362 thecowedimagineforamomentthattheirweaknessismight. Whatgreatthingshave they accomplished,inpractice,art, ortheory?" Thissemstomeagenuinely poetic insightintotheproblem ofrevolutionaryaction,and,assuch,muchmore"practical" thantheapproachof,letussay,theCIO-PAContheone handandNormanThomasandMaxShachtmanontheother. Itisthispracticality,thisgettingdowntocaseswithoutthe usualpalaver,thatrealygetsunderpeople'sskin.*Forweall knowthatweliveinacorruptandalienatingsociety,and thatwedon't realy getmuchpleasureorsatisfactionfromthe thingswhichoursocialinstitutions,fromthebusinessworld tothecolegesandgovernmentbureaux,trapusintodoing; anditmakesusangrytohavesomeonequitesimplyinsiston thiscommonplaceandunmentionablefact.AsIhavenotedin thesepagesbefore,theMarxistisrevolutionaryonlyinone waled-offpartofhislife,andfortherestthinksandbehaves justaboutlikeotherpeople.Thesortofrev-olutionGoodman proposesinvolvesnotonlypoliticalinstitutionsbutalsoour everyday,personalwayoflivingandthinking.Theseessays containsomehintsastohowitmaybedone,andsomeargumentsastowhyitshouldbedone.Theyareseedsratherthan fruits,butseedsfromwhichsomethingmaygrow. DM. SIXTHREPORTONPACKAGES THISisagloomyreport;perhapsitwillstirsomereaders toaction.Inthepastthreeweeks,wehavereceived pledgesfromonlysixnewindividualsoferingtosend packagestofamiliesinEurope.Furthermore,otherswhohave beensendingarenowforcedtodropoutbecauseofincreased livingcosts."I'mverysorrytohavetoreportthis,"writes aNewYorkreader,"butsinceourincomewillbesharply reducedthiscomingyear,wewillhavetocutdownonour contributionsforfoodpackages.""Iamindeedsorytoreport thatIamnolongerinapositiontoaidG.M.,"anotherwrites infromMichigan;"Iamnowatendingschoolunderthe G.I.BillofRightsandamratherhardpressedtomakethe $65amonthdoformyownneeds."Andathird:"Dueto househodl finances(I'moutofajob), Iregrettonotifyyou thatwemustdiscontinueourpackagestoMr.F.inFrance." Thisfalingoffinhelpdoesnotcoincidewithadeclinein theneedabroad.Therearenowover200Europeanfamilies whomwehavebeenincorrespondencewith,whomweknow deserveandneedgeneroushelpfromourreaders,andyet whoasyethavenotreceivedasinglepackage.Halfofthese areinparticularlygreatneedofhelp;46Spanishrefugee familiesinFrance,and60Germanantifascistfamilies.It is notpleasanttoreadaletterlikethefolowing,writtenin EnglishbyayoungGermangirl: "DearFriends:Youwrotemethatafriendofyouwillsend meagiftparcelasIhavefoughtandsuferedformyantifascistconvictionsandasevenIhavelostmywholefamily duringthewar.Youaskedmetoletyouknowifpackages. don'treachme:Iamrealysorytohavetotellyouthat I havegotnothingatall.Youwrotemeaswelltotellyou if IhaveanyspecialwishesandsoIwouldliketoaskyou,if youwouldn'tselectformeayoungreaderwhowouldnotonly *1don'tmeantoexaggeratetheamountofhostility(shouldwesaywith thepsychoanalyst;"resistance"?)toGoodman'sideas.Hisnovelsandshort stories,whicharecloselyrelatedtohispoliticalthinking,arewinningcon- siderablerecognition.Andthepresentbookhasbynomeansaroused merelyindignation; I mightinstancethediscerningreviewbyNathan Gk in"TheNeyrLeader"ofJuly6. BibliotecaGinoBianco paint: provehisbeliefininternationalsolidaritybysendingmea technicalsupportbut•anicespiritonetoo,becauseitwould beagoodexerciseformetowriteinEnglish•andyourreader canwritetomeinFrenchaswellinGerman,Idon'trealy mind.Pleaseletmeknowifyouwouldlikeashortdescription oftheexperiencesIhadduringthewar. Iwouldtell it to youevenIdidn'tityettonobody.ItwastoocruelandIwas soyoung!(Iamonly21yearsoldnow)." SOMELETTERSFROMGERMANY Thebigjobrightnow,wefeel,istogetasmany-packages aspossiblesenttothe60familiesinGermanyforwhomwe haveasyetfoundnoAmericangift-senders.Theofficial rationlevelfortheBritishandAmericanzoneshasnowbeen setforthiswinter-at1500:caloriesaday,whichis500calories belowtheminimumhealthlevel.Theneedis,therefore,greater inGermanythaninotherpartsofEurope—exceptforAustria andGreece.Thekindofpeopletowhomwewanttosend fraternalaid—ourlistismadeupfromthesuggestionsof trustedfriendsoverheremaybeindicatedbyexcerptsfrom someoftheleterstheyhavewritenusinthepastfewweeks. Theseletersbringoutstronglythatitisnotonlymaterial aidtheseGermanantifascistswelcome;aboveall, it isthe feelingtheyarenolongerisolated,thattheynowhavea chancetoenterintopersonalcontactwithpeopleoverhere. W.L.,Gelsenkirchen(writteninEnglish):Ihavereceived yourletterofAugust15.Youcanhardlyimaginewhata surpriseandjoy I feel.DuringthehardyearsoftheThird Reich,especialytryingforusantifascists,wenearlylostour beliefinmankind'ssolidarity..Beassured,eventodaywehave verylittlereasoninGermanytobelieveinit . . .Asuperhumanoptimismisnecessaryforbelievinginthecommunity ofmankind,progress,anddeliveranceoftheoppressedpeople, andfornotgettingtiredofthebattleforfreedomandjus- tice.Youractionofsolidaryhelpisstrengtheningforusto kepontheway;forFascismhasnotyetbeendefeatedall thesame.. . .Whateveryoumaysendisadearsignofyour humanhelp.Thishumanitywevoteforagainandagain;it finalywilandmustremovetheboundariesamongnations. E.R.,Heuchelheim/Giessen(writteninEnglish):Quite surprisingly,wereceivedyourletterofJuly5,1946. It is ratherhardtosaywhatpleasedusmore:thematerialaidyou promsiedusorthepoliticalattitudewhichcreatedsuchsolidarity.. . . Iam36,mywifeis32.Before1933bothofus usedtobeactivewiththeGermanWorkmen'sYouthMovement.AfterHitler,wehelpedputoutundergroundanti-Nazi papers,andwerearrestedandimprisoned.In1942,theycaled meintoDivision999,mostlymadeupofformerpolitical_ prisoners.Butnoneofuswantedtofightforthewrong;so weweretakenprisoners.Bythisw'ayIcametotheU.S.A. forthreeyears.Nowwewereabletoactatlastinfavorof ourideasofliberty.TheinfluenceoftheNazisuperiorswas, however,stillsostrongthatprisonerswerewoundedandeven kiledforsuch.ideas.So,togetherwithlikemindedcomrades andwiththeassistanceofAmericanmilitaryauthorities,antiNazigroupswereformedatCampMcCainandlateronat CampDevens.IthinkwemadeagoodpoliticaljobatDevens. Bymeansoflectures,coursesandentertainments,webrought democraticpoliticalideasforthefirsttimetoyoungGermans. Wetookup,forexample,acolectionforneedyEuropeanchil- dren(nomaterwhattheirnation,religionorrace)andanotherforGermanchildren,bothamountingtomorethan $140,000.Duringthistime,Iworkedaseditorofasmallselfprintedanti-Nazinewspaperfor.theprisoners. . .Atpresent, Iamworkingwitha "Spruchkammern (specialdenazification
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