Stalin and hitler's aggressiveness

The Soviet government promptly guessed the game of British and French diplomacy. Quite indicative in this respect are the statements of the former Yugoslav ambassador to the USSR M. Gavrilovich about his conversation with JV Stalin, about which the ambassador spoke on June 16, 1941 at a dinner at the American embassy in Ankara. 

The recording of Gavrilovich's statements was made by the First Secretary of the US Embassy in Turkey, Kelly. 

“Mr. Gavrilovich said,” writes Kelly, “that during his conversation with Stalin, the latter referred to negotiations with the Allies that preceded the signing of a non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany. Stalin stated that the fact that the representatives of the Allies in the negotiations were secondary officials, not vested with powers, the position of Poland, which refused to give its consent to the passage of Russian troops through Poland or to the flight of Russian aircraft through it, the position of the French military, which indicated that that France was going to stay behind the Maginot Line and not undertake offensive operations against Germany, it was clearly shown to the Soviet government that any conclusion of a pact with the allies would lead to the fact that the Soviet Union would have to bear the entire burden of the German attack at a time when the Soviet Union could not cope with a German attack ”140, and when an undeclared but fierce war with Japan was going on in the Far East.

The Soviet side has repeatedly noted the important role of England in maintaining peace in Europe and throughout the world. Let us note only one statement of JV Stalin, made by him in response to Eden's remark about the enormous size of the Soviet Union and about a small island called Great Britain.

“Yes, a small island,” said JV Stalin, “but a lot depends on it. Now, if this small island told Germany: I will not give you money, raw materials, or metal, peace in Europe would be ensured ”29

The party and the government decided to warn the peoples of the USSR, as well as world public opinion, about the threat of a Japanese attack on the Soviet Union. This warning was made in a conversation between the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) JV Stalin and the New York Times correspondent Duranty on December 25, 1933.

During the conversation, Stalin noted the danger that militant elements could gain the upper hand in Japanese politics ... "This is the real danger, and we have to prepare for it." “It seems to me,” JV Stalin said further, “that it would be unreasonable for Japan if it attacked the USSR.” 34 

This unequivocal warning showed the adventurers in Japan that the Soviet Union saw the danger threatening it and was preparing to give a decisive rebuff to the aggressor if the latter dares to unleash a war against him.

“But what guarantee,” JV Stalin said then to A. Eden, “that the German government, which so easily tears up its international obligations, will observe the non-aggression pact? 

There is no guarantee. Therefore, we cannot be satisfied with only a non-aggression pact with Germany. 

To ensure peace, we need a more real guarantee, and such a real guarantee is only the Eastern Pact of Mutual Assistance. ”87 

The Soviet side reiterated that the USSR would like Germany to also participate in the Eastern Pact, since the Soviet Union also wants to have friendly relations with it. As for the demand put forward by Hitler and supported by Britain to arm Germany under the guise of providing her with "equal rights" in this area, Eden was then told that the Soviet government believed that "at the moment we need to take measures to prevent Germany from arming itself." 88, because the USSR had not the slightest doubt about the aggressiveness of Hitler's Germany. 

Documents of USSR Foreign Policy, vol. 18, p. 112.