Page 245 - The Chief Culprit

206 y e Chief Culprit

Command of the Red Army to order troops to cross the border and take under their defenses
the lives and property of the population.” 9
Here we can see the difference between Stalin and Hitler. ey divided Poland and
both conducted aggressive war on Polish territory. But Hitler sent his troops to Poland to
“expand the living space for Germans,” while Stalin sent in the Red Army “to free the Polish
people from the evil war, into which they were drawn by foolish governments, and to give the
people the opportunity to lead peaceful lives.” 10
Stalin’s propaganda could not conceal its joy that Germany was destroying more and
more countries, governments, armies, and political parties. e Soviet leadership was ecstatic:
11
Pravda declared it “[m]odern warfare in all its terrible glory!” A description of Europe at war
read: “a pile of corpses, a pornographic sight, where hyenas eat hyenas.” On the same page
12
of Pravda, there was a friendly telegram from Stalin to Hitler.
Suddenly, everything changed. May 1941 saw a sharp turn in all Soviet propaganda.
Here is Pravda’s tone on the day after Stalin’s secret speech: “Beyond the borders of our
Motherland burns the flame of the Second Imperialist War. All the burden of its countless
calamities falls on the shoulders of the workers. e people do not want war. eir eyes are
looking toward the land of socialism, which reaps the fruits of peaceful labor. ey rightfully
see in the armed forces of our Motherland—in the Red Army and Fleet—a reliable bulwark
of peace. In the current tumultuous world situation we must be ready for all surprises.” 13
e same tone and the same words were used in September 1939, when the Red Army
suddenly attacked the rear of the Polish army and “helped the Polish people to get out of
the war.”