******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2019/08/22/hidden-history-the-nazi-soviet-pact-which-russia-now-tries-t <https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2019/08/22/hidden-history-the-nazi-soviet-pact-which-russia-now-tries-t> The author says, “...the Soviet Union was on the same side of the war as Hitler.” I am not convinced that this was case. No doubt many instances can be cited of Stalin’s co-operation with Hitler, eg. allowing a German vessel to reach the Pacific by way of the territorial waters of the USSR. Also the author cites a joint parade. But to me the common sense meaning of being “on the same side” of the war means going into combat together. I am not aware that that happened, although I’d have to admit the the division of Poland might qualify as that. Further on the Nazi-Soviet pact, this account by John Riddell. https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/14/my-encounter-with-the-trotskyist-movement/#more-5479 <https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/14/my-encounter-with-the-trotskyist-movement/#more-5479> Soon the conversation turned to the 1939 Stalin-Hitler pact that ushered in World War 2. I gave the standard defense: the Soviet Union was forced to accept the treaty in order to win time and gain a geographical buffer to fend off a likely German attack. Dowson countered by informing me that, after the pact, the official Communist movement abruptly cancelled their campaign in Canada and globally to unite progressive forces against fascism. Then he voiced an idea that was totally new to me and that I immediately found convincing. What the Soviet Union may have gained militarily through the pact, Dowson said, counted for little compared to the impact of alienation and disorientation caused among its millions of supporters worldwide. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
