J. V. Stalin On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE,

MOSCOW, 1946

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Radio Address July 3, 1941 Comrades! Citizens!

Brothers and sisters!

Men of our army and navy! My words are addressed to you, dear friends! The perfidious military attack by Hitler Germany on our motherland, begun on June 22, is continuing. In spite of the heroic resistance of the Red Army and although the enemy's finest divisions and finest air units have already been shattered and have met their doom on the battlefield, the enemy continues to push forward, hurling fresh forces into the fray. Hitler's troops have succeeded in capturing Lithuania, a considerable part of Latvia, the western part of Byelorussia and part of Western Ukraine. The fascist aircraft are extending the range of their operations, bombing Murmansk, Orsha, Moghilev, Smolensk, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol. Grave danger over-hangs our country. How could it have happened that our glorious Red Army surrendered a number of our cities and districts to the fascist troops? Are the German fascist troops really invincible as the braggart fascist propagandists are ceaselessly trumpeting? Of course not! History shows that there are no invincible armies and that there never have been.

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Napoleon's army was considered invincible, but it was beaten successively by the troops of Russia, England and Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm's German army in the period of the first imperialist war was also considered an invincible army, but it was defeated several times by Russian and Anglo-French troops, and was finally routed by the Anglo-French troops. The same must be said of Hitler's German fascist army today. This army has not yet met with serious resistance on the continent of Europe. Only on our territory has it met with serious resistance. And if as a result of this the finest divisions of the German fascist army have been defeated by our Red Army, it shows that Hitler's fascist army can also be and will be defeated as were the armies of Napoleon and Wilhelm. That part of our territory has nevertheless been seized by the German fascist troops is explained chiefly by the fact that the war of fascist Germany against the U.S.S.R. began under conditions that were favourable for the German troops and unfavourable for the Soviet troops. The point is that the troops of Germany, a country at war, were already fully mobilized, and the 170 divisions which Germany hurled against the U.S.S.R. and brought up to the frontiers of the U.S.S.R. were in a state of complete readiness, only awaiting the signal to move into action, whereas the Soviet troops had still to be mobilized and moved up to the frontiers. Of no little importance in this respect was also the fact that fascist Germany suddenly and treacherously violated the non-aggression pact she had concluded in 1939 with the U.S.S.R., ignoring the fact that the whole world would regard her as the aggressor. Naturally, our peace-loving country, not wishing to

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take the initiative in breaking a pact, could not resort to perfidy. It may be asked: How could the Soviet Government have consented to conclude a non-aggression pact with such perfidious people, and such fiends as Hitler and Ribbentrop? Was this not an error on the part of the Soviet Government? Of course not! A non-aggression pact is a pact of peace between two states. It was precisely such a pact that Germany proposed to us in 1939. Could the Soviet Government decline such a proposal? I think that not a single peace-loving state could decline a peace treaty with a neighbouring country even if that country is headed by such monsters and cannibals as Hitler and Ribbentrop. But that, of course, only on the one indispensable condition that this peace treaty did not jeopardize, either directly or indirectly, the territorial integrity, independence and honour of the peace-loving state. As is well known, the non-aggression pact between Germany and the U.S.S.R. was precisely such a pact. What did we gain by concluding the non-aggression pact with Germany? We secured our country peace for a year and a half and the opportunity of preparing our forces to repulse fascist Germany should she risk an attack on our country despite the pact. This was a definite advantage for us and a disadvantage for fascist Germany. What has fascist Germany gained and what has she lost by perfidiously tearing up the pact and attacking the U.S.S.R.? She has gained a certain advantageous position for her troops for a short period of time, but she has lost politically by exposing herself in the eyes of the entire world as a bloodthirsty aggressor. There can be no doubt

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that this short-lived military gain for Germany is only episode, while the tremendous political gain of the U.S.S.R. is a weighty and lasting factor that is bound to form the basis for the development of decisive military success of the Red Army in the war with fascist Germany. That is why the whole of our valiant Red Army, the whole of our valiant Navy, all the falcons of our Air Force, all the peoples of our country, all the finest men and women of Europe, America and Asia, and, lastly, all the finest men and women of Germany--denounce the treacherous acts of the German fascists, sympathize with the Soviet Government, approve its conduct, and see that ours is a just cause, that the enemy will be defeated and that victory will be ours. In consequence of this war which has been forced upon us, our country has come to death grips with its bitterest and most cunning enemy--German fascism. Our troops are fighting heroically against an enemy heavily armed with tanks and aircraft. Overcoming numerous difficulties, the Red Army and Red Navy are self- sacrificingly fighting for every inch of Soviet soil. The main forces of the Red Army are coming into action armed with thousands of tanks and aeroplanes. The men of the Red Army are displaying unexampled valour. Our resistance to the enemy is growing in strength and power. Side by side with the Red Army, the entire Soviet people is rising in defence of our native land. What is required to put an end to the danger which overhangs our country, and what measures must be taken to crush the enemy? Above all it is essential that our people, the Soviet people, should appreciate the full immensity of the

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danger that threatens our country and cast off complacency, carelessness and the mentality of peaceful constructive work that was so natural before the war, but which is fatal today, when war has radically changed the situation. The enemy is cruel and implacable. He is out to seize our lands which have been watered by the sweat of our brow, to seize our grain and oil which have been obtained by the labour of our hands. He is out to restore the rule of the landlords, to restore tsarism, to destroy the national culture and the national existence as states of the Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Uzbeks, Tatars, Moldavians, Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanians and the other free peoples of the Soviet Union, to Germanize them, to convert them into the slaves of German princes and barons. Thus, the issue is one of life and death for the Soviet State, of life and death for the peoples of the U.S.S.R., of whether the peoples of the Soviet Union shall be free or fall into slavery. The Soviet people must realize this and cease to be careless; they must mobilize themselves and reorganize all their work on a new, war footing, where there can be no mercy for the enemy. Further, there must be no room in our ranks for whimperers and cowards, for panic-mongers and deserters; our people must know no fear in the fight and must selflessly join our Patriotic War of liberation against the fascist enslavers. Lenin, the great founder of our state, used to say that the chief virtues of Soviet men and women must be courage, valour, fearlessness in struggle, readiness to fight together with the people against the enemies of our country. These splendid Bolshevik virtues must be acquired by the millions and millions of men of

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the Red Army and of the Red Navy, by all the peoples of the Soviet Union. All our work must be immediately reorganized on a war footing, everything must be subordinated to the interests of the front and the task of organizing the rout of the enemy. The peoples of the Soviet Union now see that German fascism is untameable in its savage fury and hatred of our country, which has ensured for all its working people free labour and prosperity. The peoples of the Soviet Union must rise to defend their rights and their land against the enemy. The Red Army, the Red Navy and all citizens of the Soviet Union must defend every inch of Soviet soil, must fight to the last drop of blood for our towns and villages, must display the daring, initiative and mental alertness that are characteristic of our people. We must organize all-round assistance to the Red Army, ensure powerful reinforcements for its ranks, ensure the supply of everything it requires, organize the rapid transport of troops and military freight and extensive aid to the wounded. We must strengthen the Red Army's rear, subordinating all our work to this end; all our factories must work with greater intensity, produce more rifles, machine guns, guns, cartridges, shells and aircraft; we must organize the guarding of factories, power stations, telephone and telegraph communications, and organize effective air-raid protection in all localities. We must wage a ruthless fight against all disorganizers of the rear, deserters, panic-mongers and rumour-mongers; we must exterminate spies, sabotage agents and enemy parachutists, rendering rapid aid in all this to our

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destroyer battalions. We must bear in mind that the enemy is crafty, cunning, experienced in deception and in the dissemination of false rumours. We must reckon with all this and not allow ourselves to be deceived by provocateurs. All who by their panic-mongering and cowardice hinder the work of defence, no matter who they are, must be immediately haled before a Military Tribunal. In case of a forced retreat of Red Army units, all rolling stock must be evacuated; not a single engine, a single railway car, a single pound of grain or gallon of fuel must be left for the enemy. The collective farmers must drive off all their cattle and turn over their grain to the safekeeping of the state authorities for transportation to the rear. All valuable property, including non-ferrous metals, grain and fuel that cannot be withdrawn, must be destroyed without fail. In areas occupied by the enemy, guerilla units, mounted and foot, must be formed, sabotage groups must be organized to combat enemy units, to foment guerilla warfare everywhere, to blow up bridges and roads, damage telephone and telegraph lines and set fire to forests, stores and transports. In occupied regions conditions must be made unbearable for the enemy and all his accomplices. They must be hounded and annihilated at every step, and all their measures frustrated. The war with fascist Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war. It is not only a war between two armies; it is also a great war of the entire Soviet people against a German fascist army. The aim of this people's Patriotic War against the fascist oppressors is not only to avert the danger that is hanging over our country, but also to aid all the European peoples who are groaning under the

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yoke of German fascism. In this war of liberation we shall not be alone. In this great war we shall have true allies in the peoples of Europe and America, including the German people which is enslaved by the Hitlerite misrulers. Our war for the freedom of our motherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for democratic liberties. It will be a united front of the peoples who stand for freedom and against enslavement and threats of enslavement by Hitler's fascist armies. In this connection the historic utterances of the British Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, regarding aid to the Soviet Union, and the declaration of the United States Government signifying readiness to render aid to our country, which can only evoke a feeling of gratitude in the hearts of the people of the Soviet Union, are fully comprehensible and symptomatic. Comrades! Our forces are countless. The overweening enemy will soon be convinced of this. Side by side with the Red Army many thousands of workers, collective farmers and intellectuals are rising to fight the enemy aggressor. The masses of our people will rise up in their millions. The working people of Moscow and Leningrad have already begun to form a people's volunteer guard of many thousands to support the Red Army. Such a people's volunteer guard must be raised in every city which is in danger of enemy invasion; all the working people must be roused to defend with their lives their freedom, their honour, their country in our Patriotic War against German fascism. To ensure the rapid mobilization of all the forces of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. and to repulse the enemy who

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has treacherously attacked our country, a State Committee of Defense has been formed in whose hands all power in the state has now been concentrated. The State Committee of Defence has entered on the performance of its functions anal calls upon all our people to rally around the Party of Lenin and Stalin, around the Soviet Government, to render self-sacrificing support to the Red Army and Red Navy, to crush the enemy and achieve victory. All forces for the support of our heroic Red Army and our glorious Red Navy! All forces of the people for routing the enemy! Forward to victory!

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24th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution Speech Delivered at the Joint Celebration Meeting

of the Moscow Soviet of Working People's Deputies

and Representatives of Moscow Party

and Public Organizations

November 6, 1941 Comrades! Twenty-four years have elapsed since the victory of the October Socialist Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet system in our country. We are now on the threshold of the next, the twenty-fifth, year of existence of the Soviet system. It is customary at meetings in celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution to review our achievements in the realm of peaceful construction for the past year. And we are indeed in a position to make such reviews, for our achievements in the realm of peaceful construction grow not only from year to year, but from month to month. These achievements and their magnitude are known to all, both friends and foes. But the past year has not only been one of peaceful construction. It has also been a year of war with the German invaders who perfidiously attacked our peace-loving country. It was only in the first six months of the past year that we were able to continue our peaceful,

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constructive work. The second half of the year, more than four months of it, has been marked by fierce warfare against the German imperialists. The war thus marked a turning point in the development of our country in this past year. The war has considerably diminished, and in some branches has altogether suspended our peaceful constructive work. It has compelled us to place all our work on a war footing. It has converted our country into one all-inclusive rear, which serves the front, our Red Army and our Navy. The period of peaceful construction has come to an end. A period of war of liberation from the German invaders has begun. It is therefore quite appropriate to discuss the results of the war in the second half of the past year, or rather the period of a little over four months of the second half of the year, and the aims we have set ourselves in this war of liberation. The Course of the War for Four Months I have already said in one of my public speeches at the beginning of the war that the war has created a grave menace for our country, that serious danger threatens our country, that we must understand and realize this danger and place all our work on a war footing. Today, after four months of war, I must emphatically state that far from having abated, this danger is greater than ever. The enemy has seized a large part of the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Moldavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and a number of other regions; he has forced his way into the

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Donetz Basin, hangs like a black cloud over Leningrad and is threatening our glorious capital, Moscow. The German fascist invaders are despoiling our country, destroying the towns and villages created by the efforts of the workers, peasants and intellectuals. Hitler's hordes are slaughtering and outraging the civilian population of our country, showing no mercy to women, children or the aged. Our brothers in those regions of our country which the Germans have seized are groaning beneath the yoke of the German oppressors. Rivers of enemy blood have been shed by the men of our Army and Navy, who are defending the honour and liberty of their native land, manfully repulsing the attacks of a bestial enemy and setting examples of valour and heroism. But the enemy stops at no sacrifice, he does not care one iota for the blood of his soldiers, he keeps hurling fresh detachments into the field to replace those that have been shattered, and is exerting every effort to capture Leningrad and Moscow before the advent of winters for he knows that winter bodes him no good. During the four months of war we lost 350,000 in killed and 378,000 missing; our wounded number 1,020,000. In the same period the enemy lost over 4,500,000 men killed, wounded and taken prisoner. There can be no doubt that as a result of the four months of war Germany, whose reserves of manpower are already giving out, has been far more weakened than the Soviet Union, whose reserves are only just beginning to come into full play.

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Failure of the "Blitzkrieg" In launching their attack on our country the German fascist invaders calculated that they would be able to "finish off the Soviet Union for certain in one and a half or two months, and in this short period would succeed in reaching the Urals. It must be said that the Germans did not conceal this plan for a "lightning" victory. On the Contrary, they gave it the utmost publicity. The facts, however, have revealed the utter folly and groundlessness of this "lightning" plan. Today this crazy plan must be regarded as having definitely failed. (Applause.) How is it to be explained that the "blitzkrieg" which succeeded in Western Europe, failed and collapsed in the East? What did the German fascist strategists count on when they asserted that they would finish off the Soviet Union in two months and reach the Urals in this short period ? They seriously counted in the first place on creating a universal coalition against the U.S.S.R., on enlisting Great Britain and the U.S.A. in this coalition, after frightening the ruling circles of these countries with the spectre of revolution, and thus completely isolating our country from other powers. The Germans knew that their policy of playing on the class antagonisms in the different countries and the antagonisms between these countries and the Land of Soviets had already produced results in France, the rulers of which, after allowing themselves to be scared by the spectre of revolution, in their fright laid their country at the feet of Hitler and renounced all resistance. The German fascist strategists thought that

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the same thing would happen in the case of Great Britain and the United States. The notorious Hess was in fact sent to England by the German fascists precisely to persuade the English statesmen to join in a universal campaign against the U.S.S.R. But the Germans sadly miscalculated. (Applause.) Not withstanding all Hess's efforts, Great Britain and the United States, far from joining the campaign of the German fascist invaders against the U.S.S.R., proved to be in one camp with the U.S.S.R. against Hitler Germany. Far from being isolated, the U.S.S.R. acquired new allies in the shape of Great Britain, the United States and countries occupied by the Germans. It turns out that the German policy of playing on antagonisms and using the spectre of revolution has lost its efficacy and is unsuitable in the new situation. Not only is it unsuitable, it is even, fraught with grave danger for the German invaders, for under the new conditions of the war it leads to diametrically opposite results. Secondly, the Germans counted on the Soviet system being unstable, on the Soviet rear being unstable, and believed that after the very first serious blow and the first reverses suffered by the Red Army conflicts would break out between the workers and peasants, that squabbling would begin among the peoples of the U.S.S.R., that uprisings would occur, and the country would break up into its component parts, and this, it was expected, would facilitate the advance of the German invaders right up to the Urals. But here, too, the Germans sadly miscalculated. Far from weakening, the reverses of the Red Army only served still further to strengthen both the alliance of the workers and peasants and the friendship of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. (Applause.) More, they

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converted the family of peoples of the U.S.S.R. into a single and unshakable camp, selflessly supporting their Red Army and their Red Navy. Never has the Soviet rear been so firm as it is today. (Loud applause.) It is quite likely that if any other country had lost as much territory as we have lost now it would not have stood the test and would have fallen into decline. If the Soviet system has stood the test so well and has even strengthened its rear, it must mean that the Soviet system is now a most stable one. (Loud applause.) Lastly, the German invaders counted on the weakness of the Red Army and Red Navy, believing that the German army and German navy would succeed at the very first blow in overwhelming and scattering our Army and Navy and opening the way for an unhindered advance into the depths of our country. But here, too, the Germans sadly miscalculated, overrating their own strength and underrating our Army and Navy. Of course, our Army and Navy are still young, they have been fighting for only four months, they have not yet succeeded in becoming a thoroughly seasoned army and navy, whereas they are confronted by the seasoned navy and seasoned army of the Germans, who have already been at war for two years. But, in the first place, the morale of our Army is higher than that of the German, for it is defending its native land against alien invaders and believes in the justice of its cause, whereas the German army is waging a war of annexation, is plundering a foreign country, and is unable to believe even for a moment in the justice of its vile cause. There can be no doubt that the idea of defending their native land, which is what our people are fighting for, is hound to breed, and actually is breeding

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in our Army heroes who cement the Red Army, whereas the idea of seizing and plundering a foreign country, which is what the Germans are in fact waging the war for, is bound to breed, and actually is breeding in the German army professional looters, devoid of all moral principles and corrupting the German army. Secondly, as it advances into the interior of our country, the German army is moving farther and farther away from its own German rear, is forced to operate in hostile surroundings, is forced to create a new rear in an alien country, a rear, moreover, that is being disrupted by our guerillas--all of which is radically disorganizing the supply of the German army, causes it to fear its own rear and destroys its faith in the stability of its position, whereas our Army is operating in its own native surroundings, enjoys the constant support of its rear, is assured of supplies of men, munitions and food, and has a profound faith in its rear. That is why our Army has proved to be stronger than the Germans anticipated and the German army weaker than might have been expected, judging by the boastful self-advertisement of the German invaders. The defence of Leningrad and Moscow, where our divisions lately wiped out about thirty seasoned German divisions, shows that in the fire of our Patriotic War there are being forged, and already have been forged, new Soviet men and commanders, airmen, artillerymen, mortar men, tankmen, infantrymen, and sailors, who tomorrow will become the terror of the German army. (Loud applause.) There can be no doubt that all these factors, taken together, predetermined the inevitable collapse of the "Blitzkrieg" in the East.

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Reasons for the Temporary Reverses of Our Army All that, of course, is true. But it is likewise true that alongside these favourable factors, there are a number of factors that are unfavourable for the Red Army, as a result of which our Army is suffering temporary reverses, is obliged to retreat and to surrender a number of regions of our country to the enemy. What are these unfavourable factors? What are the reasons for the temporary military reverses of the Red Army? One of the reasons for the reverses of the Red Army is the absence of a second front in Europe against the German fascist troops. The fact of the matter is that at the present time there are no armies of Great Britain or the United States of America on the European continent to savage war against the German fascist troops, with the result that the Germans are not compelled to divide their forces and to wage war on two fronts, in the West and in the East. Well, the effect of this is that the Germans, considering their rear in the West secure, are able to send all their troops and the troops of their allies in Europe against our country. The situation at present is such that our country is waging a war of liberation single- handed, without military help from any one against the combined forces of the Germans, Finns, Rumanians, Italians and Hungarians. The Germans preen themselves on their temporary successes and are lavish in their praises of their army, claiming that it can always defeat the Red Army in single combat. The Germans' claims are nothing but empty boasting, for it is

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incomprehensible why in that case the Germans have resorted to the aid of the Finns, Rumanians, Italians and the Hungarians against the Red Army, which is fighting absolutely single-handed without any military help from outside. There can be no doubt that the absence of a second front in Europe against the Germans greatly eases the position of the German army. But neither can there be any doubt that the appearance of a second front on the European continent--and it must unquestionably appear in the near future (loud applause)--will materially ease the position of our Army to the detriment of the German army. Another reason for the temporary reverses of our Army is our lack of an adequate number of tanks and partly of aircraft. In modern warfare it is very hard for infantry to fight without tanks and without adequate aircraft protection. Our aircraft are superior in quality to the German, and our splendid airmen have covered themselves with glory as dauntless fighters. (Applause.) But we still have fewer aeroplanes than the Germans. Our tanks are superior in quality to the German, and our splendid tankmen and artillerymen have on more than one occasion put the vaunted troops of the Germans, with their numerous tanks, to flight. (Applause.) But we still have several times less tanks than the Germans. Therein lies the secret of the temporary successes of the German army. It cannot be said that our tank-building industry is working badly and is supplying our front with few tanks. No, it is working very well and is producing quite a number of splendid tanks. But the Germans are producing far more tanks, for they now have at their disposal not only their own tank-building industry, but

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also the industry of Czechoslovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Were it not for this the Red Army would long ago have smashed the German army, which never ventures into action without tanks and cannot withstand the onslaught of our troops if it has not a superiority in tanks. (Applause.) There is only one way of nullifying the Germans' superiority in tanks and thus radically improving the position of our Army, and that is, not only to increase the output of tanks in our country several times over, but also sharply to increase the production of anti-tank aircraft, anti-tank rifles and guns, and anti-tank grenades and mortars, and to build as large a number as possible of anti-tank traps and every other kind of tank obstacle. This is the task now. We can accomplish this task, and we must accomplish it at all costs! What are the "National-Socialists"? In our country the German invaders, i.e., the Hitlerites, are usually called fascists. The Hitlerites, it appears, consider this wrong and obstinately persist in calling themselves "National-Socialists." Hence, the Germans are trying to assure us that the Hitler party, the party of German invaders, which is plundering Europe and has engineered this dastardly attack on our socialist country, is a socialist party. Is this possible? What can there be in common between socialism and the bestial Hitlerite invaders who are plundering and oppressing the nations of Europe?

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Can the Hitlerites be regarded as nationalists? No, they cannot. Actually, the Hitlerites are now not nationalists but imperialists. As long as the Hitlerites were engaged in assembling the German lands and reuniting the Rhine district, Austria, etc., there might have been some ground for calling them nationalists. But after they seized foreign territories and enslaved European nations--the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Norwegians, Danes, Netherlanders, Belgians, the French, Serbs, Greeks, Ukrainians, Belorussians, the inhabitants of the Baltic countries etc.--and began to reach out for world domination, the Hitlerite party ceased to be a nationalist partly for from that moment it became an imperialist, predatory, oppressor party. The Hitlerite party is a party of imperialists, and of the most rapacious and predatory imperialists in the world at that. Can the Hitlerites be regarded as socialists ? No, they cannot. Actually the Hitlerites are the sworn enemies of socialism, arrant reactionaries and Black- Hundreds who have robbed the working class and the peoples of Europe of the most elementary democratic liberties. In order to cover up their reactionary, Black-Hundred nature, the Hitlerites denounce the internal regime of England and America as a plutocratic regime. But in England and the United States there are elementary democratic liberties, there are trade unions of workers and salaried employees, there are workers' parties, there are parliaments; whereas in Germany, under the Hitler regime, all these institutions have been destroyed. One need but compare these two sets of facts to perceive the reactionary nature of the Hitler regime and the utter hypocrisy of the German fascist

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buncombe about a plutocratic regime in England and in America. In point of fact the Hitler regime is a copy of the reactionary regime which existed in Russia under tsarism. As we know, the Hitlerites suppress the rights of the workers, the rights of the intellectuals and the rights of nations as readily as the tsarist regime suppressed them; they organize mediaeval pogroms against the Jews as readily as the tsarist regime did. The Hitlerite party is a party of enemies of democratic liberties, a Party of medieval reaction and Black-Hundred pogroms. And if these brazen imperialists and arrant reactionaries still continue to don the toga of "nationalists" and "socialists," they do so for the purpose of deceiving the people, of hoodwinking the credulous and of using the flag of "nationalism" and "socialism" to cover up their predatory imperialist nature. Crows decked in peacocks' feathers.... But no matter how much crows may deck themselves in peacocks' feathers they will not cease to be crows. "We must resort to all means," says Hitler, "to bring about the conquest of the world by the Germans. If our hearts are set on establishing our great German Reich we must above all things force out and exterminate the Slavonic nations--the Russians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians. There is no reason why this should not be done." "Man," says Hitler, "is a born sinner; he can be ruled only by force. In dealing with him all means are permissible. When policy requires it we should lie, betray and even kill."

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"Kill everyone who is opposed to us," says Göring. "Kill, kill! Not you will answer for this, but I! Hence, kill!" "I emancipate man," says Hitler, "from the humiliating chimera which is called conscience. Conscience, like education, cripples men. My advantage is that I am not deterred by any considerations, theoretical or moral." In an order of the day dated September 25, issued by the German command to the 489th Infantry Regiment, found on a dead German non-commissioned officer, it is stated: "I order fire to be opened upon every Russian as soon as he appears within a distance of 600 metres. The Russians must know that they are faced by a resolute foe from whom they cannot expect any mercy." In one of the appeals of the German command to the soldiers, found on the dead body of Lieutenant Gustav Ziegel, a native of Frankfort-on-Main, we read: "You have no heart or nerves; they are not needed in war. Eradicate every trace of pity and sympathy from your heart--kill every Russian, every Soviet person. Do not hesitate, whether you have an old man or a woman, a girl or boy before you, kill! Thereby you will save your own life, ensure the future of your family and win eternal glory." There you have the program and instructions of the leaders of the Hitlerite party and of the Hitlerite command, the program and instructions of men who have lost all semblance of humanity and have sunk to the level of wild beasts. And these men, destitute of conscience and honour, these men with the morals of beasts, have the insolence to call for the extermination of the great Russian nation,

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the nation of Plekhanov and Lenin, Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, Pushkin and Tolstoy, Glinka and Chaikovsky, Gorky and Chekhov, Sechenov and Pavlov, Repin and Surikov, Suvorov and Kutuzov!... The German invaders want a war of extermination against the peoples of the U.S.S.R. Well, if the Germans want a war of extermination, they will get it. (Loud and prolonged applause.) From now on our task, the task of the peoples of the U.S.S.R., the task of the men, commanders and the political personnel of our Army and our Navy is to exterminate to a man all the Germans who have intruded into the territory of our country as invaders. (Loud applause. "Hear, hear! Cheers.) No mercy should be shown the German invaders! Death to the German invaders! (Loud applause.) The Defeat of the German Imperialists and Their Armies is Inevitable The very fact that in their moral degradation the German invaders, who have lost all semblance of humanity, have long ago sunk to the level of wild beasts, tells us that they have doomed themselves to inevitable destruction. But the inevitable destruction of the Hitlerite invaders and their armies is not determined by moral factors alone. There are three other basic factors, which are operating more powerfully with each day that passes, and which are bound to lead in the not distant future to

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the inevitable defeat of Hitler's robber imperialism. (Applause.) Firstly, there is the instability of the European rear of imperialist Germany, the instability of the "new order" in Europe. The German invaders have enslaved the peoples of the European continent--from France to the Soviet Baltic countries, from Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Soviet Byelorussia to the Balkans and the Soviet Ukraine; they have robbed them of their elementary democratic liberties; they have deprived them of the right to order their own destiny; they have taken away their grain, meat and raw materials; they have converted them into their slaves; they have crucified the Poles, Czechs, Serbs, and have decided that after achieving supremacy in Europe, they can now use it as a basis for building up Germany's world supremacy. That is what they call the "new order in Europe." But what is this "basis," what is this "new order"? Only the self- admiring Hitlerite fools fail to see that the "new order" in Europe and the infamous "basis" of this order represent a volcano which is ready to erupt at any moment and overwhelm the German imperialist house of cards. Reference is made to Napoleon and it is said that Hitler is acting like him, that he resembles Napoleon in every way. But, firstly, Napoleon's fate must not be forgotten. And, secondly, Hitler no more resembles Napoleon than a kitten resembles a lion. (Laughter, applause.) For Napoleon fought against the forces of reaction and relied on progressive forces, whereas Hitler, on the contrary, relies on the forces of reaction and fights the forces of progress. Only the Hitlerite fools in Berlin fail to realize that the enslaved peoples of Europe will fight

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and revolt against Hitler's tyranny. Who can doubt that the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the U.S.A. will give every support to the peoples of Europe in their struggle for liberation against Hitler's tyranny? (Applause.) Secondly, there is the instability of the German rear of the Hitlerite invaders. So long as the Hitlerites were engaged in uniting Germany, which had been carved up by the Versailles Treaty, they could enjoy the support of the German people, who were inspired by the ideal or the restoration of Germany. But after this aim had been achieved and the Hitlerites took the road of imperialism, of seizing foreign lands and of subjugating foreign nations, thereby converting the peoples of Europe and the peoples of the U.S.S.R. into sworn enemies of present- day Germany, a profound change of heart took place among the German people against the continuation of the war, in favour of ending the war. Over two years of sanguinary war, the end of which is not yet in sight; the millions of human lives sacrificed; starvation, impoverishment; epidemics; the atmosphere of hostility to the Germans all around them; Hitler's stupid policy which has turned the peoples of the U.S.S.R. into sworn enemies of present-day Germany--all this could not but set the German people against the unnecessary and ruinous war. Only the Hitlerite fools fail to see that not only the European rear but also the German rear of the German troops represents a volcano which is ready to erupt and overwhelm the Hitler adventurers. Lastly, there is the coalition of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the United States of America against the German fascist imperialists. It is a fact that Great Britain, the United States of America and the Soviet Union have

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united in a single camp, which has set itself the aim of defeating the Hitler imperialists and their robber armies. Modern war is a war of engines. The war will be won by the side that has an overwhelming preponderance in the output of engines. The combined engine output of the U.S.A., Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. is at least three times as large as that of Germany. That is one of the grounds for the inevitable doom of Hitler's robber imperialism. The recent three-power conference in Moscow, attended by Lord Beaverbrook as representative of Great Britain and by Mr. Harriman as representative of the United States, decided to give our country systematic aid in the way of tanks and aircraft. As you know, we have already begun to receive tanks and aeroplanes in accordance with that decision. Even prior to that England undertook to supply our country with such materials as we are deficient in, as aluminium, lead, tin, nickel and rubber. If we add the fact that a few days ago the United States of America decided to grant the Soviet Union a loan of 1,000,000,000 dollars, we can confidently state that the coalition of the United States of America, Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. is something real (loud applause), and that it is growing and will continue to grow to the benefit of our common cause of liberation. Such are the factors which determine the inevitable doom of German fascist imperialism.

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Our Tasks Lenin distinguished between two kinds of war--predatory, and therefore unjust wars, and wars of liberation, just wars. The Germans are now waging a predatory war, an unjust war, for the purpose of seizing foreign territory and subjugating foreign peoples. That is why all honest people must rise against the German invaders, as enemies. Unlike Hitler Germany, the Soviet Union and its allies are waging a war of liberation, a just war, for the purpose of liberating the enslaved peoples of Europe and the U.S.S.R. from Hitler's tyranny. That is why all honest people must support the armies of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the other Allies, as armies of liberation. We have not, and cannot have, any such war aims as the seizure of foreign territories and the subjugation of foreign peoples--whether it be the peoples and territories of Europe or the peoples and territories of Asia including Iran. Our First aim is to liberate our territories and our peoples from the German fascist yoke. We have not, and cannot have, any such war aims as that of imposing our will and our regime upon the Slavonic or other enslaved nations of Europe, who are expecting our help. Our aim is to help these nations in the struggle for liberation they are waging against Hitler's tyranny and then to leave it to them quite freely to arrange their lives on their lands as they think fit. There must be no interference whatever in the internal affairs of other nations! But if these aims are to be achieved, we must crush the military might of the German invaders, we must

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destroy to the last man the German forces of occupation who have intruded into our country for the purpose of enslaving it. (Loud and prolonged applause.) But to achieve this our Army and Navy must receive active and effective support from our entire country; all our workers and office employees, men and women, must work with might and main in the factories and supply the front with ever greater quantities of tanks, anti-tank rifles and guns, aircraft, artillery, mortars, machine guns, rifles and ammunition; our collective farmers, men and women, must work with might and main in their fields and supply the front and the country with ever greater quantities of grain, meat, raw materials for the industries; our entire country and all the peoples of the U.S.S.R. must organize in a single fighting camp, waging, together with our Army and Navy, the great war of liberation for the honour and freedom of our country, for the rout of the German armies. (Loud applause.) This is the task now. We can and must accomplish this task. Only when we have accomplished this task and have routed the German invaders can we achieve a lasting and just peace. Fight until the German invaders are utterly routed! (Loud applause.) Fight for the liberation of all the oppressed peoples who are groaning under the yoke of Hitler's tyranny! (Loud applause.) Long live the unshakable friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union! (Loud applause.) Long live our Red Army and our Red Navy! (Loud applause.)

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Long live our glorious motherland (Loud applause.) Ours is a just cause victory will be ours! (Loud applause. All rise. Shouts: "Cheers for the great Stalin!" "Long live Comrade Stalin!" Enthusiastic, prolonged ovation. The Internationale is sung.)

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Speech

Delivered at the Red Army Parade

On the Red Square Moscow, November 7, 1941 Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, Commanders and political instructors, working men and working women, collective farmers--men and women, workers engaged in intellectual pursuits, brothers and sisters in the rear of our enemy who have temporarily fallen under the yoke of the German brigands, and our valiant partisans, men and women, who are destroying the rear of the German invaders! On behalf of the Soviet Government and our Bolshevik Party, I greet and congratulate you on the 24th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Comrades! It is in strenuous circumstances that we are today celebrating the 24th Anniversary of the October Revolution. The perfidious attack of the German brigands and the war which has been forced upon us have placed our country in jeopardy. We have temporarily lost a number of regions, the enemy has appeared at the gates of Leningrad and Moscow. The enemy calculated that after the very first blow our Army would be dispersed, and our country would be forced to her knees. But the enemy sadly miscalculated. In spite of temporary reverses, our Army and our Navy are

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heroically repulsing the enemy's attacks along the whole front and inflicting heavy losses upon him, while our country--our entire country--has formed itself into a single fighting camp in order, together with our Army and our Navy, to encompass the defeat of the German invaders. There have been times when our country was in even more difficult straits than it is today. Recall the year of 1918, when we celebrated the first anniversary of the October Revolution. Three-fourths of our country was at that time in the hands of foreign invaders. The Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East were temporarily lost to us. We had no allies, we had no Red Army--we had only just begun to form it; there was a shortage of bread, of armaments, of clothing for the Army. Fourteen states were encroaching on our country. But we were not dismayed, we did not lose heart. In the fire of war we forged the Red Army and converted our country into a military camp. Then the spirit of the great Lenin inspired us in the war against the invaders. And what happened? We routed the invaders, recovered all our lost territory, and achieved victory. Today the position of our country is far better than it was twenty-three years ago. Our country is now ever so much richer than it was twenty-three years ago as regards industry, food and raw materials. We now have allies, who together with us are maintaining a united front against the German invaders. We now enjoy the sympathy and support of all the nations of Europe who have fallen under the yoke of Hitler's tyranny. We now have a splendid Army and a splendid Navy, which are staunchly defending the liberty and independence of our

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country. We experience no serious shortage of food, or of armaments, or of army clothing. Our entire country all the peoples of our country, support our Army and our Navy and are helping them to smash the invading hordes of German fascists. Our reserves of manpower are inexhaustible. The spirit of the great Lenin and his victorious banner now inspire us in this Patriotic War just as they did twenty-three years ago. Can there be any doubt that we can and are bound to defeat the German invaders? The enemy is not so strong as some frightened little intellectuals imagine. The devil is not so terrible as he is painted. Who can deny that our Red Army has time and again compelled the vaunted German troops to flee in panic? If we judge, not by the boastful utterances of the German propagandists, but by the actual position of Germany, it will be easily seen that the German fascist invaders are now on the brink of disaster. Hunger and poverty reign in Germany today; in the four months of war Germany has lost 4,500,000 men; Germany is bleeding at every pore, her reserves of manpower are giving out, the spirit of indignation is spreading not only among the peoples of Europe who have fallen under the yoke of German invaders, but also among the German people themselves, who can see no end to the war. The German invaders are exerting their last efforts. There can be no doubt that Germany will he unable to stand such a strain for long. Another few months, a half-year, a year, perhaps, and Hitler Germany is bound to collapse beneath the weight of its crimes. Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, commanders and political instructors, men and women

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partisans, the whole world is looking to you as the force capable of destroying the plundering hordes of German invaders. The enslaved peoples of Europe who have fallen under the yoke of the German invaders look to you as their liberators. A great liberating mission has fallen to your lot. Be worthy of this mission! The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war. Let the heroic images of our great forebears--Alexander Nevsky, Dimitri Donskoi, Kuzma Minin, Dimitri Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kutuzov--inspire you in this war! May you be inspired by the victorious banner of the great Lenin! Fight until the German invaders are utterly routed! Death to the German invaders! Long live our glorious motherland, her liberty and her independence! Under the banner of Lenin--forward to victory!

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Order of the Day

of the People's Commissar of Defence

of the U.S.S.R.

No. 55 Moscow, February 23, 1942 Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, commanders and political instructors, partisans, men and women! The peoples of our country are celebrating the 24th Anniversary of the Red Army amidst the stern conditions of our Patriotic War against fascist Germany, which is brazenly and despicably encroaching upon the life and freedom of our country. Along a vast front, stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, the men of the Red Army and Navy are waging a bitter fight to drive the German fascist invaders from our country and to uphold the honour and independence of our motherland. This is not the first time that the Red Army has had to defend our native land against enemy attack. The Red Army was formed twenty-four years ago to combat the troops of the foreign interventionists and invaders who were endeavouring to dismember our country and destroy its independence. Though going into battle for the, first time, the newly formed units of the Red Army

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utterly crushed the German invaders at Pskov and Narva in February 23, 1918. It was for this reason that February 23, 1918 was proclaimed the birthday of the Red Army. From then on the Red Army grew and gained strength in the struggle with the foreign interventionists and invaders. It successfully defended our country in the battles with the German invaders in 1918 and drove them beyond the borders of the Ukraine and Byelorussia. It successfully defended our country in the battles with the foreign troops of the Entente in 1919-1921 and drove them too beyond the borders of our country. The rout of the foreign interventionists and aggressors during the Civil War secured for the peoples of the Soviet Union a long period of peace and the opportunity of engaging in peaceful construction. During these two decades of peaceful construction socialist industry and collective farming arose in our country, science and culture flourished, and the ties of friendship between the peoples of our country were strengthened. But the Soviet people always bore in mind the possibility of another enemy attack on our country. Therefore, simultaneously with the growth of industry and agriculture, of science and culture the military might of the Soviet Union grew too. Some of those who covet the lands of others, have already felt the weight of this might. The vaunted German fascist army is feeling it now. Eight months ago fascist Germany wantonly attacked our country, grossly and basely violating the non-aggression pact. The enemy calculated that the Red Army would be shattered at the very first blow and would lose its power of resistance. But the enemy sadly miscalculated. He failed to take into account the strength of the Red

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Army, failed to take into account the stability of the Soviet rear, failed to take into account the determination of the peoples of our country to achieve victory, failed to take into account the unreliability of the Europe rear of fascist Germany, and, lastly, he failed to take into account the inherent weakness of fascist Germany and her army. Owing to the surprise and suddenness of the German fascist attack, the Red Army, during the first months of the war, found itself compelled to retreat, to withdraw from a part of our Soviet territory. But while retreating the Red Army wore down the forces of the enemy and inflicted severe blows upon him. Neither the men of the Red Army nor the peoples of our country doubted that the withdrawal was but temporary, that the enemy would be checked and then routed. In the course of the war the Red Army was infused with new vital forces; it received replenishments of men and equipment; new reserve divisions came to its aid and the time came when the Red Army was able to assume the offensive on the main sectors of the vast front. In a brief space of time the Red Army dealt successive blows at the German fascist troops--at Rostov-on-Don and Tikhvin, in the Crimea and near Moscow. In the fierce battles near Moscow the Red Army routed the German fascist troops which threatened to surround the Soviet capital. The Red Army threw back the enemy from Moscow and is still continuing to push him westward. The Moscow and Tula regions, as well as dozens of towns and hundreds of villages of other regions temporarily captured by the enemy have been completely freed of German invaders.

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The Germans now no longer have the military advantage they possessed during the first months of the war as a result of their treacherous and sudden attack. The element of surprise and suddenness, as a reserve of the German fascist troops, is completely spent. This removes the inequality in fighting conditions created by the suddenness of the German fascist attack. Now the outcome of the war will be decided not by such a fortuitous element as surprise, but by permanently operating factors: stability of the rear, morale of the army, quantity and quality of divisions, equipment of the army and organizing ability of the commanding personnel of the army. At this point one circumstance ought to be noted: the element of surprise had only to disappear from the Germans' stock-in-trade for the German fascist army to find itself faced with disaster. The German fascists consider their army invincible; they assert that in single combat it would unquestionably smash the Red Army. At the present time the Red Army and the German fascist army are engaged in single combat. Moreover, the German fascist army has the direct support at the front of Italian, Rumanian, and Finnish troops. So far the Red Army has had no support of this kind. And what do we find? The vaunted German army is suffering defeat while the Red Army has major successes to its credit. Under the sledge-hammer blows of the Red Army the German troops are reeling back to the West, sustaining huge losses in men and equipment. They cling to every line of defence, trying to defer the day of their rout. But the enemy's efforts are in vain. The initiative is now in our hands, and no matter how much Hitler's rusty, ramshackle machine may exert itself, it

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cannot withstand the pressure of the Red Army. The day is not far distant when the Red Army, with a mighty blow, will hurl back the brutal enemy from Leningrad, clear him out of our towns and villages in Byelorussia and the Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia, Estonia and Karelia and free Soviet Crimea, and when the Red Flag will wave triumphantly again all over our Soviet land. It would be unpardonable shortsightedness, however; to rest content with the successes we have achieved and to think that the German troops are already done for. That would be empty boasting and conceit unworthy of Soviet people. It should not be forgotten that many difficulties still lie ahead. The enemy is suffering defeat, but he is not yet defeated, let alone crushed. The enemy is still strong. He will strain his last efforts to attain success. And the more he suffers defeat, the more ferocious will he become. Therefore, it is essential that in our country the training of reserves in aid of the front should not be relaxed for a moment. It is essential that more and more units should march to the front to forge victory over the infuriated enemy. It is essential that our industry, particularly our war industry, should work with redoubled energy. It is essential that with every passing day the front should receive ever more tanks, aircraft, guns, mortars, machine guns, rifles, automatics and ammunition. This is one of the main sources of the strength and power of the Red Army. But the strength of the Red Army lies not only in this. The strength of the Red Army lies, primarily, in the fact that it is waging, not a predatory, not an imperialist war, but a Patriotic War, a war of liberation, a just

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war. The Red Army's task is to free our Soviet territory of the German invaders; to liberate from the yoke of the German invaders the people of our villages and towns who were free and lived like human beings before the war, but are now oppressed and suffering from rapine, pillage and famine; and, finally, to liberate our women from the outrage and violence to which they are being subjected by the German fascist monsters. What could be more noble, more lofty, than such a task? No German soldier can say that he is waging a just war, because he cannot fail to see that he is forced to fight for the plunder and oppression of other peoples. The German soldier has no lofty and noble aim in the war to inspire him and rouse his pride. Every Red Armyman, however, can proudly say that he is waging a just war for liberation, a war for the freedom and independence of his country. The Red Army has a noble and lofty aim in the war, which inspires it to perform great deeds. This is why the Patriotic War we are waging gives rise to thousands of heroes and heroines who are ready to lay down their lives for the freedom of their country. Herein lies the strength of the Red Army. And herein lies the weakness of the German fascist army. Sometimes the foreign press publishes twaddle to the effect that the Red Army's aim is to exterminate the German people and to destroy the German state. This, of course, is a silly fable and stupid calumny against the Red Army. The Red Army has not and cannot have such idiotic aims. The Red Army's aim is to drive the German invaders from our country, and to clear our Soviet soil of the German fascist aggressors. It is highly probable

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that the war for the liberation of our Soviet soil will lead to the expulsion or destruction of Hitler's clique. We would welcome such an outcome. But it would be ludicrous to identify Hitler's clique with the German people, with the German state. The experience of history shows that Hitlers come and go, but the German people and the German state live on. The strength of the Red Army lies, finally, in that it does not and cannot feel racial hatred for other peoples, including the German people; that it has been trained to recognize the equality of all peoples and races, and to respect the rights of other peoples. The Germans' racial theory and their practice of racial hatred have led all freedom-loving peoples to become enemies of fascist Germany. The U.S.S.R.'s theory of racial equality and its practice of respecting the rights of other peoples have led all freedom-loving peoples to become the friends of the Soviet Union. Herein lies the strength of the Red Army. And herein lies the weakness of the German fascist army. Sometimes the foreign press publishes twaddle to the effect that the Soviet people hate the Germans as Germans, that the Red Army exterminates German soldiers as Germans, out of hatred for everything German, and that, therefore, the Red Army does not take German soldiers prisoner. This, of course, is another silly fable and stupid calumny against the Red Army. The Red Army is free of such sentiments as racial hatred. It is free of such degrading sentiments because it has been trained in the spirit of racial equality and respect for the rights of other people. Nor should it be forgotten that in our

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country any manifestation of racial hatred is punishable by law. Of course, the Red Army has to destroy the German fascist invaders inasmuch as they are out to enslave our country; or when, on being surrounded by our troops, they refuse to lay down their arms and surrender. The Red Army annihilates them, not because of their German origin, but because they want to enslave our country. The Red Army, like the army of any other people, has the right and is in duty bound to annihilate those who want to enslave its country, irrespective of their nationality. Not long ago the German garrisons in the towns of Kalinin, Klin, Sukhinichi, Andreapol and Toropets were surrounded by our troops. They were called upon to surrender, and promised that their lives would be spared if they did. The German garrisons refused to lay down their arms and be made prisoners of war. Obviously, they had to be forcibly dislodged, in the course of which quite a few Germans were killed. War is war. The Red Army takes German soldiers and officers prisoner if they surrender, and spares their lives. The Red Army annihilates German soldiers and officers if they refuse to lay down their arms and try to enslave our country by force of arms. Remember the words of Maxim Gorki, the great Russian writer: "If the enemy does not surrender he must be annihilated." Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, commanders and political instructors, partisans, men and women! I congratulate you on the 24th Anniversary of the Red Army! I wish you complete victory over the German fascist invaders. Long live the Red Army and Navy!

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Long live the men and women partisans! Long live our glorious motherland, her freedom and her independence! Long live the great Bolshevik Party which is leading us to victory! Long live the invincible banner of the great Lenin! Under the banner of Lenin--forward to the defeat the German fascist invaders! J. Stalin

People's Commissar of Defence

of the U.S.S.R.

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Order of the Day

of the People's Commissar of Defence

of the U.S.S.R.

No. 130 Moscow, May 1, 1942 Comrades, Red Armymen and Red Navymen, commanders and political instructors, partisans, men and women, working men and working women, peasants, men and women, men and women engaged in intellectual pursuits, brothers and sisters on the other side of the front, in the rear of the German fascist troops, who have temporarily fallen under the yoke of the German oppressors! On behalf of the Soviet Government and of our Bolshevik Party, I greet and congratulate you on the occasion of the First of May! Comrades! This year the peoples of our country are celebrating International May Day amidst our Patriotic War against the German fascist invaders. The war has laid its impress on every phase of our life. It has laid its impress also on this day, the May First holiday. In view of the fact that we are at war, the working people of our country have waived their holiday in order to spend the day in intensive work for the defence of our country.

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Living at one with our fighters at the front, they have made the May First holiday a day of toil and struggle in order to render the front the greatest possible assistance and to supply it with the largest possible quantities of rifles, machine guns, artillery, mortars, tanks and aircraft, ammunition, grain, meat, fish and vegetables. This means that in our country front and rear constitute a single, indivisible fighting camp, ready to overcome all obstacles on the road to victory over the enemy. Comrades! More than two years have elapsed since the German fascist invaders plunged Europe into the abyss of war, subjugated the freedom-loving countries of the European continent--France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece and began to suck their blood for the enrichment of the German bankers. More than ten months have elapsed since the German fascist invaders wantonly and perfidiously attacked our country and began to pillage and lay waste to our villages and cities, to outrage and murder the peaceful population of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Byelorussia, the Ukraine and Moldavia. For more than ten months the peoples of our country have been waging a Patriotic War against a brutal enemy, defending the honour and freedom of their country. During this period we have been able to take a good look at the German fascists, to discern their real intentions, to ascertain what they really are, not from verbal declarations, but from the experience of the war, from commonly known facts. What are these enemies of ours, the German fascists? What kind of people are they? What has the experience of the war taught us about them?

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It is said that the German fascists are nationalists who are defending the integrity and independence of Germany against the encroachments of other states. This is a lie, of course. Only swindlers can assert that Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, the Soviet Union or other freedom-loving countries had encroached on the integrity and independence of Germany. In actual fact the German fascists are not nationalists but imperialists, who seize foreign countries and drain them of their blood in order to enrich the German bankers and plutocrats. It is common knowledge that Göring, the head of the German fascists, is himself one of the leading bankers and plutocrats, who exploits dozens of factories and mills. Hitler, Goebbels, Ribbentrop, Himmler and the other rulers of present-day Germany are the watchdogs of the German bankers, and place the interests of the latter far above all others. In the hands of these gentlemen the German army is a blind tool for the purpose of shedding its own blood and that of others and of crippling itself and others not in the interests of Germany, but for the enrichment of the German bankers and plutocrats. This is what the experience of the war tells us. It is said that the German fascists are socialists who seek to defend the interests of the workers and peasants against the plutocrats. This is a lie, of course. Only swindlers can assert that the German fascists, who have instituted slave labour in factory and mill and have restored serfdom in the villages of Germany and in the subjugated countries, champion the interests of the workers and peasants. Only brazen-faced swindlers can deny that the system of slavery and serfdom which the German fascists have established benefits the German plutocrats

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and bankers and not the workers and peasants. In actual fact the German fascists are feudal reactionaries, and the German army a feudal army which is shedding blood for the enrichment of the German barons and for the restoration of the power of the landlords. This is what the experience of the war tells us. It is said that the German fascists are vehicles of European culture who are waging war to spread this culture to other countries. This is a lie, of course. Only professional swindlers can assert that the German fascists, who have covered Europe with gallows, who are plundering and outraging the peaceful population, who are setting fire to and blowing up cities and villages and destroying the cultural treasures of the peoples of Europe, can be vehicles of European culture. In actual fact the German fascists are enemies of European culture, and the German army is an army of mediaeval obscurantism, whose function it is to destroy European culture for the sake of implanting the slaveholders' "culture" of the German bankers and barons. This is what the experience of the war tells us. Such is the face of our enemy, unmasked and exposed to the light by the experience of the war. But these are not the only conclusions to be drawn from the experience of the war. The experience of the war also shows that during the war important changes have taken place both in the state of fascist Germany and its army, and in the state of our country and the Red Army. What are these changes? It is undoubtedly true, in the first place, that during this period fascist Germany and its army have become

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weaker than they were ten months ago. The war has brought the German people great disillusionment, the loss of millions of human lives, starvation and impoverishment. The end of the war is not in sight, yet the reserves of manpower are giving out, oil is giving out, raw materials are giving out. The German people are becoming more and more aware of the inevitability of Germany's defeat. It is becoming ever clearer to the German people that the only way of escape from the situation that has arisen is the liberation of Germany from the adventurist Hitler- Göring clique. The Hitler imperialists have occupied extensive territories in Europe, but they have not broken the will to resistance of the European peoples. The struggle the enslaved peoples are waging against the regime of the German fascist brigands is beginning to assume a universal character. Sabotage at war plants, the blowing up of German ammunition stores, the wrecking of German troop trains and the killing of German soldiers and officers have become everyday occurrences in all the occupied countries. All Yugoslavia and the German-occupied Soviet areas are enveloped in the flames of guerilla warfare. All these circumstances have led to a weakening of the German rear, which means a weakening of fascist Germany as a whole. As regards the German army, it has grown much weaker than it was ten months ago, despite the stubbornness of its defence. Its old and experienced generals, such as Reichenau, Brauchitsch, Todt and others, have either been killed by the Red Army or cashiered by the German fascist higher clique. Its seasoned officers

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have in part been exterminated by the Red Army and in part demoralized by the looting and violence which they practised on the civilian population. Its rank and file, seriously weakened in the course of military operations, is receiving fewer and fewer reinforcements. It is undoubtedly true, in the second place, that during the period of the war our country has grown stronger than it was at the beginning of the war. Not only is this admitted by our friends, but even our enemies are compelled to recognize the fact that our country is today more united and more solidly behind its Government than ever before, that the rear and the front of our country are united in a single fighting camp which is aiming at a single objective, that the Soviet people in the rear are supplying our front with steadily increasing quantities of rifles and machine guns, mortars and artillery, tanks and aircraft, foodstuffs and ammunition. As regards the international ties of our country, they have grown stronger and have expanded more than ever of late. All the freedom-loving peoples have united against German imperialism. Their gaze is turned towards the Soviet Union. The heroic fight which the peoples of, our country are waging for their freedom, honour and independence evokes the admiration of all progressive mankind. The peoples of all freedom-loving countries regard the Soviet Union as the force that is capable of delivering the world from the Hitlerite plague. First among these freedom-loving countries stand Great Britain and the United States of America, to which we are linked by bonds of friendship and alliance, and which are affording our country ever increasing military assistance against the German fascist invaders.

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All these circumstances indicate that our country has become much stronger. It is undoubtedly true, finally, that during the period which has elapsed the Red Army has become more organized and stronger than it was at the beginning of the war. It is common knowledge that after the temporary retreat called forth by the perfidious attack of the German imperialists, the Red Army managed to bring about a decisive change in the course of the war and went over from active defence to a successful offensive against the enemy troops. This must not be attributed to mere accident. The fact of the matter is that thanks to the successes of the Red Army the Patriotic War has entered a new period--the period of liberation of Soviet territory from the Hitlerite scum. True, the Red Army began to accomplish this historic task under the difficult conditions of a grim winter with heavy snowfalls; nevertheless it achieved great success. Taking the initiative in military operations into its own hands, the Red Army inflicted a number of severe defeats on the German fascist troops and compelled them to withdraw from a considerable area of Soviet territory. The invaders' expectations that the winter would afford them a respite in which to entrench themselves in their defence line came to naught. In the course of its offensive the Red Army has destroyed a vast amount of enemy man power and material, has captured no small quantity of the enemy's material and has compelled him to expend prematurely reserves brought up from the rear and intended for spring and summer operations. All this indicates that the Red Army has become more organized and stronger, that its officers have become

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steeled in battle and that its generals have become more experienced and farsighted. A radical change has also been effected in the rank and file of the Red Army. The complacence and carelessness towards the enemy that could be observed among the men during the first months of the Patriotic War have disappeared. The atrocities, the robberies and acts of violence perpetrated by the German fascist invaders against the civilian population and Soviet war prisoners have cured our men of this ailment. The men have become more embittered and more ruthless. They have learnt to hate the German fascist invaders in earnest. They have realized that you cannot defeat an enemy without having learnt to hate him from the bottom of your heart. All the idle talk about the invincibility of the German troops that could be heard at the beginning of the war and that served to screen fear of the Germans is now a thing of the past. The famous battles of Rostov and Kerch, of Moscow and Kalinin, of Tikhvin and Leningrad, in which the Red Army put the German fascist invaders to flight, have convinced our men that this talk about the invincibility of the German troops is a fable concocted by the fascist propagandists. The experience of the war has convinced our men that the so-called bravery of the German officer is quite a relative matter, that the German officer is brave when dealing with unarmed war prisoners and civilians; but his bravery oozes out when he comes face to face with the organized might of the Red Army. Recall the popular saving: "Brave before a lamb, but a lamb before the brave."

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Such are the conclusions to be drawn from the experience of the war with the German fascist invaders. What do they imply? They imply that we can beat and must go on beating the German fascist invaders until they are completely exterminated, until all our Soviet territory has been completely cleared of the Hitlerite scoundrels. Comrades! We are waging a just war for our country and our freedom. It is not our aim to seize foreign lands or to subjugate foreign peoples. Our aim is clear and noble. We want to free our Soviet land of the German fascist scoundrels. We want to free our Ukrainian, Moldavian, Byelorussian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Karelian brothers from the outrage and violence to which they are being subjected by the German fascist scoundrels. To achieve this aim we must rout the German fascist army and exterminate the German invaders to the last man, except for such of them as may surrender. There is no other alternative. We can and must do this at all costs. The Red Army possesses all that is needed to accomplish this lofty task. It lacks only one thing--the ability to utilize to the full against the enemy the first- class material with which our country supplies it. Hence, it is the task of the Red Army, of its men, of its machine-gunners, its artillerymen, its mortar men, its tankmen, its airmen and its cavalrymen to study the art of war, to study assiduously, to study the mechanism of their weapons to perfection, to become expert at their jobs and thus learn to strike the enemy with unerring aim. Only thus can the art of defeating the enemy be learnt. Comrades, men of the Red Army and Red Navy,

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commanders and political instructors, partisans, men and women! Greeting you and congratulating you on the occasion of this First of May, I hereby order: 1. That the rank and file study the mechanism of their rifles to perfection, become expert in handling their weapons, hit the enemy with unerring aim as our valiant snipers, the destroyers of the German invaders, hit them! 2. That the machine-gunners, artillerymen, mortar men, tankmen and airmen study the mechanism of their weapons to perfection, become experts at their jobs, hit the fascist German invaders point-blank until they are completely exterminated! 3. That general commanders learn to perfection the art of co-ordinating the operations of the various arms of the service, become expert in the leadership of troops, and show the whole world that the Red Army is capable of fulfilling its great mission of liberation! 4. That the entire Red Army make 1942 the year of the final defeat of the German fascist troops and the liberation of our Soviet soil from the Hitler scoundrels! 5. That the men and women partisans intensify their partisan warfare in the rear of the German invaders, destroy the enemy's communications and transport facilities, destroy his headquarters and equipment and spare no bullets against the oppressors of our motherland! Under the invincible banner of the great Lenin--forward to victory! J. Stalin

People's Commissar of Defence

of the U.S.S.R.

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Replies to Questions

Submitted by the Correspondent

of the Associated Press Mr. Cassidy, the Moscow correspondent of the Associated Press, wrote to J. Stalin, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R., requesting him to reply verbally or in writing to three questions which interested American public opinion. Comrade Stalin sent Mr. Cassidy the following reply: Dear Mr. Cassidy, Owing to pressure of work and consequent inability to grant you an interview I shall confine myself to a brief written answer to your questions. 1. What place does the possibility of a second front occupy in Soviet estimates of the current situation? ANSWER. A very important place, one might say, a place of first-rate importance. 2. To what extent is Allied aid to the Soviet Union proving effective and what could be done to amplify and improve this aid? ANSWER. As compared with the aid which the Soviet Union is giving to the Allies by drawing upon itself the main forces of the German fascist armies, the aid of the Allies to the Soviet Union has so far been little effective. In order to amplify and improve this aid only

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one thing is required: that the Allies fulfil their obligations fully and on time. 3. What remains the Soviet capacity for resistance? ANSWER. I think that the Soviet capacity of resisting the German brigands is in strength not less, if not greater, than the capacity of fascist Germany or of any other aggressive power to secure for itself world domination. With respect,

J. Stalin October 3, 1942

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25th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution Speech Delivered at the Joint Celebration Meeting

of the Moscow Soviet of Working People's Deputies

and Representatives of Moscow Party

and Public Organizations

November 6, 1942 Comrades! We are today celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Revolution in our country. Twenty-five years have elapsed since the Soviet system was established here. We are now on the threshold of the next, the twenty- sixth, year of the existence of the Soviet system. At meetings in celebration of the anniversary of the October Soviet Revolution it is customary to review the work of the Government and Party organs in the preceding year. I have been instructed to make such a review for the past year--from November of last year to November of the current year. The activities of our Government and Party organs during the past period proceeded in two directions: in the direction of peaceful construction and the organization of a strong rear for our front, on the one hand; and in the direction of conducting the defensive and offensive operations of the Red Army, on the other.

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1. Organizational Work in the Rear The peaceful constructive work of our administrative bodies in this period consisted in shifting the base of our industry, both war and civil, to the Eastern regions of our country, in evacuating and installing in their new places industrial workers and plants, in extending crop areas and enlarging the winter crop area in the East and, lastly, in radically improving the operations of our industries which produce supplies for the front and in strengthening labour discipline in the rear, both in the factories and on the collective and state farms. It must be said that this was an extremely difficult and complex large-scale task of organization for all our economic and administrative People's Commissariats, including our railways. Nevertheless, we succeeded in overcoming the obstacles; and now, in spite of all the wartime difficulties, our factories, collective farms and state farms are undoubtedly working satisfactorily. Our munition factories and allied enterprises are conscientiously and punctually supplying the Red Army with guns, mortars, aircraft, tanks, machine guns, rifles and ammunition. Our collective farms and state farms are likewise conscientiously and punctually supplying the population and the Red Army with foodstuffs and our industry with raw materials. It must he admitted that never before has our country had such a strong and well-organized rear. As a result of all this complex organizational and constructive effort, not only our country, but the people themselves in the rear, have been transformed. They have become more efficient, less slipshod, more

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disciplined; they have learnt to work in wartime fashion, have become conscious of their duty to our motherland and to her defenders at the front--the Red Army. Bunglers and slackers with no sense of civic duty are becoming fewer and fewer in the rear. The organized and disciplined, those who are imbued with a sense of civic duty, are becoming more and more numerous. But, as I have said, the past year was not only one of peaceful construction. It was also a year of our Patriotic War against the German invaders, who vilely and treacherously attacked our peaceful country. 2. Hostilities on the Soviet-German Front As regards the military activities of our administrative bodies during the past year, they consisted in providing for the offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army against the German fascist troops. The hostilities on the Soviet- German front during the past year may be divided into two periods. The first period was chiefly the winter period, when the Red Army, after repelling the German attack on Moscow, took the initiative, passed to the offensive, drove back the German troops, and in the space of four months advanced, in places, over 400 kilometres. The second period was the summer period, when the German fascist troops, taking advantage of the absence of a second front in Europe, mustered all their available reserves, pierced the front in the southwestern direction and taking the initiative, advanced, in places, as much as 500 kilometres in the space of five months.

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The hostilities in the first period, especially the Red Army's successful operations in the region of Rostov, Tula and Kaluga, and at Moscow, Tikhvin and Leningrad, disclosed two significant facts. They showed, firstly, that the Red Army and its combatant cadres have become an effective force, not only capable of withstanding the onslaught of the German fascist troops, but also of defeating them in open battle and driving them back. They showed, secondly, that for all their staunchness, the German fascist troops super from grave organic defects, which, given certain favourable conditions for the Red Army, may lead to their defeat. It is not by mere chance that the German troops, after marching in triumph through all Europe and at one blow smashing the French troops, which had been regarded as first-class troops, met with effective military resistance only in our country; and not only did they meet with resistance, but they were compelled by the blows of the Red Army to retreat from their positions over 400 kilometres, abandoning on their line of retreat an immense quantity of guns, machines and ammunition. This fact cannot be attributed exclusively to the winter conditions of fighting. The second period of hostilities on the Soviet-German front was marked by a turn in favour of the Germans, by the initiative passing to the Germans, by the piercing of our front in the southwestern direction, by the advance of the German troops and their reaching the areas of Voronezh, Stalingrad, Novorossiisk, Pyatigorsk and Mozdok. Taking advantage of the absence of a second front in Europe, the Germans and their allies transferred all their available reserves to the front and, massing them in one direction--the southwestern direction--created a

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big superiority offerees here, and achieved substantial tactical gains. Apparently the Germans are no longer strong enough to conduct a simultaneous offensive in all three directions, in the South, North and Centre, as was the case in the early months of the German offensive in the summer of last year; but they are still strong enough to organize a serious offensive in some one direction. What was the main objective of the German fascist strategists when they launched their summer offensive on our front? Judging by the comments of the foreign press, including the German, one might think that the main objective of the offensive was to capture the oil districts of Grozny and Baku. But facts decidedly refute this assumption. Facts show that the German advance towards the oil districts of the U.S.S.R. is not the main, but an auxiliary objective. What, then, was the main objective of the German offensive? It was to outflank Moscow from the East; to cut if off from its Volga and Urals rear and then to strike at the city. The German advance southwards, towards the oil districts, had an auxiliary purpose; not only, and not so much, to capture the oil districts as to divert our main reserves to the South and to weaken the Moscow front, and thereby facilitate the success of the blow at Moscow. This, in fact, explains why the main group of the German forces are now in the Orel and the Stalingrad areas, and not in the South. Recently, an officer of the German General Staff fell into the hands of our men. On this officer a map was found showing the plan and schedule of the German troops' advance. From this document it is evident that

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the Germans intended to be in Borisoglebsk on July 10, this year, in Stalingrad on July 25, in Saratov on August 10, in Kuibyshev on August 15, in Arzamas on September 10, and in Baku on September 25. This document fully confirms the information in our possession that the main objective of the German summer offensive was to outflank Moscow from the East and to strike at Moscow; while the object of the advance to the South was, apart from everything else, to divert our reserves as far as possible from Moscow and to weaken the Moscow front so as to facilitate the blow at Moscow. In short, the main objective of the German summer offensive was to surround Moscow and end the war this year. In November last year the Germans counted on capturing Moscow by a frontal attack, on compelling the Red Army to capitulate and thus bringing the war in the East to a close. These were the illusions they sustained their soldiers with. As we know, however, these calculations of the Germans miscarried. Having burnt their fingers in their attempt at a frontal attack on Moscow last year, the Germans planned to capture Moscow this year by a flanking movement and to end the war in the East in that way. These are the illusions with which they are sustaining their duped soldiers now. As we know, these calculations of the Germans also proved unsound. Their attempt to chase two hares at ones oil and the encirclement of Moscow--landed the German fascist strategists in difficulties. Thus, the tactical successes of the German summer offensive were not consummated owing to the obvious unfeasibility of their strategical plans.

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3. The Question of the Second Front in Europe How are we to explain the fact that the Germans were nevertheless able to take the initiative in military operations this year and achieve substantial tactical successes on our front? It is to he explained by the fact that the Germans and their allies were able to muster all their available reserves, transfer them to the Eastern front and create a big superiority of forces in one of the directions. There can be no doubt that but for these measures the Germans could not have achieved any success on our front. But why were they able to muster all their reserves and transfer them to the Eastern front? Because the absence of a second front in Europe enabled them to carry out this operation without any risk. Hence, the chief reason for the Germans' tactical successes on our front this year is that the absence of a second front in Europe enabled them to transfer to our front all their available reserves and to create a big superiority of forces in the southwestern direction. Let us assume that there was a second front in Europe as there was in the first World War, and that this second front diverted, let us say, 60 German divisions and 20 divisions of Germany's allies. What would have been the position of the German troops on our front today? It is not difficult to guess that their position would have been deplorable. More than that, it would have been the beginning of the end of the German fascist troops, for in that case the Red Army would not be where it is now, but somewhere near Pskov, Minsk, Zhitomir and Odessa.

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That means that already in the summer of this year the German fascist army would have been on the verge of disaster; and if this did not occur, it was because the Germans were saved by the absence of a second front in Europe. Let us examine the question of a second front in Europe in its historical aspect. In the first World War Germany had to fight on two fronts: in the West, chiefly against Great Britain and France, and in the East, against the Russian troops. Thus, in the first World War there was a second front against Germany. Of the 220 divisions which Germany then had, not more than 85 were stationed on the Russian front. If to this we add the troops of Germany's allies then facing the Russian front, namely, 37 Austro-Hungarian divisions, 2 Bulgarian divisions and 3 Turkish divisions, we get a total of 127 divisions facing the Russian troops. Most of the remaining divisions of Germany and her allies held the front against the Anglo-French troops while some of them performed garrison duty in the occupied territories of Europe. Such was the position in the first World War. What is the position today, in the second World War in September this year, let us say? According to authentic information, which is beyond all doubt, of the 256 divisions which Germany now has no fewer than 179 are on our front. If to this we add 22 Rumanian divisions, 14 Finnish divisions, 10 Italian divisions, 13 Hungarian divisions, 1 Slovak division and 1 Spanish division, we get a total of 240 divisions now fighting on our front. The remaining divisions of Germany and her allies are performing garrison duty in the

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occupied countries (France, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc.), while part of them are fighting in Libya for the possession of Egypt against Great Britain. In all, the Libyan front is diverting 4 German divisions and 11 Italian divisions. Hence, instead of 127 divisions as was the case in the first World War, we, today, are facing on our front no less than 240 divisions, and instead of 85 German divisions we have 179 German divisions fighting the Red Army. This is the chief reason and grounds for the tactical successes the German fascist troops gained on our front this summer. The German invasion of our country is often compared to Napoleon's invasion of Russia. But this comparison will not bear criticism. Of the 600,000 troops which started out on the march against Russia, Napoleon brought to Borodino barely 130,000, or 140,000. That was all he had at his disposal at Moscow. Well, we now have facing the Red Army over 3,000,000 troops, and troops armed with all the implements of modern warfare. What comparison can there be here? The German invasion of our country is sometimes also compared to the German invasion of Russia during the first World War. But neither will this comparison bear criticism. Firstly, in the first World War there was a second front in Europe, which made the Germans' position very difficult, whereas in this war there is no second front in Europe. Secondly, in this war, twice as many troops are facing our front as faced it during the first World War. Obviously, the comparison is inappropriate.

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You can now imagine how grave and extraordinary are the difficulties that confront the Red Army, and how great is the heroism displayed by the Red Army in its war of liberation against the German fascist invaders. I think that no other country and no other army could have withstood this onslaught of the savage gangs of German fascist brigands and their allies. Only our Soviet country and only our Red Army are capable of withstanding such an onslaught. (Loud applause.) And not only withstanding it, but also overpowering it. It is often asked: But will there be a second front in Europe after all? Yes, there will be; sooner or later, there will be. And there will be one not only because we need it, but above all because our Allies need it no less than we. Our Allies cannot fail to realize that since France has been put out of action, the absence of a second front against fascist Germany may end badly for all the freedom-loving countries, including the Allies themselves.

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4. The Fighting Alliance of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the U.S.A.

Against Hitlerite Germany and Her Allies in Europe It may now be regarded as beyond dispute that in the course of the war imposed upon the nations by Hitlerite Germany, a radical demarcation of forces and the formation of two opposite camps have taken place: the camp of the halo-German coalition, and the camp of the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition. It is equally beyond dispute that these two opposite coalitions are guided by two different and opposite programs of action. The program of action of the Italo-German coalition may be characterized by the following points: race hatred; domination of the "chosen" nations; subjugation of other nations and seizure of their territories; economic enslavement of the subjugated nations and spoliation of their national wealth; destruction of democratic liberties; universal institution of the Hitler regime. The program of action of the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition is: abolition of racial exclusiveness; equality of nations and inviolability of their territories; liberation of the enslaved nations and the restoration of their sovereign rights; the right of every nation to manage its affairs in its own way; economic aid to nations that have suffered and assistance in establishing their material welfare; restoration of democratic liberties; destruction of the Hitler regime. The effect of the program of action of the Italo-German coalition has been that the people in all the occupied countries of Europe--Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Greece and the occupied regions of the U.S.S.R.--are seething with hatred for the Italo-German tyranny, are causing the Germans and their allies all the damage they can, and are waiting for a favourable opportunity to take revenge on their conquerors for the outrage and violence to which they are being subjected. In this connection, one of the characteristic features the present situation is the steadily growing isolation the Italo-German coalition and the depletion of its

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moral and political reserves in Europe, its growing weakness and disintegration. The effect of the program of action of the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition has been that the people in all the occupied countries in Europe fully sympathize with the members of this coalition and are prepared to render them all the help of which they are capable. In this connection, another characteristic feature of the present situation must be noted, namely, that the moral and political reserves of this coalition are growing from day to day in Europe--and not only in Europe--and that this coalition is steadily winning millions of sympathizers who are ready to join in the light against Hitler's tyranny. If the relative strength of these two coalitions is examined from the standpoint of human and material resources, the conclusion one will be forced to arrive at is that the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition has the unquestionable advantage. But the question is: Is this advantage alone sufficient for victory? As we know, cases occur when resources are abundant, hut they are expended so inefficiently that the advantage is lost. Obviously, what is needed in addition to resources is ability to mobilize and skill in expending them properly. Is there any reason to doubt that the men of the Anglo-Soviet- American coalition possess this ability and skill? Some people do doubt this. But what grounds have they for their doubts? In the past the men of this coalition have displayed ability and skill in mobilizing the resources of their countries and expending them rationally for the purpose of economic, cultural and political development. What grounds are there, then, for

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doubting that the men who have displayed skill and ability in mobilizing and distributing resources for economic, cultural and political purposes will prove capable of doing the same for the purpose of prosecuting the war? I think there are no such grounds. It is said that the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition has every chance of winning, and would certainly win if it did not suffer from an organic defect which might weaken and disintegrate it. This defect, in the opinion of these people, is that this coalition consists of heterogeneous elements having different ideologies, and that this circumstance will prevent them from organizing joint action against the common enemy. I think that this assertion is wrong. It would be ridiculous to deny the difference in the ideologies and social systems of the various countries that constitute the Anglo-Soviet- American coalition. But does this preclude the possibilit