Why was the Second Front Delayed to Stop Hitler
Published by THE COMMUNIST PARTY
May 1946
A GREAT deal more than the guilt of the Nazi war criminals has been proved at their trial in Nuremberg.
At Nuremberg, it is history which speaks: history which throws a merciless light on the deeds and words of every politician and political party in Britain during the crucial years from 1933 onward.
It is the inside story of how the Nazis cold-bloodedly planned' the assassination of whole nations and how they were aided by influential groupings in the very countries they planned to attack. It is the history of secret conferences and negotiations between high-up Nazis and British business and political representatives.
Was there no political party in Britain, and no newspaper, with sufficient wisdom and courage to make an exposure of the Nazis and their friends?
Yes, there was-and is-such a political party and newspaper: the Communist Party and the Daily Worker.
In the floodlit glare of history, the Tory Party stands condemned as a party of treachery to Britain. Many leaders of our own Labour movement were too weak and prejudiced to face the realities of a situation which demanded joint action with the Communists.
Alone amongst the parties, the Communist Party put forward a policy, week after week for years before the war, which could have prevented the war, or if the war had started, could have brought about the speedy defeat of the Nazis.
The views of the Communist Party reached hundreds of thousands of people; but the views of the Tories and the anti-Communists in the Labour movement reached millions. The Daily Herald should have been campaigning against the Nazi danger and exposing the plot against humanity; instead, it directed its efforts towards abusing the Communist Party and preventing common action between Labour and Communist Party members against Fascism.
These are the facts of history. We place them on record because our country and the world can be brought to greater perils even than before if wrong policies are permitted to dominate the Government. Once again, the Communist Party has put forward a policy which history will prove to be correct. On this occasion, the Communist Party is four times as strong in numbers as before the war and far more powerful in its influence. Large sections of the Labour movement, with many Labour M.P.s, have learned the lessons of the past, and are striving for Labour unity and a real Labour home and foreign policy.
Nevertheless, the Tory Press, together with the Daily Herald, is conducting its old, pre-war campaign of lies and slanders against the Communist Party. They were wrong before the war, and they are wrong now.
THE SECOND FRONT
Do you remember our campaign for the Second Front, which we said could win the war quickly? We were told not to meddle with military strategy and that we should "trust the experts." Even in 1946 the Labour Party has sent out Notes for its speakers la which the Communists are accused of having " shouted and clamoured in streets and squares demanding what they called a Second Front."
Well, the evidence given at Nuremberg proves that the Communists were right.
This evidence consists of a report made by General Jodi, Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, to a secret meeting of Nazi Gauleiters in November, 1943. He said:
"At the end of the fighting in the winter of 1942-43, the Armed Forces of Germany and her Allies were strained to the utmost. Four armies of our Allies were lost for good, two of our own were lost and had to be reformed- the Fifth and Sixth. Gone was the great mobility of the Army, gone also, excepting in the Russian theater, our superiority in the air." (The Times, 28.11.45.)
Victory possible in 1942-43
General Jodi further revealed that Germany's strength in the West was 1,370,000 men. On the Eastern Front, he said, " the Russians still have approximately 5,500,000 men. We have 4,183,000." After this sketch of German weakness in general, Jodi spoke of their apprehensions in the West. "The High Command," he stated, "cannot close its eyes to the fact that the brand is now held in readiness at some time or other to start a conflagration in the West which, if not extinguished, then and there, will pass beyond control. Even a minor Allied success by the creation of a bridgehead must spell danger, since, in view of their (Allied) superiority in equipment and men, they would have no difficulty in extending the bridgehead into a breach of the defences."
Finally, General Jodi went so far as to state:
" According to our ideas it is totally incomprehensible that the Anglo-Americans should have avoided forming the Second Front in the West, which their Russian allies have been demanding for over two years. A successful penetration of the Western defences would very soon break through to Belgium, North French and West German industry and so prove fatal."
Churchill's Delaying Tactics
But the testimony of General Jodi may be considered insufficient proof. Therefore the following entries in the Diary of Captain Harry Butcher, General Eisenhower's Aide, which has been serialised in the Sunday Express and the Saturday Evening Post, should also be considered:
"Friday, July 10, 1942:
"The Combined Chiefs of Staff have·· been considering a quick thrust across the Channel during the summer of 1942 ... (but) ... The British appear to be favouring an attack in North Africa.... Ike, however, feels that if he were ordered to conduct an offensive in 1942, he would prefer to cross the Channel rather than open a new front in North Africa....
"Sunday, July 19, 1942:
" Late in the day, Ike finished the draft of the basic proposals for Marshall and King to present to the British.
... The proposal was for the Second Front in France by October of this year to help the Russians. These are momentous days!
"Thursday, July 23, 1942.
" Saw Ike and General Clark at breakfast. The proposal for a Second Front this year has definitely been turned down by the British.
" Ike and Clark were deeply disappointed. He thought that Wednesday, July 22, 1942, could well go down as the 'blackest day in history,' particularly if Russia is defeated."Next year, in spite of promises made to the Russians, Churchill was still trying to avoid the Second Front:
"Saturday, May 29, 1943:
"The Prime Minister openly and avowedly is seeking to influence Ike to pursue the campaign in the Mediterranean area until the Italians are out of the war. Presumably he then wants the Allied effort to continue in the Mediterranean area rather than across the Channel, as already agreed by the Combined Chiefs at their Washington meeting. He apparently regards the decision already taken as quite open to review and change."Even as late as the winter of 1943, Churchill was still opposing the Second Front:
"December 10, 1943:
" I learned that at the Teheran meeting the Russians had sided with the Americans on 'Overlord' (code word for Second Front). They insisted the Germans be kept engaged in Italy as actively as possible all during the winter, and what they term as ' a Second Front ' must be started not later than May."
In view of this evidence, who can doubt that the Communists were right to campaign without cease for the Second Front?
NAZI SYMPATHISERS
The Communist Party carried on a long and - vigorous campaign against highly-placed people in Britain who were sympathetic to Nazism.
The Nuremberg Trial has shown the existence and influence of these Fascist sympathisers. One of the documents produced in evidence was the confidential report of Nazi Professor Hanshoffer to Hitler, which contained a list of "reasonable" British, and
"included personalities whom I (Hanshoffer) have known very well for years, whose services in the form of a German English understanding in the years 1934-38 constituted the object of my work in England. It (the list) began with a leading group of younger Conservatives, many of them Scots,' and mentioned two peers and three Under-Secretaries of State.
"He (Hanshoffer) declared that this circle had 'close relations with the Court' through blood and marriage, and was also linked with ' the older Conservatives ' among whom he mentioned two peers and one Ambassador. He then listed a ' so-called round-table circle of younger imperialists, above all Colonial and Empire politicians,' and finished with 'a group of ministerial directors in the Foreign Office.' "
(The Times, 4.1.46.)
As a result of the activities of these individuals the Communist Party was compelled to state bluntly in 1937:
"We accuse the National Government of directly assisting the war offensive of Fascism."Evidence was also given at Nuremberg on March 19, 1946 by Mr. Birger Dahlerus, a Swedish business man, of seven influential British business men who took part in a secret three-day meeting with Goering in August, 1939.
What is the meaning of this "reasonableness " and "cordiality " for the Nazis?
The Communists, at the time, accused British ruling circles of attempting to get Britain and France involved with the Axis in war against the Soviet Union.
The Hess episode proved this. This was the reason for all the pre-war cold-shouldering of Russia.
Hostility by certain Labour leaders to the Soviet Union today is doing a similar job.
SPANISH PRELUDE
The first prints of this " closer cordiality for Germany " were shown in Spain. Harry Pollitt wrote in " Arms for Spain,'' published on October 30, 1936:
"The significance of the Fascist rising which commenced on July 18, in Spain, is that it represents the first concerted move on the part of the Fascist Powers against the world wide swing towards working-class unity and the People's Front; secondly, that it is an attempt to find a new strategic basis in Europe as the prelude to organised attacks on other democratic Governments, especially France."
Once more, the Nuremberg Trial has confirmed the truth of the Communist Statement. The Times of December 8, 1945, states:
"In an order dated November 12, 1940, from the Fuehrer to the commanders of his Army, Navy and Air Force, it says that ' political steps to bring about an early Spanish entry into the war have been taken.'"
The Daily Telegraph of November 27, stated:
"The construction of U-boats was also kept secret. They were built outside Germany, among other places in Spain."
In the words of Hitler, addressing the Nazi warlords on August 22, 1939:
"A third additional factor favourable to them was Franco." (The Times, 24.11.45.)
A Communist statement on Spain issued in June, 1937, asked:
" Are we to wait until the fatal tragic 'Too Late ! ' comes true once more?"
But the Communists were attacked. They were described as "warmongers." The leaders of the Labour Party at first supported the policy of "non-intervention," but later were compelled to change this owing to the outcry in the movement. Nevertheless, they were half-hearted in their efforts on behalf of the Spanish people. History shows that the Communists were right and that if their policy had been adopted much needless bloodshed would have been avoided.
AUSTRIA-WHO NEXT?
With Republican Spain cut in half, Fascism launched a new offensive- this time against Austria. On March 12, 1938, the Communist Party issued the following Press statement:
"The invasion of Austria by Hitler's armies has brought Europe to the brink of war. The fate of world peace is in the balance. Hitler's action directly threatens the British people.... Unless Fascist aggression is stopped now, Fascist aeroplanes will be over Prague, and who knows which will be the next capital?''
Chamberlain Accused
How many innocent lives would have been saved-not only in Warsaw and Rotterdam, but in London and Coventry-if this appeal had been listened to? The Communist Party went on to declare:
" Hitler's action has been taken in agreement with Chamberlain. Chamberlain has torpedoed the League of Nations, has brought open Fascists into the Government. Only yesterday, Chamberlain received Ribbentrop, who told him Hitler's plans."
The Times of November 30, 1945, gives the following as the prosecution's account of Ribbentrop's telephone conversation with Goering the day after the invasion of Austria:
" Ribbentrop, who had planned to fly back to Berlin that afternoon-it would look strange, he said, if he stayed in London-remarked that he had already spoken openly to Lord Halifax and Mr. Chamberlain about it ... Ribbentrop went on: 'The other day I spoke to Chamberlain and got a very good impression of him. He gave me a message, some news for the Fuehrer which I shall deliver personally.' He did not wish to speak about it over the telephone, but he had the impression that Chamberlain was very serious about an understanding."
That this " understanding " was not new is proved by the statement of an American diplomat, Mr. George S. Messersmith, reported in The Times of November 29, 1945:
"During his stay in Austria, Mr. Messersmith affirmed, he was told by Dr. Dolfuss, Herr Schuschnigg and others of constant pressure maintained by the Germans to keep the Austrian Nazis in the Government , and this was confirmed in conversations with British and French diplomatists. In 1934 and 1935 it was known by everyone in Germany with knowledge of what was going on that Hitler and the Nazi Government were irrevocably committed to the incorporation of Austria in the Greater Reich." It is now clear that Chamberlain was, in the words of the Communist Party's statement, " betraying the people of Britain, making alliance with the Fascist warmongers instead of bringing Britain's strength behind the forces of peace."
Harry Pollitt's pamphlet " Austria," published by the Communist Party in March, 1938, stated plainly:
"The next move in Hitler's war plans is the seizure of Czechoslovakia. By seizing Austria first the Nazis will be able to carry out their attacks on Czechoslovakia from three sides."
In November, 1943, Jodi, the Nazi Chief of Staff, gave a lecture of which the following passage is quoted from The Times of November 27, 1945:
"The Austrian anschluss (union with Germany) materially improved our strategic position. Czechoslovakia, whose territory had hitherto projected in a most menacing way into Germany was now herself, enclosed by pincers and bound to fall victim to any attack pressed home with vigour."
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The Communists' prophecy soon came only too true, when Hitler, supported by his ally Chamberlain, turned on Czechoslovakia.
Speaking to the 15th Congress of the Communist Party on September 18, 1936, R. P. Dutt showed how Chamberlain's policy was leading us to disaster :
" If Chamberlain wins, if he succeeds in breaking the Peace Front by putting forward his policy as the triumph of peace, then, when the bells of peace are ringing over his victory, the real menace begins. If Chamberlain's policy, which will be celebrated as a policy of peace, goes through, then Fascism, enormously strengthened in Europe, will at last be able to turn its forces upon the democracies, and the British people will then have to fight all the same, but under immeasurably worse conditions."
Commenting on the hysterical scene in the House of Commons when Chamberlain announced his intention to go to Munich, The Times wrote:
"Responsible Party leaders-Mr. Attlee, Sir Archibald Sinclair and Mr. Maxton-all agreed and wished him God speed. Mr. Gallacher shouted a protest amid the din of departing members, but he alone was exempt from the prevailing happiness."
Subsequent events showed how terribly true was this unconscious tribute to the correctness of the Communist Party's policy, expressed in the emergency resolution of September, 1938:
.. Submission to Hitler can have only one result-war."
The Nazis could have been stopped
At the time of the Munich Betrayal, the excuse given by the Government was that Britain was " unprepared." But The Times of November 27, 1945, contains the following passage:
"A study of this bulky dossier of secret reports and telegrams brings out three broad conclusions-
(1) that Hitler was certain that Britain and France would not intervene;
(2) that only five divisions were deployed as a screen along the still unfinished Siegfried Line-Hitler repeatedly expressed concern over progress on the work on the western fortifications-and
(3) German intelligence rated the Czech Army as being up to date so far as armament and equipment were concerned."
This confirms the Communist Party 's statement that Hitler's apparent strength was deceptive. " If Britain stands with the democracies," it declared, " Peace is assured; and this example will find a mighty echo among the masses of Germany."
The Times of December 4, 1945, quotes General Jodi's diary for May 30, 1938, which provides additional evidence:
" The whole contrast becomes acute once more between the Fuehrer's intuition that we must do it this year and the opinion of the Army that we cannot do it, as most certainly the Western Powers will interfere, and we are not as yet equal to them."
German Army Unprepared
General Jodi's diary quotes the opinion of General Wietersheim, a Nazi Army Chief: " When Mr. Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement in September, 1938, the German Army could have held the Western fortifications for only three weeks."
The Daily Telegraph of December 3, 1945, was forced to admit " Nazi Germany was almost as little prepared to go to war against the British Empire over Czechoslovakia in 1938 as Britain was to commit herself to a major European conflict." Against the lying rumours that the Czechs were weak, the Communist Party declared: " Democratic Czechoslovakia remains strong and resolute." The Daily Telegraph of November 27, 1945, contains the following report:
"Czech forces were strong and their morale high. In the words of Zeitzler's official intelligence summary the 'Czech Army must be considered up to date as far as armament and equipment is concerned'."
On the 25th of May, 1938, the Communist Party's pamphlet, " Czechoslovakia and Britain " declared:
" If Hitler could conquer Czechoslovakia, Germany's war machine would be considerably strengthened ... in addition to these gains, the conquest of Czechoslovakia would be a stepping-stone for the further aggressive plans of Nazi Germany."
The Times of December 6, 1945, summarising documents produced at Nuremberg, wrote :
"The transfer of the Czech armament potential to Germany had substantially strengthened the Axis against the Western Powers, and the action was also to be viewed as an advantage in case of an attack on Poland."
Commenting upon Munich, Chamberlain's accomplice, Daladier, said: "We have avoided a war and surely that is worth a lot." Well might Hitler speak of "the miserable worms Chamberlain and Daladier" ! (The Times, 24.11.45.)
Peace Betrayed
The Communist Party did not deceive the British people. Immediately the Munich terms were published, it stated bluntly:
"The peace of the world has not been saved. It has been betrayed to the custody of Hitler, to be broken when he considers the time favourable for his next act of conquest, with his military forces enormously strengthened by his invasion of Czechoslovakia." (How Chamberlain Helped Hitler, by J. R. Campbell, October, 1938.)
The Times of November 27, 1945, contains the following:
"Hitler, reviewing the situation to his commanders in November, 1939, states: ' It was clear to me from the first moment that I could not be satisfied with Sudeten territory. It, was only a partial solution. The decision was to march into Bohemia and then follow with the erection of the protectorate, and with that the action against Poland was ready'."
" The Hour Will Come . . ,,
Before Munich, the Communist Party Central Committee warned the nation:
" Make no mistake, the fate of Czechoslovakia will determine the fate of the British people.... Unless a stand is taken now, the hour will come for Britain as surely as it has come for Abyssinia, Spain, China, Austria and now Czechoslovakia" (May 23, 1938).
SOLIDARITY WITH SOCIALIST RUSSIA
Ever since the Nazis established their power in Germany the Communist Party put forward a clear Peace Policy based on a Pact with the Soviet Union. As Harry Pollitt stated in the spring of 1936: "We must launch out the greatest campaign ever undertaken for a Peace Treaty between Britain and the Soviet Union, which together with the existing Franco-Soviet Treaty would also become a mighty means of preventing the outbreak of war in Europe."
Right up to the end the Communist Party was still striving desperately to save peace. In July, 1939, Harry Pollitt declared in "Will it be War?":
" Hitler moves fast. Only the united stand of the peoples can check aggression and save peace. This requires the immediate signing of the Pact for Mutual Defence of Britain and France with the Socialist Soviet Union, covering all the smaller countries through which Fascism may seek to deliver its attack. It requires that this Pact shall be immediately followed by Staff consultations and all necessary preparations to make its strength such that Fascism will not dare to attack. This Pact is the keystone of the defence of the people."
What suffering might not have been averted if these words had been listened to-even at the eleventh hour?
Today, the Nazis have been beaten militarily. But we need unity with the Soviet Union more than ever. We must heed these lessons of the past, in which the Communists pointed out correctly that co-operation with Socialist Russia was the corner stone of world peace and British security. That same co-operation is the most important single factor in preserving peace in the· future for Britain.
HISTORY SPEAKS
Everyone knows how long and with what determination the Communists have fought Fascism. But what the Nuremberg Trial reveals is how amazingly accurate was the Communist Party's appreciation of each situation, how correct its advice for the future. In 1934 the Communists declared that it was the Nazis who burnt the Reichstag in 1946 it is proved at Nuremberg. Right at the beginning of the Nazi leaders' dictatorship, the Communists branded them as warmongers ; at Nuremberg those same leaders are tried as war criminals. During the Spanish War, the Communists exposed Franco's alliance with Hitler; it is proved in the dock at Nuremberg. In March, 1938, the Communist Party put out the slogan-" Save Austria, Save Britain from Fascism and War," in September of the same year it asked: "If the Munich Agreement is not repudiated, ask yourself the question, "What country in Europe will be the next to be attacked?" The Nuremberg indictment issued in November, 1945, contains this sentence: "The aim of the plan against Austria and Czechoslovakia was conceived of not as an end in itself but as a preparatory measure towards the next aggressive steps in the Nazi conspiracy." The Communists said that a Pact with the Soviet Union would save peace. Munich brought us Dunkirk, the Anglo-Soviet Pact brought us victory. The Communists said that the Second Front in 1942 or 1943 would shorten the war; General Jodi's lecture reveals that it would have finished it.
The Communist Party was right-right about preventing the war while it could still be prevented; right about winning it when it had been forced on us. It was the people's enemies who prevented the voice of the Communist Party being beard. The Communist Party's May Day message for 1944 is very relevant today:
"On this May Day we think not only of the Fascist enemy in Germany and Japan, but of the reactionaries in Britain. They still sit in the board rooms and employers' organisations where once they gladly negotiated with the international cartels set up by the Nazis to paralyse the defence of democracy. They still own newspapers with which they try to poison the independent spirit of our people."
These words are as true today as when they were written.
The Fascists are crawling out of their holes. Attempts are being made to break up our alliance with the Soviet Union.
Against all this, the Communists will fight, as they fought against the spirit of Munich. But they can do so a thousand times more effectively in their rightful place, as an affiliated organisation of the Labour Party. If the Communist Party had been affiliated before the war, would the Labour Party have supported Non-Intervention in Spain; would it have cried "Good Luck, Chamberlain," when the appeaser flew to Munich ; would it have refused the People's Front Government, which could have thrown out Chamberlain, signed the Anglo-Soviet Pact and prevented this ghastly war?
Let us never forget, reaction may be down, but it is not yet out. The task of the Communist Party is to prevent its staging a comeback. Speaking of the Nazi criminals at Nuremberg, Justice Jackson uttered a great truth:
" Merely as individuals," he said, " the prisoners' fate is of little consequence to the world. What makes this inquest significant is that these prisoners represent sinister influences that will lurk in the world long after their bodies have returned to dust.
" Civilisation can afford no compromise with these forces."
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