ABSTRACT
BRÜNING CONDUCTS DEMOCRACY FROM THE SCENE THE history of the Crisis in Germany, the growth of the anti-democratic forces, the methods adopted to preserve the existing government machine, are an object lesson in the history of modern times. Brüning has his counterparts in the United States of America as in England. In U.S.A. and in Germany even the Social-Democrats supported the rule by presidential decree; supported the energetic bolstering-up of capitalism by economies, subsidies, State guarantees, etc.; endorsed the suspension of the political liberties of democracy. In England the Labour Party, faced by a similar problem, split; some leaders went to the National Government, the Party itself abdicated before its tasks. German Social-Democracy made a permanent alliance with Brüning, even though he dropped unemployment benefits to a pitiful level, cut salaries to a minimum, sanctioned the wholesale ignoring of legal wage-contracts; even though he entered into negotiations with the anti-democratic Right, with Hitler. SocialDemocracy held fast to a regime which, while suppressing the military organisation of the Communists, looked on while Hitler’s Storm Troops dominated the streets. Even industrial disputes became rare. By what means was Social-Democracy e nchained to Brüning?
