"Der Bund der Kommunisten. Dokumente and Materialien". Band I. 1836 - 1849. Dietz Verlag. Berlin. 1970. 1196 S.

The history of the first international proletarian organization - the Union of Communists - is the subject of unflagging attention of researchers. Soviet historians and their colleagues from the German Democratic Republic1 made a great contribution to the development of the history of the Union of Communists . In recent years, a number of valuable documents related to the period of the "childhood of the proletarian movement"have been discovered .2 Of great value is the latest discovery of the progressive Swiss scientist Bert Andreas in the archives of Hamburg, where there were documents of the Union of Communists relating to the period of the First Congress (June - September 1847), among which is the first version of the Charter of the Union of Communists, the draft Program drawn up by F. A. Kropotkin. Engels, circular letter of the Central Committee of the Union of Communists addressed to local communities, etc. 3 .

It is important for studying the history of the Union of Communists to expand the source base and publish the epistolary heritage of Karl Marx's associates and Fr. Engels, documents and press materials. The first such collection was published in 1964.4 . As a result of extensive research by historians of the GDR in the archives of their republic, as well as the Federal Republic of Germany, the fund of sources on the history of the Union of Communists was significantly replenished. Soviet and German scientists decided to jointly publish a complete collection of documents on the history of the Union of Communists and its immediate predecessor, the Union of the Just. In 1970, its first volume was published in Berlin, prepared by the staff of the Institutes of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the SED and the Central Committee of the CPSU. On the German side, the editorial committee consists of X. Ferder and M. Hundt, with Sovietskaya-E. P. Kandel and S. Z. Leviova; collaborators from both institutes (R. Rudiger, M. Smasli, N. Belousova, K. Konnova, M. Kochetkova, L. Levanevskaya, I. Sinelnikova) took part in the work on the book. The main documentary basis for the publication is the materials of the Central Party Archive of the IML under the Central Committee of the CPSU, as well as the archive of the IML under the Central Committee of the SED and the Central Archive in Merseburg.

The reviewed volume contains about 400 original documents, most of which have not yet been known to a wide range of historians. The published materials help to eliminate some "white spots" in the history of the Union of Communists, to restore the true role of Karl Marx and Fr. Engels 'role in the creation and strengthening of this proletarian organization, as well as in spreading revolutionary traditions in workers' organizations after the dissolution of the Union of Communists. Until now, the lack of sources has made it possible for bourgeois historiography to deny the direct influence of the first communist organizations on the labor movement, and to separate the history of scientific communism from that of the first Communist organizations.

1 For the latest papers on this subject, see E. P. Kandel. To the history of the first program documents of scientific communism. "Europe in the past and modern times", Moscow, 1966; his. Marx and problems of the History of the Union of Communists. "Marx-istorik", Moscow, 1968; S. Z. Leviova. The struggle between K. Marx and F. Engels for the Creation of the Party of the Working Class in the 1940s. Voprosy Istorii, 1968, No. 3; M. I. Mikhailov. Istoriya Soyuza kommunistiov [History of the Union of Communists], Moscow, 1968; H. Forder und M. Hundt. Zur Vorgeschichte von Engels' Arbeit "Grundsatze des Kommunismus". "Beitrage zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung", 1970, N 1;M. Hundt. Die 17 "Forderungen der Kommunistischen Partei in Deutschland" vom Marz 1848. "Beitrage zur Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung", 1968, N 2; ejusd. Die Programmdiskussion im Bund der Kommunisten. "Zeitschrift fur Geschichtswissenschaft", 1968, N 6.

2 K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch. Vol. 1-8, p. 30.

3 "Grundungsdokumente des Bundes der Kommunisten (Juni bis September 1847)". Hrsg. von Bert Andreas. Hamburg. 1969. These materials were published in Russian in the journals Voprosy Istorii CPSU (1970, No. 1) and Novaya I Novostei Istoriya (1970, No. 6).

4 "The Union of Communists-the predecessor of the First International", Moscow, 1964.

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history of the labor movement. The published documents convincingly refute these concepts of bourgeois historiography.

The documents are reproduced in the original language (English, French, German, Russian, Swedish) and translated into German. A large scientific reference commentary contains bibliographic and source-related information. In the notes, the reader will find a number of historical references related to the activities of workers ' unions, local communities of the Union of Communists, and individual members of this organization. The volume also contains press materials of that time, which testify to the close ties of the Union with the democratic and labor movement.

An extensive introductory article describes the main stages of the formation and development of the Union, its role in the history of the German and international labor movement.

The material of the collection is arranged in chapters corresponding to the most important stages of the development of the Union of Communists. Chapter 1 - "The emergence of the Union of the Just and its development in 1836-1844" - contains documents related to the history of the split of the Union of the Outcasts, from which many societies of German artisans in Paris gradually emerged, creating in 1838 the first historical form of an independent political organization of workers - the Union of the Just. Materials united under the general title "To the emergence of the Union of the Just - from the statements of the members of the Union of the Just and the Union of the Outcasts", as well as the Charter of the Union of the Just in 1838 (doc. 5) show that the organizational differences within this organization were essentially ideological differences between the petty-bourgeois-democratic wing headed by Ya. Venedey, T. Schuster and others, and supporters of the views of utopian communism, led by W. Weitling and K. Schapper. Based on these documents, it is possible to trace the evolution of the Union of the Just, whose leaders by the mid-40s had already begun to experience the influence of the ideas of scientific communism of Karl Marx and Fr. Engels. The materials published in the collection about the London Enlightenment Society of German Workers, which was the legal form of existence of the Union's communities, show how its ties with the workers grew stronger. The chapter contains significant material about the communities of the Union of Just People in Paris, Geneva, Dresden, Magdeburg, Hamburg (doc. 10-15). Of interest are documents about the activities of the Union of the Just in Germany in 1839-1844, which took place in difficult, secret conditions.

The beginning of the struggle between Karl Marx and Fr. Engels for the Proletarian Party, the activities of the Brussels Communist Correspondent Committee, and the further development of the Union of the Just in 1844-1846. It is covered in Chapter 2. A large group of materials placed here, including previously unpublished ones, characterize the activities of communist correspondent committees in Germany, England, and Belgium (doc. 92, 94, 95, 98, 104). A number of published sources reveal the relationship between the Union of the Just and the international organization "Fraternal Democrats", which was founded by Karl Marx and Fr. Engels. The close cooperation of the leaders of the Union of the Just with this society, which included prominent Chartist figures, helped to strengthen ties between German and English proletarian revolutionaries. A major role in strengthening the position of the founders of scientific communism was played by the struggle against the views of "true socialism" and Weitlingianism. The collection contains for the first time the full minutes of the meeting of the Brussels Communist Correspondents ' Committee of March 30, 1846, where the discussion with Weitling took place and the final division of the Communist Party took place. Marx and his associates with this ideologue of equalizing utopian communism (dokl. 81, 82, 83). The letters of J. Weidemeyer, R. Daniels, and A. Everbeck, which were first introduced into scientific use, reveal the role of Karl Marx and Fr. Engels as educators of the first proletarian revolutionaries.

Chapter 3 - " The founding of the Union of Communists and the development of its program - the Communist Manifesto (January 1847 - February 1848)" - contains new interesting material, including a number of recently found sources related to the history of the preparation and holding of the First and Second Congresses of the Union of Communists: a draft Charter adopted at the final meeting of the Congress of the Communist Party of At the session of the First Congress on June 9, 1847 (doc. 146), the first draft of the Program - "The Communist Symbol of Faith", drawn up by F. P. Tolstoy. Engels and is the original sketch of his work " Princi-

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principles of communism "(doc. 147). A large number of documents, including the recently discovered letter of the Central Committee of the Union to the Hamburg community and the Appeal of the Central Committee to the Union dated September 14, 1847 (doc. 149, 160), reflect the activities of the Central Committee of the Union of Communists, its emissaries and local communities in various countries in the summer and autumn of 1847. The publication clearly shows how wide the illegal network of the first international proletarian organization was, covering Germany, England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States. The Union of Communists had links with mass workers ' organizations and democratic unions and often played a leading role in them. He relied on such organizations as the Communist Enlightenment Society of German Workers in London, the Workers ' Union and Democratic Association in Brussels, the Fraternal Democrats Society in London, the Enlightenment Society in Hamburg, and the Berlin Society of Artisans (doc. 188, 190, 193, 194).

The materials of the last, 4th chapter reflect the activities of the Union of Communists and its influence on the workers ' and democratic movement during the revolution of 1848-1849. During the revolution, the Union saw its task in rallying the working class and all democratic forces to fight for its complete victory. The volume contains a large number of previously unpublished letters from members of local communities of the Union to the Central Committee of the Union (doc. 236, 240, 241, 242). The materials of the collection reveal the great organizational work of K. Marx and F. Engels ' plan to strengthen the Union in the spring of 1848 (see, in particular, doc. 267, 308, 319) and refute the version that existed in bourgeois historiography that Karl Marx allegedly dissolved the Union of Communists in the summer of 1848. Of great interest is a group of documents and protocols describing the activities of such large workers 'organizations as the Cologne Workers' Union, the Berlin Workers 'Union, and the Vienna Workers' Union during the revolution of 1848-1849, in which members of the Union of Communists played an active role (see doc. 269, 282, 289, 290, 305). In connection with the tactics of the Union of Communists, which guided the proletariat during the period of reaction to the creation of an independent class organization, independent of the influence of petty-bourgeois elements, we should mention a group of materials relating to the spring of 1849 and testifying to the preparation of the Congress of Workers 'Unions of the Rhineland and Westphalia and the General German Workers' Congress in Leipzig (see doc., 362, 364).

The first volume of the collection ends with the time of the counter-revolution (mid-1849). In the coming years, the second volume will be published, work on which is already underway. The composition of the volume, the chapter boundaries, and the nature of the reference apparatus will be significantly expanded in comparison with the first volume; in addition to notes, indexes of names and references for the two volumes will be given. Scientists of our country and their colleagues abroad are waiting with great interest for the publication of the final volume of the documentary history of the Union of Communists.

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