The socio-economic policy of the Breuning government (March 29, 1930 - May 30, 1932) in the coverage of the Soviet newspaper Pravda

Makeev Vasilii Olegovich ORCID: 0009-0009-2746-4714 Student, Department of Universal History, Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky 150000, Russia, Yaroslavl region, Yaroslavl, nab. Kotoroslnaya, 46 in vasyusha-makeev@mail.ru

The Weimar Republic (1919 - 1933) is one of the most curious periods of modern German history. At this stage   German society has undergone tremendous changes – Germany has abandoned democracy, taking the path of totalitarianism dictated by the party line of the National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP; Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP) and their anti-Semitic views. Since the late 1920s, Soviet-German relations began to deteriorate significantly due to the intensification of the struggle against the communist movement, as well as the gradual fascization of German society. A paradoxical situation arises: if after the First World War these two rogue states maintained open friendly relations, then after the strengthening of conservative and right-wing forces in Germany, the rhetoric of both countries regarding each other begins to change tone. For this reason, it makes sense to pay attention to the Soviet newspaper Pravda, which, being the main mass media, acted as the main "mechanism of official Soviet propaganda" and expressed the direct position of the Soviet leadership towards the processes taking place in German society ^{[1, p.25]}.

Thus, it is extremely important to study the period of the reign of Chancellor Heinrich Breuning, who laid the foundation for the destruction of the democratic system of the republic and the aggravation of the social crisis, affecting, first of all, representatives of the workers' communist movement.

On May 28, 1930, Heinrich Breuning assumed the post of Reich Chancellor. As the leader of the Center faction, a conservative, former military man and supporter of authoritarianism, he was warmly received by Reich President Hindenburg and the leadership of the Reichswehr ^[2]. This allowed the Chancellor to gain freedom in forming his own cabinet, which became known as the "cabinet of front-line soldiers". The cabinet got this name because,  that six of its members were awarded the Iron Cross of the First degree at one time for their valor during the First World War. In addition to the favor from the highest circles, the chancellor had support from the industrial, banking and trading circles, which was confirmed by the words of one of the leaders of the Imperial Union of German Industry, Kastl, who promised the new government "any support" ^{[3, p. 60]}.

Despite the fact that most of the political and economic sphere of the Weimar Republic looked to Heinrich Breuning as a savior, not everyone shared the hopes associated with him for a bright future. The Social Democrats have become an opposition party. One of the reasons is the change of the social Democratic representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Mueller to conservative politicians. This was expressed in sharp assessments of the activities of the Breuning government and the diatribe of representatives of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (hereinafter - the SPD; Socialist–demokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD). In the early days of the new chancellor's activity, the social Democratic newspaper Forverts wrote that the new members of the government "... are not Republicans, they are dangerous for the republic" ^{[4, p. 62]}.

Simultaneously with the events taking place in Germany, Pravda stated the thesis that Breuning's power is the beginning of a new threat to democracy and the proletariat. The Soviet press agreed with the assessment of the German communist newspaper Rote Fane in the article "The government crisis in Germany", where it was mentioned that after Mueller "... democracy has exhausted itself more than at any time since 1923. It does not matter whether an attempt is made to establish a fascist dictatorship now or later - in any case, the center gravity moves even more to the right than it has so far."^[5] In another article, the Chancellor is described as a person closely associated "... with the fascist organization of the Steel Helmet and the representative of West German heavy industry, Kleckner" ^[6]. This attitude towards the Chancellor on the part of the Communist Party of Germany was broadcast to the entire government, which was represented in the eyes of the Communists as the realization of the grossest and merciless exploitation of man and the conduct of a real fascist dictatorship. Such publications about the activities of the new government leave no doubt that Breuning and his political activities were hostile both to the Communist Party of Germany, pressure on which would soon begin to increase, and to the leadership of the USSR. Since Brunnig came to power, according to Soviet historians, a "cold" - gradual – fascization has begun" ^{[3, p. 62]}. An important role in forming such an opinion was played by the introduction of the decree 48§, which, according to the article "The Government "48§"speaks to the Reichstag" demonstrates that the new chancellor has the opportunity, as necessary, to dissolve the Reichstag, as well as rely on the emergency decrees of President Hindenburg, in order to implement any economic, political and military transformations in the country. This approach found opposition not only in the camp of the Communists, but also in the camp of the Social Democrats ^[6].

On April 1, 1930, Breuning made a policy statement in the Reichstag, which contained theses on the independence of the cabinet from various coalitions and the government's focus on solving urgent tasks by using all constitutional means. As the main program goal, the new government chose a policy of improving the financial sector of the republic through the implementation of a regime of the strictest cost savings, which, first of all, had a negative impact on the social insurance system of working segments of the population. The keynote address was reflected in the article "Declaration of the new Government in Germany. The program of famine and increased exploitation will be carried out with the help of emergency measures and terror," where the current government was unflatteringly called the government of "open fascists, agrarians and capitalists," and Bruning himself was nicknamed the "chancellor of famine." Further, the article gives a critical assessment of the figures of the Cabinet of Ministers and decisions on increasing duties and prices for wheat, rye and meat. In addition, it is noted that members of the new government will use the new law on the protection of the republic "... exclusively against communists." Interestingly, in the information block of this issue there are notes "Total impoverishment" and "Memorandum of entrepreneurs", which note the growth of bankrupt enterprises ("1803 enterprises, i.e. 169 more than in February, 66 percent more than in March 1929") and the deplorable economic situation of workers, the share of children in the education system is only 2% compared to children from other social groups ("31%. children of landlords, manufacturers, officers, the rest from families of senior and middle-class employees, the bourgeoisie, etc."). In turn, the entrepreneurs demanded "... a significant reduction in the cost of insurance against illness." In addition, they rejected the development of insurance for employees and the disabled, citing profitable savings of 500 million marks for the state ^[7]. All this indicates that the Breuning cabinet went against the working classes of the population, which led to the radicalization of low-income citizens ^[8].

Undoubtedly, the consequences did not take long to wait – new critical statements about the situation in Germany began to appear on the pages of Pravda, which had a positive effect on the popularization of the Communist Party of Germany (hereinafter KPD; Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD). As a vivid example reflecting such positions, one can highlight the notes "Unemployment is rising" ^[9], "The crisis of the main branches of German industry" ^[10], "Red Lists ahead" ^[11], "Elections to factory committees" ^[12]. According to the authors of these publications, the key factor was the increase in taxes and the reduction of unemployment benefits.

Considering the socio-economic aspects, it should be noted that one of the important areas of government policy was the issue of the military budget, which continued the course of the Social democratic government on the development of the army and caused outrage from the KKE. We find confirmation of these facts in the articles: "Tens of thousands of German workers on the eve of layoffs," "75 million for the battleship, 1 million for hungry children." Two curious trends can be traced, noted in the newspaper Pravda: 1) the above–mentioned increase in unemployment against the background of the crisis and anti-social decisions of the government; 2) the radicalization of communists on the eve of the May Day demonstrations, which was reflected in the notes "May Day combat committees are being created at enterprises" ^[13] and "Chemists - for the May Day strike" ^[14], "The number of participants in the "day of working youth" tripled more than last year" ^[15], which also indicates the growth of the communist struggle during this period.

Criticism of the Breuning government was also conditioned by the initially designated anti-communist focus of the government, which found various manifestations on the pages of Pravda. It was with the coming to power of the "front-line soldiers" that the number of notes and articles in the Soviet press about attempts to suppress the speeches of KKE members increased. For example, a note in the April 28 news issue of Pravda reports that "the All-German government has proposed to the governments of individual provinces to strengthen the persecution of revolutionary organizations," which resulted in major arrests and acts of confiscation of communist property (the newspaper Zexische Arbeiterzeitung (Dresden), the arrest of two participants in Magdeburg, the persecution of participants of the day youth in Dusseldorf (link to it. The Freiheit newspaper), a search in Berlin of the premises where a workers' rally against the prohibition of Red front-line soldiers took place) ^[16]. In addition to methods of direct influence, Pravda notes more cunning methods of the government's struggle against the threat of the red flame. The article "Social Fascist provocateurs caught red-handed" revealed the facts of espionage activities by the Social Democrat-controlled police in Bottrop, Munchstrer, Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen in order to bribe officials and obtain information that "... should serve as material for the prohibition of the Communist Party." Based on this, it can be understood that they were not afraid to use a variety of means of struggle against undesirable people in relation to the political conjuncture ^[17].

Such pressure measures, according to the Soviet press, only stimulated the growth of the red movement. This is confirmed by the article "Berlin has learned the strength of the masses, led by the Communist Party. Deep internationalism and love for the USSR inspired the two hundred thousandth army of demonstrators," which tells about the most massive demonstration of workers in recent years, which took place despite attempts by the police to prevent the Communists.Thus, the aggravating socio-economic situation during the Breuning period, together with the pressure on the Communists, served as fuel for the Communists ^[18].

Further on the pages of Pravda, in the context of the main events related to the labor movement, episodes of workers' reaction to growing unemployment in Germany and measures taken by large industrialists against the working class appear, among which the main ones are lower wages, an increase in the working day without an increase in wages, the introduction of forced public works for the unemployed, sending the unemployed to the border areas, cancellation of benefits for seasonal workers ^[19].

Such a combination of circumstances leads to a series of mass strikes in different parts of the country. In June 1930, news about the strike movement of the Ruhr metalworkers did not leave the newspaper pages ("Ruhr metalworkers are preparing for a strike on July 1" ^[20], "The Ruhr enters the line of fire" ^[21], "General Strike – the battle cry of the Ruhr proletarians" ^[22]) and the struggle of the Mansfeld workers. The article "Strike in Mansfeld" notes that the workers of Mansfeld became the first German workers who switched "... from a defensive struggle to a counteroffensive, continue to strike steadfastly." 60-70 thousand people were involved in the strike ^[23].

Also, in the context of the reaction of the population to the anti-social policy of the government and the development of the communist movement, an episode from the article "Demonstration of the disabled in Berlin" should be noted. In response to the government's promises to reduce unemployment benefits, the International Union of Victims of the Struggle, the Inter-Worker and the International Organization for Assistance to Fighters of the Revolution (IOPR) organized a demonstration of the disabled. Pravda stated that the police "... without any warning attacked the demonstrators, using batons and opening fire on the crowd." As a result of this collision, 12 people were seriously injured ^[24].

Now, in the context of characterizing the government's economic policy, we must touch on the emergency decrees mentioned earlier. Since Breuning, the practice of pushing one's own line around public opinion has become the norm. The Chancellor's total economy and unwillingness to negotiate with representatives of various political forces leads to the fact that he begins to pursue a "policy of emergency orders", starting on July 16, 1930 after the issuance of a decree that "... approved the draft budget rejected by parliament" ^{[3, p. 70]}. This has led to a gradual disillusionment with the viability of the democratic path both among politicians and among the population, which is beginning to lean towards more radical parties. The result of this policy was the September 1930 elections, which made the NSDAP (107 seats) and the KPD (77 seats) parties the most massive radical representatives in the Reichstag ^{[3, p. 72]}. These elections turn out to be a failure for Breuning, as he was unable to achieve "consolidation of the right forces into a conservative bloc, which, having a positive attitude towards the government, would take over the "historical line of salvation of Germany" ^{[3, p. 76]}. The National Socialists are beginning to take active action in the political arena. More representatives of the government and large industrialists come to Hitler. For example, at the end of 1930, the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate actively began to provide economic assistance.

Pravda notes that Breuning's "dictatorial government" is increasing pressure on various factions. Thus, the article "The Breuning Government liquidates the Weimar Constitution" declares the increasing economic pressure on the working population due to the program of 25 emergency laws. It is also mentioned that "Rote Fanet" states from this moment the death of the bourgeois democratic republic. Now there is an "aggravation of the military intervention danger" in the country, the signs of which were illustrated in the note "The Reichswehr is on alert" ^[25].

One of the important topics on the pages of Pravda during the Breuning period also became coverage of the increased interaction between the government and the National Socialists. The article "Cooperation of the National Fascists with the Breuning government" examines the fact that part of the police is under the leadership of the National Socialists, reports on Breuning's negotiations with the Nazis on the latter's joining the coalition government. The same article notes the preparatory activities of the Nazi combat detachments. At the same time, it is demonstrated  how the Social Democrats use their police power exclusively against the Communist Party: "The Social Fascist police banned the publication of the communist newspaper Klassenkampf until December 4 ^[26]. There is a situation in which the government actively supports the National Socialists and suppresses the Communists. Despite the active military preparatory activities of the Nazis, it seems that the government and the leadership of the Reichswehr deliberately do not pay attention to this. By no means, the activity of combat detachments was one of the obvious phenomena of the Weimar Republic and could not be unnoticed. Thus, the article "German fascists are preparing to seize power" talks about the plans of the National Socialists in the field of expanding ties with the middle and higher command staff of the police and the Reichswehr, as well as renaming combat detachments into special sports unions and various kinds of clubs ^[27].

The summer of 1931 was marked by a severe financial crisis, which led to the complete bankruptcy of such titans of the German banking system as Danat Bank and Dresdner Bank. "It was no longer possible to deny that the country had suffered an economic catastrophe." The difficult financial situation, as well as the ongoing strategy of suppressing the Communist Party, can be judged by the June articles of Pravda ("In a number of cities, the hungry unemployed destroyed food warehouses" ^[28], "Against the government of famine and emergency decrees. Combat demonstrations of the unemployed in Berlin and the Ruhr region" ^[29], "3170 cases of revolutionary workers ^[30], "Recruitment campaign of the Communist Party in Saxony" ^[31], "Soldiers take the side of the workers" ^[32], "Demonstration of small-scale peasants and farm labourers" ^[33], "Hungry demonstrations of the unemployed in Germany" ^[34]. As we can see, the deterioration of the economic situation, the physical violent confrontation with representatives of the National Socialists, is a consequence not only of foreign policy processes, but also of Breuning's "dictatorial" economic policy, which was expressed in anti-social decrees on the reduction of benefits and pensions and the introduction of new taxes ^[35]. Nevertheless, such an economic situation only strengthened the belief of representatives of large industry that it was necessary to increase the influence of the National Socialists in power. As a result of this confidence, attempts were made to convince Hindenburg to include the Nazis in Breuning's cabinet ^{[36, p. 142]}. The idea of forming a new national government also resonated among representatives of the army leadership and the top leadership of the government.

In the autumn of 1931, Breuning's situation worsened. After the dissolution of the "cabinet of front-line soldiers", at the request of Hindenburg, it was necessary to assemble the conservative composition of the new government, which was not so right-wing. However, this did not reduce criticism of the cabinet, which was characterized in Pravda as a "dictatorship of the "Center", which complicated the fusion of the Nazis and the government ^{[3, p. 126]}. Nevertheless, the process continued, social democratic and governmental circles gradually continued to strengthen in the German system, and the vectors laid out earlier lead to "more resolute support for the fascist course of the Breuning government" ^[37]. In the summer of 1931, "von Schleicher and his entourage firmly set a course to bring about rapprochement with the NSDAP at the necessary moment" ^{[38, p. 113]}.

By the end of 1931, Pravda was more often covering issues related to the political advancement of Hitler's party in power. The article "Social Fascists paved the way for the Nazis" demonstrates the success of the Nazis in the municipal elections in Birkenfeld. Next to this publication there is a note "Heavy industry for the Breuning–Hitler government", judging by which it can be concluded that by the end of 1931, the figure of the leader of the NSDAP in the eyes of the Soviet press was becoming more and more significant ^[39]. One of the obvious results of such interaction was the relaxation, which allowed active members of the NSDAP to join the Reichswehr by order of the Minister of War Coach ^{[38, p. 115]}.

The end of Breuning's reign was marked by severe consequences for Germany.  On leaving the post of Reich Chancellor on May 29, 1932, he left the Weimar Republic in a state of distress. "In 1932, the level of industrial production in Germany decreased by half compared to 1928" ^{[40, p. 87]}. News about the ruin of large factories, banks and concerns often appeared on the pages of the Pravda newspaper. It seemed that Breuning did almost nothing to change the situation in the country, ignoring the growing exacerbations of the spiritual crisis of society. This led to the fact that the German nation was demoralized ^{[41, p. 238]}.

There are different positions that explain such a deplorable socio-economic and alarming political situation in the country. If you believe the statements of the Communists, relying on the "Truth", the Chancellor, through his emergency decrees aimed at increasing taxes and reducing benefits, sought to feed the right-wing agrarians who supported him. However, even they turned out to be dissatisfied with him, as they believed that "... they did not receive support in the conditions of a deep debt crisis that engulfed a large Ostelb land ownership." The final chord for Breuning was the disappointment of Hindenburg, who was angered by his proposals to nationalize the ruined Junker estates in order to transfer land to landless peasants ^{[40, p. 88]}.

There is also a position that such a socio-economic policy put Germany's exit from the reparative burden imposed on it by the Versailles system in the first place. That is why the Chancellor was ready to put up with the lack of funds for social support of the population, as this made it possible to eliminate reparations.

The article "Resignation of the German government. The pace of fascization is increasing", where further changes of the future government aimed at fascization of the Cabinet of Ministers were outlined. It is also noted that Breuning's departure was directly related to the influence of military circles, which sought to "... turn the steering wheel of German politics even more to the right." In addition, the newspaper notes Schleicher's influence on the politics of the Weimar Republic, suggesting his role as one of the leaders of the future chancellor's protege ^[42].

Thus, the ambiguous and contradictory strategy of the Breuning cabinet, which consisted, on the one hand, in an effort to curtail parliamentarism in Germany, limiting the role of the legislature in making important socio-economic decisions, and, on the other hand, the inability and unwillingness on a national scale to take full responsibility for the policy, led to a new political the crisis in the country. Instability and the lack of a socio-economic and state-legal perspective led to an increasing polarization of German society and its inclination towards the right-wing radical party of the National Socialists.

Considering the publications in Pravda about the events in Germany, it is necessary to proceed from the fact that this central printing organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) reflected the views of the military and political leadership of the Soviet Union on possible options for expanding socialism. Germany was considered the most suitable candidate in this strategy, since it was in this country that the Communist Party enjoyed the confidence of the proletariat and really influenced the labor movement. In addition, it should be noted that the newspaper's publications focused on the level of education of Soviet people at that time. Therefore, the materials of Pravda, for the most part, did not differ in analytics, but only conveyed events in the context of political propaganda and the views of the Soviet leadership. In the same way, events were presented one-sidedly, from the point of view of the class struggle, and, often, in a derogatory and ironic manner relative to other segments of the German population other than the working class. This was especially evident in relation to the Government and Parliament of the Weimar Republic.