Modern History Sourcebook:
Molotov:
Reaction to German Invasion of 1941
Vyacheslav Molotov (1889-1986), Foreign Minister of the Soviet
Union, had signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact on August 23, 1939. This bought the USSR two years in which to
prepare for the Nazi attack, but in the meantime encouraged Hitler's
aggression against Poland. By 1941 it was the Soviet Union's turn.
For years, Hitler had claimed that Germany's future living space,
or lebensraum, existed to Germany's east, namely Russia. He then
turned his attention toward the Soviet Union and launched a massive
attack on June 22, 1941. Below is the initial Soviet reaction,
broadcast to the people by Molotov.
Citizens of the Soviet Union:
The Soviet Government and its head, Comrade Stalin, have authorized
me to make the following statement:
Today at 4 o'clock a.m., without any claims having been presented
to the Soviet Union, without a declaration of war, German troops
attacked our country, attacked our borders at many points and
bombed from their airplanes our cities; Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol,
Kaunas and some others, killing and wounding over two hundred
persons.
There were also enemy air raids and artillery shelling from Rumanian
and Finnish territory.
This unheard of attack upon our country is perfidy unparalleled
in the history of civilized nations. The attack on our country
was perpetrated despite the fact that a treaty of non-aggression
had been signed between the U. S. S. R. and Germany and that the
Soviet Government most faithfully abided by all provisions of
this treaty.
The attack upon our country was perpetrated despite the fact that
during the entire period of operation of this treaty, the German
Government could not find grounds for a single complaint against
the U.S.S.R. as regards observance of this treaty.
Entire responsibility for this predatory attack upon the Soviet
Union falls fully and completely upon the German Fascist rulers.
At 5:30 a.m. -- that is, after the attack had already been perpetrated,
Von der Schulenburg, the German Ambassador in Moscow, on behalf
of his government made the statement to me as People's Commissar
of Foreign Affairs to the effect that the German Government had
decided to launch war against the U.S.S.R. in connection with
the concentration of Red Army units near the eastern German frontier.
In reply to this I stated on behalf of the Soviet Government that,
until the very last moment, the German Government had not presented
any claims to the Soviet Government, that Germany attacked the
U.S.S.R. despite the peaceable position of the Soviet Union, and
that for this reason Fascist Germany is the aggressor.
On instruction of the government of the Soviet Union I also stated
that at no point had our troops or our air force committed a violation
of the frontier and therefore the statement made this morning
by the Rumanian radio to the effect that Soviet aircraft allegedly
had fired on Rumanian airdromes is a sheer lie and provocation.
Likewise a lie and provocation is the whole declaration made today
by Hitler, who is trying belatedly to concoct accusations charging
the Soviet Union with failure to observe the Soviet-German pact.
Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been committed,
the Soviet Government has ordered our troops to repulse the predatory
assault and to drive German troops from the territory of our country.
This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not
by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings
we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist
rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles,
Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other
nations.
The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence
that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet
Air Force will acquit themselves with honor in performing their
duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict
a crushing blow upon the aggressor.
This is not the first time that our people have had to deal with
an attack of an arrogant foe. At the time of Napoleon's invasion
of Russia our people's reply was war for the fatherland, and Napoleon
suffered defeat and met his doom.
It will be the same with Hitler, who in his arrogance has proclaimed
a new crusade against our country. The Red Army and our whole
people will again wage victorious war for the fatherland, for
our country, for honor, for liberty.
The government of the Soviet Union expresses the firm conviction
that the whole population of our country, all workers, peasants
and intellectuals, men and women, will conscientiously perform
their duties and do their work. Our entire people must now stand
solid and united as never before. Each one of us must demand of himself and of others discipline,
organization and self-denial worthy of real Soviet patriots, in
order to provide for all the needs of the Red Army, Navy and Air
Force, to insure victory over the enemy.
The government calls upon you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to
rally still more closely around our glorious Bolshevist party,
around our Soviet Government, around our great leader and comrade,
Stalin. Ours is a righteous cause. The enemy shall be defeated.
Victory will be ours.
Vyacheslav Molotov - June 22, 1941
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