12 Theses on illegal party building

Organizing and leading the illegal struggle is one of the essential questions of Bolshevizing the Comintern (SH).

Those who do not understand that the illegal party apparatus must be operational ahead of time and functioning in a timely manner (before it is too late!) have not understood the most important basis for building a world Bolshevik party under the conditions of the dictatorship of the world bourgeoisie.

1

In order to create the first fundamental condition for the Bolshevization of the Comintern (SH), the legal (and semi-legal) party apparatus must be closely linked to the illegal party apparatus.

It is necessary that the party does not limit itself to its legality, but combines legal with illegal work in order to maintain the leadership of the party unimpeded even under the most difficult circumstances of the class struggle. The legality of the party is a trap of the counter-revolution, because the bourgeoisie cannot be overthrown by legal means alone. If the party confines itself to its legal means and fails to keep breaking through the bourgeoisie's legal framework, it has thereby served the revolution to the bourgeoisie on a silver platter and consequently ceased to be a revolutionary party. It is the revisionists and neo-revisionists who have followed and will continue to follow this legalistic path of betrayal of the working class (capitulationism).

The party also leads its anti-revisionist struggle in the question of legality and illegality, both in theory and in practice.

2

It is necessary that the leaders of the illegal party building fully embrace the revolutionary theory of Stalinism-Hoxhaism in the matter of illegality, which is connected with the illegal practice.

3

It is necessary that the party does not limit itself to old experiences of illegal party building, but that illegal party building is the result of a careful analysis of its (constantly changing!) concrete conditions - both on a global scale and in each individual country.

4

It is necessary that the illegal party apparatus be regularly put to the test for use in an emergency. The suitability of the illegal party apparatus is really only proven in the barrage of the counter-revolution and not on paper.

5

It is necessary that the illegal party apparatus of the working class, especially when legalistic errors and traditions have not yet been overcome, when illegal party building is effectively ignored and thus does not yet exist except for a few declarations of intent, is organized or reorganized on a new, revolutionary basis. Every illegal step the party takes, every one of its illegal actions must, under the most difficult conditions, ensure the revolutionization of the world proletariat, the preparation and education of the broad masses of the working class in the spirit of the socialist world revolution.

6

In its illegal work, the party must combine the highest firmness of principle in illegal party building (not to be confused with the highest sectarian isolation and thus detachment and encapsulation from the masses) with a maximum utilization of even the smallest legal opportunity for contact with the masses (not to be confused with legalism). Without this condition, it is impossible for the party not only to be protected by the masses, but also to protect the masses, not only to lead the masses in illegal ways and to raise them to the level of illegal party work. We must listen to the illegal experiences of the masses and rely on their ingenuity, recognize and understand their most pressing needs under the most difficult fascist conditions. We must support the masses in this in solidarity to overcome fascism in a revolutionary way.

7

It is necessary that the party, in its illegal work, combines an irreconcilable revolutionary attitude (not to be confused with romanticizing the illegal life of a revolutionary and it is not a "game of cat and mouse" ) with a maximum of elasticity and maneuverability between legal and illegal party work (not to be confused with adapting illegality to legality). Without this, it is impossible for the party to master all legal and illegal forms of struggle and organization.

8

It is necessary that the party does not conceal its mistakes in the illegal construction of the party, that it does not fear criticism, that it knows how to educate and improve its cadres by linking illegal and legal work on the basis of its own mistakes.

9

It is necessary that the party includes in the illegal leadership group the best of the advanced fighters who have enough dedication to truly be invisible representatives of the illegal aspirations of the revolutionary proletariat and who have enough illegal experience to truly become leaders of the proletarian revolution under illegal conditions, able to apply the strategy and tactics of illegal party building.

10

It is necessary that the party systematically improves the social composition of its illegal organizations and keeps the illegal party apparatus away from unstable, immature and unreliable comrades, bearing in mind the goal of achieving maximum unity and discretion under illegal conditions.

11

It is necessary that the party develops an iron proletarian discipline in illegal work, which arises from the Stalinist-Hoxhaist unity, the clarity and goals of the illegal movement, the unity of practical illegal action and the conscious and cautious behavior of all party members regarding the illegal tasks of the party.

12

It is necessary that the party systematically checks the implementation of its own decisions and directives regarding illegal party work, because without this condition there is a danger that it will lull itself into a deceptive (false) "security" that would only serve to undermine confidence in the party's security and make it easier for the counter-revolution to crush the party. Without these and similar prerequisites, the Bolshevization of illegal party building is an empty phrase.

Wolfgang Eggers