Stalin, Joseph
-- At five feet, five inches in
height, Joseph Stalin was the small, unassuming-looking dictator of the Soviet
Union. Yet he was the absolute ruler of some 180 million people, whose empire
spanned across Europe and Asia from Poland to the Pacific Ocean. After suffering
humiliating defeats by Adolph Hitler
on
the Russian front in 1941
- 1942, Stalin's Red Army systematically vanquished the Nazis in Eastern Europe
as far west as Berlin. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, when an American
mentioned this achievement, Stalin replied matter-of-factly that Czar Alexander
had gotten to Paris. Inevitably, Stalin's allies were left to decipher his
postwar intentions. Soviet expansionism lurked behind them all and was the
political motive that prevented the Russians from engaging in meaningful peace
agreements.
In Moscow in 1947, Secretary of State George
Marshall found Stalin to be "completely evasive" about
substantive issues, while maintaining a calm and gracious exterior. "Stalin's
greatness as a dissimulator was an integral part of his greatness as a
statesman," wrote Russian expert George Kennan. "An
unforewarned visitor would never have guessed what depths of calculation,
ambition, love of power, jealousy, cruelty, and sly vindictiveness lurked behind
this unpretentious facade."
Text
and photo Courtesy of the
National
Portrait Gallery
Rare War Dated Typed Letter Signed
provided by the
Historic.us Collection
In
June 1942, the Germans launched a new drive directed against Stalingrad (now
called Volgograd) and the Caucasus petroleum fields. In the midst of this
counteroffensive Stalin took the time to answer three pointed questions about
US-Soviet relations just before the turning point of World War II.
Less
than three months after this letter was written Stalingrad held out, and on Feb.
2, 1943 the surrender of 330,000 Axis troops there marked a turning point in the
war.
This exceptional
war dated Stalin letter comes with a certified translation by N. Palgunov, the
Chief Press Department, of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.
Stalin, Joseph - A Joseph Stalin
Typed Letter Signed with a Nikolai Grigoriyevich Palgunov War date
translation of a November 13, 1942 letter by Stalin to Howard Cassidy of the
Associated Press, a T.L.S. "N. Palgunov", Head of press department of People's
Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR from 1940-44, 2pp. 4to. [n.p., n.d.]
which was the official translation of Stalin's response letter to the Moscow
correspondent for the Associated Press, a letter in which he asked for an
answer, either verbally or in writing, to three questions of interest to the
American public concerning the ongoing conflict. The Palgunov's translation
reads: "1. 'What is the Soviet view of the allied campaign in Africa?' Answer.
The Soviet view of this campaign is that it represents an outstanding fact of
major importance demonstrating the growing might of the armed forces of the
Allies and opening the prospective of disintegration of the Italo-German
coalition in the nearest future. The campaign in Africa refutes once more the
skeptics who affirm that the Anglo-American leaders are not capable of
organizing a serious war campaign ... 2. 'How effective has this campaign been
in relieving pressure on the Soviet Union, and what future raid does the Soviet
Union await?' Answer. It is yet too soon to say to what an extent this campaign
has been effective in relieving immediate pressure on the Soviet Union... the
campaign changes radically the political and war situation in Europe in favor of
the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition ... 3 'What possibility is there of Soviet
offensive power in the East joining the Allies in the West to hasten final
victory?' Answer. There need be no doubt that the Red Army will fulfill its task
with honor as it has been fulfilling it throughout the war."
