from Dave Windsor
K.S. Karol's article in a recent issue of the New Statesman concerning Gramsci's attitude towards the crisis in the Bolshevik party after the death of Lenin has crested wide interest. I think readers of the Week will be interested to note what Livio Maitan wrote in World Outlook (a labour press service published in Paris), Maitan is a well-known Ftalian Trotskyist and the author of several books on Trotsky. He writes:
",eethe Italian Communist weekly Rinascita published the complete text of a letter which Antonio Gramsci, one of the founders of the party and without doubt one of the leaders of greatest stature in the history of the Italian workers' movement, sent to the leaders of the Soviet Communist party in the nome of the Political Dureau of the Italian party in 1926..eewhile not sharing the political orientation of the Opposition, Gramsci in no way associated him-= self with the campaign of denigration then under way and even recalled the revolutionary merits of leaders like Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamemev. He took a stand against any measures that might lead to a split...Rinascita, after recalling that upon receiving this letter the International centre decided to send its representative J.H. Droz to Italy, also published Togliatti's reply to Gramsci, a reply that showed Togliatti was already on the side of the Russian majority...Gramsci replied with another letter that rejected the arguments of Togliatti. But, according to Togliatti, this second letter has been loste
".S. Karol, commenting on the publication of Gramsci's letter, states that its text was not previously known and thet "some of Gramsci's companions eeeebecoming Trotskyistsee.eesolemnly testified that this missive.s.shad most certainly been sent to Togliatti...2ut me of them having a copy of the document, they could not furnish irrefutable proof of its existence or reveal its contents." Referring to the silence with which Togliatti had met the questions on this subject pressed by Trotsky's biographer, Isaac Deutschér,e. Karol adds: “Everyone came to the conclusion that he would take the explosive secret of this correspondence with him to the other world."...Karol does not seem to know that the text of the letter was..brought to light by Tasca, a former leader of the C.P. and a member of the Comintern, who broke to the right even before 1930, After a later political evolution that was ltogether lamentable, Tasca, published the letter in France by 1938. After the end of the war he circulated copies of it in restricted circles in Italy around 1950. In January 1956, the complete text was published by the Italian Trotskyist paper Bandierra Rossa and was then reprinted by other opposition publicationSeee
"In fact, an Italian publisher has just brought out a thick book of Gramsci's writings, including the letter. It was precisely on the occasion of the publication of this book that Rinascita published Gramsci's letter a few days in advance...The truth is first of all that Togliatti could not take the secret with him to the other world. The letter was already published and available to anyone interested. Secondly, he could not even hope ee circulation would remain limited..because it was included — Saat have wide circulation, It was not Gransoi's Cott’ bye rather! vhy @id Toglihad not yet been published. The oe. have supported the hard atti publish his own 6 rorretten first of all that if Togliattd — Stalinist coree.it must no = vee he was Bukharinist (at that ae me mratte entirely on the line this was ait Togliatti is degirous. SOCHT aaa was with Stalin). In hanes eae ornadt about historic truths «eis ones wut “ube he role..of someone who is con the number of thos who belie Kamenev ences 2} i Seno eens ot one Trotsky but also Zinovicv and Sam official Soviet * un tenabieaaaaal is becoming more and more