World War I arose from the major imperialist European
powers’ desire for expansion. It aimed to conquer new markets and resources,
and to re-allocate the given ones. As the co-founder of the Communist Party of
Germany, Karl Liebknecht, soon stated, it was “a capitalist war of aggression
and conquest”. At the same time, it was an opportunity for the rulers to
contaminate the working class’s conscience in their countries with the poison
of opportunism, nationalism and chauvinism.
In summer 1914, there were two tight military blocks
opposed in Europe: the tripartite alliance of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy
versus the Entente of England and France which then also Russia allied with. In
1915, Italy entered the war siding with the Entente .
The Sarajevo assault was a very welcomed opportunity for
the great powers, already eager for war, to put their strategic concepts into
practice. A war followed, which for the first time in history held grip of all
continents. 38 countries were involved, not counting the then colonies. Also
for the first time ever, a war was waged in industrial manner. Seven million
people fell victim to the manslaughter. Civilians became victims of famine and
diseases in dimensions unknown before. 20 millions were wounded and crippled,
and an incredible amount of values destroyed.
The slaughters ended by the aggressors’ military defeat.
The November Revolution in Germany and the revolutions in Austria, Hungary and
other countries were stalled because of the right-wing social democratic
leaderships’ active role in crushing the Revolution. In Germany the monarchy
was overthrown and the republic was founded, but the generals, however, and the
powers of the monopolist capital remained. Their political survival gave way
for World War II later on.
The social democracy split in the course of World War I.
The revolutionary forces separated from the 2 nd International and founded
Communist Parties all over the world. The Great Socialist October Revolution in
Russia paved the way for the first workers’ and peasants’ state in the history
of mankind. Thus from the World War emerged a new hope for the world—the hope
for Socialism. This is what the signing parties are still standing for.
“And, finally, the only war left for Prussia-Germany to
wage will be a world war, a world war, moreover of an extent the violence
hitherto unimagined. Eight to ten million soldiers will be at each other’s throats
and in the process they will strip Europe barer than a swarm of locusts. The
depredations of the 30 Years’ War compressed into three to four years and
extended over the entire continent; famine, disease, the universal lapse into
barbarism, both of the armies and the people, in the wake of acute misery
irretrievable dislocation of our artificial system of’ trade, industry and
credit, ending in universal bankruptcy, collapse of the old states and their
conventional political wisdom to the point where crowns will roll into the
gutters by the dozen, and no one will be around to pick them up; the absolute
impossibility of foreseeing how it will all end and who will emerge as victor
from the battle. Only one consequence is absolutely certain: universal exhaustion
and the creation of the conditions for the ultimate victory of the working
class.”
Friedrich Engels, 1887
Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Luxembourg
Workers Party of Belgium
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