Archives: Hitler and Russia
Archives: Hitler and Russia
Original article published in The Times newspaper on June 24, 1941
Mein Kampf, the “bible” of the National Socialist revolution, sets out two main doctrines. The first - about the superiority of the Aryan race over all others - is intended to flatter German nationalism. The second logically follows from the first. As the leader of the “competing revolution,” Hitler had to prove that Bolshevism was the “wrong” revolutionary movement. He also had to provide the German militarists, whose support guaranteed his success, with arguments against concluding any alliance with Russia - after all, in some circles of the German General Staff there was a positive attitude towards this idea.
The following passages from Mein Kampf (quoted from the 25th edition [1933]) illustrate both of these theses: “The modern rulers of Russia have absolutely no thought of concluding an honest alliance with Germany, much less of carrying it out if they concluded. We must not forget the fact that the rulers of modern Russia are low criminals stained with blood, they are human scum... [Today's Russia] sees in Germany not an ally, but a country destined for the same fate. Who enters into an alliance with a partner whose only interest is to destroy the other partner? (p. 750) The closest bait for Bolshevism at the present time is precisely Germany. In order to once again snatch our people from the serpentine embrace of international Jewry, it is necessary that our young idea be able to awaken all the forces of the nation and instill in it an awareness of the great mission awaiting us. Only in this case will we be able to save our people... awaken those forces that will give us a long-term guarantee against a repetition of the catastrophes that have befallen us. In the light of such goals, it would be sheer madness to enter into an alliance with a power headed by the mortal enemies of our entire future.” (pp. 751-52.)
-- "Negotiations are impossible"
In German propaganda aimed at foreign countries, it was customary to assert that the statements of Adolf Hitler - the revolutionary and author of Mein Kampf - did not bind Chancellor Hitler to anything as an official. However, for six years no disagreements arose between the author and the chancellor on the issue of Russia. Evidence of this is passages from Hitler’s speeches: “Both the National Socialists and the Bolsheviks are convinced that they are separated by an insurmountable gulf... While Bolshevism stretches its clawed paws towards Germany, we are the most deadly and ardent enemies” (Berlin, May 21, 1935). “Germany is the bulwark of the West against Bolshevism, and in the fight against it it will respond with terror to terror and violence to violence” (Berlin, November 19, 1935). On September 13, at the party congress in Nuremberg, he attacked “Jewish Bolshevism” with the same attacks that made up the most furious passages of Chapter 15 of Mein Kampf: “Negotiations are impossible. We and they are two different worlds. In Bolshevik Russia there is devastation, brutal murder and destruction, while in our country there is laughter, happiness and beauty.”
The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War gave Hitler a new opportunity to practice variations on the same theme. This line can be traced in his speeches in Nuremberg on the eve of and during the party congress; He also cited Russia's actions as justification for concluding the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. And here is another example of his eloquence: “Germany is the guarantor of peace, since it strictly warns the Moscow warmongers” (Nuremberg, September 10, 1937). For Italy, Hitler spared no praise for its resistance to Russian influence. The next year came, but Hitler's fierce anti-Russian attitude did not fade away at all. “There is only one state with which we have never sought to establish close relations... I mean Soviet Russia... I am afraid that Japan’s defeat in East Asia will not give any advantages to Europe and America, but will only play into the hands of Bolshevik Russia” (speech in the Reichstag February 20, 1938).
-- Negotiations in Munich
In the autumn of the same year, the Czechoslovak crisis broke out. Constant attacks on Russia by the head of the German Reich were one of the reasons why Messrs. Chamberlain and Daladier came to the conclusion that, despite the existence of the Franco-Russian Pact, trying to attract the USSR to participate in the Munich Conference would be both dangerous and useless. As a result, the Russians doubted the decisiveness of the democracies' position and were irritated at being left out of the crisis settlement - an agreement that Hitler quickly abandoned. After this, his attacks on Bolshevik Russia subsided. In a long speech in the Reichstag, which he made in response to President Roosevelt's call for peace, Hitler limited himself to the statement that in Spain he defended nothing less than the entire European civilization: “after all, if the forces of subhuman Bolsheviks had triumphed in Spain , they could easily spread throughout Europe" (Berlin, April 28, 1939).
He never hid from his entourage that, under certain circumstances, he considered a temporary agreement with Russia useful, which he would then break at the right moment. Back in 1934, he told Dr. Rauschning: “I will hold it in my hand as the last trump card... But this will never stop me from changing course just as decisively and attacking Russia when my goals in the West are achieved. Only we are capable of conquering the gigantic expanse of the continent, and we will do this... alone, and not through a pact with Moscow... The struggle will open the way for us to lasting world domination. This does not mean that I will refuse to go part of the way with the Russians if it helps us. But I will do this only in order to achieve our true goals even faster” (Herman Rauschning, Hitler Speaks, pp. 136-37).
-- Pact of 1939
The beginning of the next chapter in Nazi-Bolshevik relations was the signing of the Russo-German Pact on August 23, 1939. Whatever assurances Hitler made to his colleagues informally, publicly he and his entourage hailed the conclusion of the pact as a triumph of reason: “You know that Russia and Germany are guided by different ideological doctrines, but there is one question that should be clarified. Germany does not intend to export its doctrine. And considering that Soviet Russia has no intention of exporting its doctrine to Germany, I no longer see any reason for confrontation between us... any struggle between our peoples is beneficial only to other parties... At the same time, I want to note that this political decision opens up gigantic prospects for the future, and that it is final. Russia and Germany fought each other during the World War. This must not happen again, and it will not happen again” (speech in the Reichstag on September 1, 1939).
Later he developed this new theme. Ridicule of Britain and France for allowing the Reich to "beat them at the turn" alternated with arguments about the enormous political and economic advantages of the Russo-German pact, which would ensure not only peace, but also lasting cooperation between the two countries. “In one thing... Germany’s determination is unshakable: to create a peaceful, stable, and therefore satisfactory situation east of the Reich. In this regard, the interests and aspirations of Germany completely coincide with the interests and aspirations of Soviet Russia” (speech in the Reichstag on October 6, 1939). In the same speech, he called the “allegations” that Germany was encroaching on Ukraine, the Urals and Romania “the ugly fruits of a sick imagination.” This continued in the future. On his birthday (December 21, 1939), Stalin received a warm congratulatory message from the Fuhrer. In January last year, a “pocket” edition of Mein Kampf was published, intended mainly for military personnel - all of Hitler’s discussions about Bolshevism were excluded from it. The Führer himself continued to extol the virtues of the pact with Russia: “I am sincerely convinced that the governments of Russia and Germany have managed to find a solution truly beneficial to both peoples; and they are not nearly so stupid as to bleed each other for the sake of the interests of London stockbrokers and Jews” (speech in the Reichstag on February 24, 1940).
In accordance with its agreement with Germany, the USSR completed preparations for the absorption of the Baltic states. Today Hitler assures the Germans and the whole world that he could only silently observe this and other events that were the logical result of the Russian-German Pact. However, his own statements at the time show this to be false. “German-Russian relations have finally been settled... This settlement was due to the continuous insinuations of England and France that Germany allegedly intended to seize territories beyond our interests. Sometimes it was asserted that Germany was about to occupy the Ukraine,... sometimes that Romania was under threat... In the light of these circumstances, I considered it advisable first of all to reach a reasonable settlement regarding Russian and German interests, defining once and for all what Germany considers to be its sphere of interests, and something that Russia considers vitally important for itself. The result of a clear delineation of the spheres of interests of both countries was a revision of Russian-German relations. Any hope that tension will arise again between Germany and Russia is a manifestation of infantility. Neither Germany nor Russia violates the limits of their sphere of interests" (Berlin, July 19, 1940).
-- Words and deeds
This was his last public statement about Russian-German relations. The defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, the increase in American aid to Britain and its allies, the difficulties faced by the Reich, hitherto victorious on the battlefield, and the fact that the Russians were unwilling to get involved in any military adventures all forced him to make a U-turn. 180 degrees. After the capture of the Balkans, Hitler returned to the position that he had occupied before the conclusion of the pact - namely, to prove by deed that “any contractual relationship between Germany and Bolshevik Russia ... is not worth a penny.”
Translation: inoSMI.Ru
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