countries are merely its party branches.
"I don't think so. Comrade Bukharin is the chairman of the Communist International, right? With your support, we definitely have a chance to join the Communist International," Strasser said with a smile.
"Why should I approve your entry into the party in such a manner? This violates the principles of the Communist International."
"Bukharin" retorted. "Because I can support you in opposing Stalin." "Strasser's" words brightened Bukharin's eyes.
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