The ‘Open Letter’ was the most authoritative, highest priority, direction to its members and secondary leaders and often accompanied an internal crisis or a pivot in orientation, a change in line. They were meant to be studied, discussed, implemented, and reported on. After the old language federations were (in theory) wound-up with the reorganization of the Party began in 1924, work specific to certain ethnic or language groups was done through a newspaper directly responsible to the Party’s central leadership and the creation of, or intervention in, non-Party workers’ clubs. The 1933 Open Letter issued in the aftermath of the victory of German fascism, began with the realization that most Communist Party’s werenot mass Parties, let alone hegemonic in the working class, and was part of the Comintern’s first moves from the politics of the ‘Third Period.’ Here, the relatively small Greek-speaking Communist organization responds to the Open Letter. Although there had been a number of Greek workers organizations in the U.S., it was not until 1917 that a Greek Language Federation of the Socialist Party was constituted. Previously most Greek-speakers would have been members of the South Slavonic Federation. A “Greek Socialist Study Club” under the “Greek Socialist Union” with D.E. Valakos as the Translator-Secretary counted 200 members. Centered in New York, where the Communist leaning ‘Η φωνή του εργάτη’ (‘Voice of the Worker’) was published beginning in 1918. The Greek Socialist Union seems to have orientated to the Communist Labor Party in the 1919 splits. The monthly ‘Voice of the Workers’ became weekly and changed its name to ‘Εμπρός’ (Empros/’Forward’) in 1923 as a Communist Party paper. It continued to run until the 1950s. While remaining relatively small, never rising above 500 dues paying-members, The Greek Federation of the Communist Party was able to publish numerous books and pamphlets of the movement in Greek translations. The Socialist Labor Party published a Greek-language newspaper from 1917, ‘Οργάνωση’ (‘Organization’) irregularly from Cincinnati than Detroit, and from 1920, in Brooklyn and edited by Peter Tsistinas. Eventually, the SLP developed small Greek branches in Brooklyn, Chicago, Detroit, and Youngstown, Ohio by the early 1920s.

‘Plan of Work of Greek Buro’ of the C.C. from Party Organizer (C.P.U.S.A. Internal Bulletin). Vol. 6 No. 10. October, 1933.

THE resolution and plan of work of the Greek Buro of the Central Committee on the basis of the Open Letter, while pointing out some achievements in the various fields of activity among the Greek toiling masses since the Fourteenth Plenum, at the same time clearly and sharply points out that this progress is extremely insignificant on the basis of the present favorable conditions “the tremendous sharpening of the economic crisis and the new severe attacks of the bourgeoisie on the workers and toiling masses.” Progress has been made in building up some new workers’ clubs in New York, Chicago and Detroit, some good beginnings among the unemployed, the increased circulation of the Empros by 2,000, etc.

The Greek Buro of the C.C. failed to develop mass workers’ clubs, and did not pay sufficient attention to the basic industrial cities and districts where hundreds and thousands of Greek workers are concentrated (Pittsburgh, Ohio, and Chicago districts). It must be recorded that the buro failed to develop opposition work in the reactionary Greek organizations.

The Empros, the official organ of the Party in the Greek language, is not as yet the mass propagandist and organizer of the Greek workers. The buro states: “The frank and sharp criticism of the Open Letter of all phases of work of our Party can be directed also, without any hesitation, towards the Greek buro of the C.C.”

In line with the Open Letter the buro decided to concentrate its activities in the following districts: New York, Pittsburgh, Ohio, Chicago, Detroit and in the city of Baltimore where over 500 Greek workers are employed in the Sparrows Point plant. In the above districts the buro will concentrate on metal and food. The members of the National Buro were assigned to be responsible for certain concentration districts.

Tasks for Six Months in Light of Open Letter

The buro set itself the task to accomplish the following within six months:

1. To build six new workers’ clubs in the following cities: Brooklyn, McKeesport, Canton, Youngstown, Milwaukee and San Francisco.

2. To double the membership of the existing workers’ clubs.

3. To increase the circulation of the Empros by 4,000.

4. To recruit 300 new members into the Party with special attention to recruiting workers from basic industries.

5. Trade Union and Unemployed Committees to be established and activized in all the workers’ clubs.

The buro in its resolution points out that “in order to be able to carry out our decisions and plans and to enable the members of the buro to fulfill their assignments at the points of concentration, new forces must be developed and drawn into the leading committees as quickly as possible.” The first practical step was taken to draw in new forces with the establishment of the editorial board of the Empros of five members, which has already begun to function collectively. Further, the buro already took the necessary steps for the organization of a six weeks National Training School to wards developing new cadres for the National Buro and for the basic concentration districts. The school will open the first week of November in New York with about twenty students.

Conference to Discuss Open Letter

Also, in line with its plan of work to help the fractions understand the significance of the Open Letter and to discuss with the fractions directly their local problems, the buro is calling a conference of representatives of the different fractions of the Chicago district and the eastern states for September 23rd-24th in Cleveland, Ohio.

As for the Empros, the buro is making serious efforts to transform the Empros from a sectarian propagandist paper into a mass propagandist and organizer of the Greek toiling masses. Already, in spite of all the difficulties, with a new inexperienced worker as chief editor, and the new editorial board, we can see some definite improvements.

It is about five weeks since the Greek Buro of the C.C. issued its plan of work. The district buros, especially in the concentration districts, are seriously moving forward to put the line given in the Open Letter into practice. The workers’ clubs of New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago have already elected trade union committees and decided to concentrate on important factories. In the cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland the trade union committees of the workers’ clubs started a campaign for the organization of the food workers into the Food Workers Industrial Union. In Pittsburgh the committee has already recruited seventy-five members into the Food Workers Industrial Union.

In conclusion, the buro states: “The publication of the Open Letter in Greek and the resolution of the Greek Buro have stirred up the Greek Party members. We are confident that with the concrete plan of work before us and under the leadership of the C.C. we will be able to carry out our decisions and to put into effect the instructions of the Open Letter.”

The Party Organizer was the internal bulletin of the Communist Party published by its Central Committee beginning in 1927. First published irregularly, than bi-monthly, and then monthly, the Organizer was primarily meant for the Party’s unit, district, and shop organizers. The Organizer offers a much different view of the CP than the Daily Worker, including a much higher proportion of women writers than almost any other CP publication. Its pages are often full of the mundane problems of Party organizing, complaints about resources, debates over policy and personalities, as well as official numbers and information on Party campaigns, locals, organizations, and periodicals making the Party Organizer an important resource for the study and understanding of the Party in its most important years.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/party-organizer/v06n10-oct-1933-Party%20Organizer.pdf