Hearings regarding the communist infiltration of the motion picture industry. Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, first session. Public law 601 (section 121, subsection Q (1947)

496 COMMUNISM IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Stripling. Mr. Brecht, may I interrupt you ? Would you conhider the play to be pro-Coiiiniuiiist or anti-Commuuist, or would it take a neutral position re<iarding Communists? Mr. Brecht. No; I would say — you see, literature has the right and t he duty to give to the public the ideas of the time. Now, in this play — of course, I wrote about 20 plays, but in this play I tried to express the feelings and the ideas of the German workers who then fought against Hitler. I also foimulated in an artistic Mr. Stripling. Fighting against Hitler, did you say ? Mr. Brecht. Yes. Mr. Stripling. Written in 1930? Mr. Brecht. Yes, yes ; oh, yes. That fight started in 1923. Mr. Stripling. You say it is about China, though ; it has jiothing todo with Germany? Mr. Brecht. No, it had nothing to do about it. Mr. Stripling. Let me read this to you. Mr. Brecht. Yes. Mr. Stripling. Throughout the ])lay reference is made to the theories and teachings of Lenin, the A, B, C of communism and otherCommunist classics, and the activities of the Chinese Communist Party in general. The following are excerpts from the play : "The Four Agitators : We came from Moscow as agitators : we were to travel' to the city of Mnliden to start propaganda and to create, in the factories, th^ Chinese Party. AVe were to report to party headquarters closest to tlie horder and to requisition a guide. There, in tlie anteroom, a young comrade cametoward us and spol^e of tlie nature of our mission. We are repeating the conversation. "The Young Comrade: I am the secretary of the party headquarters which is the last toward the horder. My heart is beating for the revolution. The witnessing of wrongdoing drove me into the lines of tlie figliters . Man must help man. I am for freedom. I believe in mankind. And I am for the rules of theCommunist Party which fights for the cla.ssless society against exploitationand ignorance. ''The Three Agitators: We come from Moscow. "The Yonng Cftmrade : The two of us have to defend a revoluti<m here. Surely you have a letter to us from tlie central ctimmittee which tells us what to doV "The Three Agitators: So it is. We bring you nothing. But across the border, to Mukden, we bring to the Chinese Worl^ers the teachings of the classics and of the pi'opagandists : The ABC of communism: to the ignorant, the truth about their situation; to the oppressed, class consciousness; and to the class conscious, the exi)erience of the revolution. Fnmi you we shall requisition an autoiiKibile and a guide. "The Four Agitators: We went as Chinese to Mukden — I men and a woman — to spread propaganda and to create the Cliinese Party through the teacliiiig.sof the cl:'ssics and of the propagandists — tlie ABC of communism ; to bring truth to the ignorant abimt their situation: tlie oppressed class conscious, and' class conscious, the experience of the revolution. "The Young Comrade: The individual has two, the party has a thousand eyes.. The party sees seven states. The party has many hours. The party cannot be destroyed, for it tights with the methods of the classics which are drawn from th" knowledge of reality and are destined to be changed in that the teacliiiigs spread through the mas.ses. Who, however, is the ])arty? Is it sitting in a bouse with telephones? Are its thoughts secret, its revolutions unknown? Who is it? It is all of us. We are the party. Yon and I and all of you — all of us. In your suit it is, Comrade, and in your liead it thinks: wherever i live thereis its home and where you are attacked there it fights." Now, Mr. Brecht, will you tell the committee whether or not one of the characters in this play was murdered by his comrade because it was in the best interest of the party, of the Communist Party; is tliiitti-ue?