N Emiliano Sol-

A 4na was liberated

from the Nazi contentration
‘amp in Mauthausen, Aus-
tria, he was armed with a
makeshift Passport issued by
the Austrian Communist Party.
The-document, signed in behalf
of the -camp’s International
Committeé by a Spaniard, a
Czech and a German, informed
the Allied liberators that Sol-
ana was a “Rotspanisher Frei-
heitskaempfer” __ Red-Spanish
Freedom Fighter.

Solana himself painstakingly
Prepared another document —
addressed to his “comrade anti-
fascists of all lands.”

This document, arriving here
this week appropriately for the
ninth anniversary of Franco’s
rebel uprising, revealed for the
first time that thousands of
Spanish antifascists were jail-
ed, starved, tortured, killed in
Nazi concentration camps. The
letter is further evidence that
the indomitable spirit still lives
with which -the people of... Ma-
drid and all Spain, bare-handed,
faced the fascist uprising on

_ that July 18, 1936.

“First of all I will let you
know something of the work
carried on by Spanish antifas-

cists in the Nazi concentration
Solana

camps
wrote.

“In the year
heroically in the

of Germany,”

French Army,

we were taken prisoner by the

Germans:and taken to a stable

1940, fighting

A Spanish Communist’s Letter 2°’

where we remained for several
weeks as prisoners of war. As
soon as the classification of
Spaniards was accomplished,
those of us regarded as ‘politi-
cal’ were transported to Camps
of Work and Elimination where
we were greeted by SS forces
who undertook the total exter-
mination of Spanish antifas-
cists.
@

“THEY said to us: ‘Commun-

ist dogs, you are finished.
You will pass through the cre-
matorium.’ And we, with an
ironical smile, replied: ‘It’s all
the same to us. Our lives have
been expended many times. One
more is unimportant.

“In this camp we were ap-
proximately 9,000 Spaniards of
whom 7,000 died or were killed
in the course of a year by the
following methods: cudgel
blows, gas chambers and injec-
tions of gasoline. These were
some of the many weapons used
by German fascism.

“As good members of parties
and organizations, we organ-
ized ourselves immediately to
continue our struggle arid fol-
low the programs our parties
had outlined for us.

“Later, with our skill and ex-

hy The Simla

ao

"A Chvorezo"
a

perience as fighters, we man-
aged to secure certain positions
in the camp kitchens, adminis-
' tration, supply depots, ete.

“We formed an Aid Commit-
tee so that all those comrades
who were living on the ration
could avoid death—for with the
official camp ration life was so
short. It was calculated that a
man could live thus but three
months.

“At the end of 1941 Russian
comrades were forced to come,
and they were very badly treat-
ed. They were formed into

By Helen Simon

Punishment Companies, forced
to work hard, and often beaten.

“We immediately made con-
tact with them for they were
our brothers in struggle, and
gave them help through our
Aid Committee. They received
a lot of help because they were
the most punished in the camp.
Later arrived French comrades,
Czechs and other nationalities
who all worked in common
agreement until the day of our
liberation.

“This was the work of the
Spaniards in the concentration
camps, of which we are proud.
The entire world will recognize
our revolutionary struggle,
which is just, and with this
struggle, united with the anti-
fascists of the world, we will
achieve the extermination of
the last remnants of fascism.

@

QN May 4, 1945, at 2 pm,

American tanks arrived in
the camp, where they proceed-
ed rapidly to disarm the Nazi
camp garrison, taking them
prisoner immediately. We find-
ing ourselves liberated, and

anxious to fight against fas-—

cism, secured arms, as author-
ized by the liberating forces,
and immediately hastened to
arrest the Nazi assassins. Then

onference Failed

(This report, filed before announcement of the British election

results and delayed in transmission
progressive Indian opinion on the

ference held at Simla)

leaders of the Congress and
achieve unity. The talks fol-
lowed publication June 14 of a
British White Paper on India,
offering to reconstitute the
Viceroy’s executive eouncil as
an all-Indian - body except for
the post of War Minister, which
would-be retained by the Brit-
ish. The Viceroy, according to
the plan, would remain chair-
man of the council, with the
power of veto, and would select
_ its members from panels sub-
mitted by the Indian parties.

Before the Simla talks began
on June 25, Bhulabhai Desai
and Linquat Ali Kahn, repre-
sentatives respectively of the
Gongrehs and Muslim League,
agreed that the basis for com-
position of the new executive
council should be parity be-
tween their two parties. The
British, however, changed this
party basis to one of religion—
parity between Hindus and
Muslims. This change wrecked
the conference, for whereas the
League claims to represent all
Muslims in India, the Congress
has many Muslims among its
members, including its presi-
dent, Maulana Azad.

There were two British voices
at Simla. Viceroy Lord Wavell,
who had his face turned toward
Congress, told its leaders that
the League’s claim to all Mus-
lim seats on the council was
unreasonable. This made Con-
gress believe that Wavell would
agree'to one or two seats for
nationalist Muslims who were
members of Congress, not of
the League.

HE, blame for the failure of the

month rests, in the Opinion of labor observers here, in
the first place on diehard British officials, and

League
Ali Jinnah had
Viceroy’s panel for the Muslim
half of the council, which in-
eluded a Punjab unionist, there
was a move for unity.
Muslim intermediaries took to
Congress president Azad a pro-
posal
agree to four League nominees
and a fifth who should be a
nationalist
to neither
League, but acceptable to both.
This proposal, which was ac-
leptable to Azad, was not put
officially to Jinnah and nothing
came of it.

>» Sives the first analysis of
failure of the recent con-

Simla talks earlier this

secondly on

Muslim League who: failed to

On the other hand, Wavell’s
assistants lobbied with League
leaders and kept telling them
that the Viceroy would never
agree to a nationalist’ Muslim
on the council, and that there
would be no interim govern-
ment until all parties agreed.
This. stiffened the League’s at-
titude toward Congress and an
interim settlement as a whole.

Neither side realized that
each was being told half truths.
Neither realized that the Brit-
ish change from Congress-
League parity to Hindu-Mus-

lim parity not only divided the
two, but reduced their combined
strength on the executive coun-
cil by bringing in pro-British
Hindus and Muslims like Ra-
maswain Mudalier and Sir Fi-
roze Khan Noon.

At the last moment, after the
president Mohammed
rejected the

Some

that Congress should

Muslim belonging
Congress nor the

Congress. leaders continue to

hope that a new government in
Britain will direct the Viceroy

Tsui Tien-fu

to form an interim government*®
on the basis of the maximum
agreement reached between the
parties at Simla, if need be
without the League. The League
has put forward a demand for
elections to the central and pro-
vincial legislatures, in which
it would seek to prove its claim
to be the sole representative of
Indian Muslims. ;

An interim government com-
posed of Congress members,
progressives argue, eannot
shirk the responsibility of hold-
ing immediate elections and
coming to an agreement with
the Muslim League on the basis
of the election results. They
therefore hope that the British
people will call upon the new
government to direct Wavell to
form an interim government.
This should include five Muslim
seats—four League . members
and one non-party Muslim aec-

Tsui Tien-fu, leader of nearly
one million workers in the lib-
erated areas of China, worked

for more than 20 of his 44
years as a hired farm laborer.
Tsui organized the farm work-
ers of northern China long be-
fore the historic Long March of
the Chinese Red Army .reached
Shensi in 1936.

Last year, when Israel Ep- -
stein, labor news correspondent
interviewed Tsui, he was chair-
man of the General Labor Un-
ion of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningh-
sai, Broder Region. He was
also head of the region’s Anti-
Japanese Salvation Association,
a patriotic group uniting most
people’s organizations.

Tsui is stocky, broad-faced
and quiet-spoken. He has the

‘the Chinese labor

By Sharaf Athar Ali

ceptable to both Congress and

. the League. If the League can-

not be brought in, progressives
Say, the government must none-
theless be formed.

Congress is further being
called upon to resume its min-

istries in the provinces, without
which amelioration of- the
peoples’ suffering is regarded
as impossible. These ministries,
it is said, should as far as pos-
sible, be based on _ coalitions
with the League. Progressives
are also urging Congress to
support the League’s demand
for immediate elections for the
central and provincial legisla-~
tures, so that the people’s ver-
dict on the League’s claim can
be obtained and the basis cre-
ated for an interim government.
Legalization of Congress and
release of all. political prison-
ers are also demanded.

. » Chinese Labor Lea

appearance of a farm worker.
His organizing activity started
during the great China-wide
peasant and worker movement
in 1924-1927. It included leader-
ship of guerilla movements
against the Shensi landlords
during the civil war.

He has not been schooled,
but educated himself to the -
point that he has a wide know-
ledge of Chinese and world
problems. The first political
group he joined was the Kuo-
mintang, which prior to 1927
sought alliance with jabor un-
ions in defeating the warlords.
After the Kuomintang turned
on the workers and peasants he
joined the Communists.

Tsui has a wide knowledge of
movement.

All liberated

unions in the

,_ Army.

‘ers. The unions provide !{j

they were taken to ¥:

prisoners in the camp

“After receiving on
our Committee we |:
camp to make cont®
three SS companies : ‘
meters away who hac
the camp. The enemy,
able to advance a stey;
territory, for they
of steel who were fig |
the total annihilation |
cism. 5

“Thus we remained ~
days alone in the cai
the arms the Ameri
left us. ¥

“These battles were}
ed by Spaniards, and
who at all times kni
be united. All this wa:
‘the three days in y
camp was ruled by thy:
ers until the arrival |;
American o@eupation fj

“Now we, “Spanish |
cists, beg the Allied |
not to forget that
remains a representatiy
Axis, a collaborator }
and MusSolini — th
Franco who always ww
eall himself ‘neutral? j~
sent to Germany the
Blue Division to figh

“We only ask the A
tions to break relati
him and to help us §
from Spain; that they
mit more crimes to be
ted in Spain by
to prolong the
terror which the
co has wrought.

“United Nations, do
get that many repres'
of German Nazism hay
refuge in Spain: that th
or Franco welcomes —
granting them Spanish q
ality. We aioe ce
those responsible fc
of ‘crimes. a

“Now we are throu; |
being simply liberated |

Franco. And we hope pi
aid so that the Spanis'
may return where #}
Waves which we hope Bet
will be the flag of the FB |
“Greetings, anti-fase ‘
rades. Continue to fig A
the total exterminat 4}
world fascism. And thin |
Spaniards who ceaseless -
for the cause of the
workers, 23
“Long live the Span
public. Long live thi |
Nations. E
“Signed by a comrad:
Spanish ‘Communist Pa 3

EMILIANO SOL2

ecaire

.3

ae

be

areas of China elect th
officers, in contrast to ¥ 5
tang dominated areas ;
that party appoints uni a
cers. The| chief funch &
points out, is to safegui >
improve the livelihood 0 i

clubs, child care centr vat
factory lunchrooms, #! if}
being paid by a three “&
deduction from the wa
although. no workers’ wa
deducted for this.

Tsui stressed the hope.
liberated areas’ unions ti)
lish ties with other Uni
tion’s labor organization
this in view, the Federé
Trade Unions of the
Liberated Areas has app
admission to the worl
conference in Paris.

PACIFIC ADVOCATE—PAGE 12 SATURDAY, AUGUST