In August 1939, communists from all over Europe unexpectedly took the side of encircled Poland. Disgrace, horror, betrayal! they shouted. Partisans who blindly believed in proletarian ideals could not believe that Stalin had made an alliance with Hitler. Some people preferred to commit suicide than to observe the 4th partition of Poland ...
In Western countries, the communist parties were doing well in the interwar period. They believed in the only correct ideology, belonged to the Comintern, and listened to orders from Moscow regarding the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie.
In this utopian vision, with the world revolution in the background, however, a gigantic breach was created, which was caused by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939. The Germans and the Russians set out to implement the agreements, including the secret annex, with similar enthusiasm. On September 1, Hitler attacked Poland, and on September 17, Stalin went to "defend" the civilian population.
The end of the ideological struggle?
On the new border, which was marked out by Messrs Joachim von Ribbentrop and Wiaczesław Molotov, the troops of both dictators fraternized and shared the spoils, and even - as in Brest-Litovsk - organized joint parades .
Until now, unrepentant communists had absolutely ruled out any collaboration with fascists. After all, for years they had been encouraged to believe that the minions of Hitler and Mussolini were their greatest enemies!
German and Soviet servicemen shake hands in Lublin.
As Roger Moorhouse, author of the book "Devil's Pact" writes:
[…] in the summer of 1939, the ideologically clear bipolarity of the world where communism clashed with fascism seemed to blur.
The later Minister of Labor, Kenneth Robinson, a member of the British Communist Party in 1939, stated that the information about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a shock to him.
We will not defend fascist Poland!
The instruction from Moscow came shortly after, and there were no illusions:the working class could not defend fascist Poland, and the division into fascist and democratic states had ceased to exist.
The communists began to divide. In one camp there were faithful followers of Stalin who blindly believed in the Moscow gospel. For them the situation was clear and summed up in one sentence:
Soviet leaders held accountable to the working class of the whole world for defending the USSR and could, if necessary, forge an alliance with the devil himself . ( R. Moorhouse , " Devils' pact. The alliance of Hitler and Stalin " )
In the second camp were those who believed in ideology and class struggle, and in fascism they saw the last surges of collapsing capitalism.
Proletarians of all countries, what do you say?
On the Seine, activists did not intend to submit to the "change of line". Dissatisfied, they tore their ID cards to shreds and left the party's ranks . Thus the French communists lost 21 of their 73 MPs .
Ferment also progressed in the largest trade union in the country. His leadership did not intend to tolerate any supporters of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in its ranks. Whoever refused to condemn him was kicked out.
Many German communists did not believe that such an agreement was possible. They remembered the brutal persecution they experienced after Hitler came to power, and now suddenly they were expected to praise him to the heavens ?!
A cartoon depicting the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as the married couple of Hitler and Stalin.
Party ranks were practically routed, activists were imprisoned, and the survivors were deeply underground. When the information about the German-Soviet agreement reached them, they asked themselves one question. How could Stalin do this to them?
As Roger Moorhouse writes in the book Devil's Pact. An alliance of Hitler and Stalin ", one of the unrepentant communists was so shocked at the news of the Soviet invasion of Poland that he committed suicide.
Disgrace!
Austrian journalist Ruth von Mayenburg, although she came from an aristocratic family, was an active member of the communist party of Austria. In the 1930s, she even spied in Nazi Germany, but over time, she devoted herself entirely to activity in the Comintern.
In 1938, fearing what awaited her in Austria, annexed by Hitler, she left for Moscow. Upon learning of the pact, she was shocked. When emotions came to the fore, she could not explain Stalin's actions to herself:
It was really disgraceful and for a long time we were unable to overcome the feeling of shame [because of it].
Another communist activist, Beatrice Webb, did not mince words when looking for appropriate terms for the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. This British veteran of socialism (she was 81 in 1939) called the agreement a terror and a disgrace, considering it dishonorable .
Beatrice Webb with her husband on a trip to the Soviet Union.
Only after some time did she shyly explain Stalin. She concluded that it was in fact a good thing that he had kept his troops out of the devastating Axis and Allied fighting, even if he had used quite sneaky tactics to do so. However, the essence of the problem did not disappear at all. She quotes her views in the book “Pakt devil. Hitler and Stalin's alliance ”Roger Moorhouse.
"Stalin and Molotov became destroyers of peace" in Europe, and the entry of the Soviets into Poland was "a monument to international immorality". It was, she said, "the most terrible tragedy in human history" , not because of the grim fate of the Poles, but because her beloved USSR had squandered his "moral prestige".
Source:
Roger Moorhouse, Devils' Pact , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2015.