Source: International Press Correspondence, Vol. 3 No. 52, 23 July 1923, pp. 548–549.
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June 23, 1923
Comrade Clara Zetkin thanked the Russian comrades on behalf of the German delegation, and said:
Not only the workers of the Krupp works, but also the entire proletariat in Germany will show themselves worthy of this gift. At the sight of this banner the masses of the German proletariat will be reminded that it is dyed with the blood of thousands and thousands of Russian proletarians, who chose to die rather than suffer slavery. They will be reminded that this banner has witnessed bitter struggles and that it conquered because of the incomparable self-sacrifice of wide proletarian masses. We take this banner, without expressions of profound gratitude for stronger than any words of thanks will be the promise transformed into deeds not to rest until the small force, which, fighting in Essen for its freedom, not only against French imperialism but also against its other oppressor – German capitalism, will have assumed enormous proportions. We shall not rest until the Krupp metal workers are no longer workers in a capitalist enterprise, but become armourers of freedom, of revolution, makers of the sickle and the scythe which will give bread to the wide masses workers of a new Soviet Germany, over which shall wave the banner of the hammer and sickle. I can assure you that the German working class will be as good as its word, and that we shall see in the near future also in Germany the victory of communism and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Last updated on 3 September 2021