Page - 285 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the question ofwar in bauer’s thought 285 years, the sdapdeclaredas its foremost tasks thepreservationofpartyunity andtherescueofnationalorganisations.Whenassessingthestateoftheparty towardstheendof thewar, includingtherelationshiptoshopstewards, Julius Deutsch noted that ‘theywere almost exclusively interested in the struggles of thedayand immediateorganisational tasks.As they rushed fromelection campaigntopublicitycampaign, theirpoliticalworkevaporated’ (ourtransla- tion).23 In1915, thesdapleadershiptookupananti-warinitiativeorganisinga peacedemonstration–yet for fearof repercussions, thedemonstrationnever tookplace. During the sameperiod, left oppositional forces hostile to thewar gained strengthamongSocial-Democraticparties.AtinternationalcongressesinZim- merwald(August 1915)andKienthal (April–May1916), theysubjectedthepro- warpoliticsof thepartymajorities tosharpcriticism. InGermany,wherethey failedtoarriveata jointposition, theoppositionsplit thenewly formedInde- pendentSocialist-DemocraticPartyofGermany(uspd)awayfromthespdin April 1917. In Austria too, an opposition led by FriedrichAdler surfaced the momentwarwas declared.Adler expresseddefiance for the first time inhis letter totheparty leadershipof7August 1914,wherehequestionedtheneces- sityofdefenceasawardemandof theSocial-Democraticparty, albeit taking carenot toallowhis theoretical critique to transcendtheboundariesofparty unity. A groupof critical partymembers gathering aroundhim from 1915–16 heldsimilarpositions–amongthemwereMaxAdler,LeonWinarsky,Gustav Proft,TheresiaSchlesinger,RobertDanneberg,GustavEcksteinandRudolfHil- ferding. The Social-Democratic parties’ vote forwar credits and the pro-war policiesof thesdap leadershipbeing themain targetsof their criticism, they supportedtheanti-warprogrammeoftheGermanuspdanddemandedpeace without conquered territories orwar reparations. The left groupwas organ- isationallyandnumericallyweak, countingonly some120members–mainly intellectuals–whodidnotdareleavethepartyeventhoughtheircritiquemet withnosignificantresonanceinthesdap.Livelydebatenowtookplaceonthe platformlegallyprovidedbythe‘KarlMarxdebatingsociety’,whichthelefthad theexpansivepolitics of thegovernment.On thecontrary, they stood in solidaritywith thegovernment: at a secretparty leadershipmeetingon 19November 1915,VictorAdler stated that todividePoland furtherbetweenAustriaandGermanywouldbea fortunate solution.CompareKulemann1979,p. 168.At thepartycongress inMarch 1916, thesdap restateditswill topreservetheunityoftheAustro-HungarianEmpire. 23 ‘Ihr Interessewar fast ausschließlichaufdieTageskämpfeunddieunmittelbarenorgan- isatorischenAufgabengerichtet.ZwischenWahlkampfundWerbeaktionverlief ihrpolit- ischesWirken’–Deutsch1918,p.608.