Modern History Sourcebook:
Joseph Stalin:
Reply to Churchill, 1946
... In substance, Mr. Churchill now stands in the position of
a firebrand of war. And Mr. Churchill is not alone here. He has
friends not only in England but also in the United States of America.
In this respect, one is reminded remarkably of Hitler and his
friends. Hitler began to set war loose by announcing his racial
theory, declaring that only people speaking the German language
represent a fully valuable nation. Mr. Churchill begins to set
war loose, also by a racial theory, maintaining that only nations
speaking the English language are fully valuable nations, called
upon to decide the destinies of the entire world.
The German racial theory brought Hitler and his friends to the
conclusion that the Germans, as the only fully valuable nation,
must rule over other nations. The English racial theory brings
Mr. Churchill and his friends to the conclusion that nations speaking
the English language, being the only fully valuable nations, should
rule over the remaining nations of the world....
As a result of the German invasion, the Soviet Union has irrevocably
lost in battles with the Germans, and also during the German occupation
and through the expulsion of Soviet citizens to German slave labor
camps, about 7,000,000 people. In other words, the Soviet Union
has lost in men several times more than Britain and the United
States together.
It may be that some quarters are trying to push into oblivion
these sacrifices of the Soviet people which insured the liberation
of Europe from the Hitlerite yoke.
But the Soviet Union cannot forget them. One can ask therefore,
what can be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, in a
desire to ensure its security for the future, tries to achieve
that these countries should have governments whose relations to
the Soviet Union are loyal? How can one, without having lost one's
reason, qualify these peaceful aspirations of the Soviet Union
as "expansionist tendencies" of our Government?. . .
Mr. Churchill wanders around the truth when he speaks of the growth
of the influence of the Communist parties in Eastern Europe....
The growth of the influence of communism cannot be considered
accidental. It is a normal function. The influence of the Communists
grew because during the hard years of the mastery of fascism in
Europe, Communists slowed themselves to be reliable, daring and
self-sacrificing fighters against fascist regimes for the liberty
of peoples.
Mr. Churchill sometimes recalls in his speeches the common people
from small houses, patting them on the shoulder in a lordly manner
and pretending to be their friend. But these people are not so
simpleminded as it might appear at first sight. Common people,
too, have their opinions and their own politics. And they know
how to stand up for themselves.
It is they, millions of these common people, who voted Mr. Churchill
and his party out in England, giving their votes to the Labor
party. It is they, millions of these common people, who isolated
reactionaries in Europe, collaborators with fascism, and gave
preference to Left democratic parties
From "Stalin's Reply to Churchill," March 14, 1946 (interview
with Pravda), The New York Times, p. 4.
This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
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texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World
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(c)Paul Halsall Aug 1997
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