A
abucs
Guest
I ask this because all three of the main European initiators of World War 2 defined themselves as socialist.
Initially they were all very much on the same side.
Mussolini of course was a very successful socialist activist and created his own form of socialism called fascism and was congratulated by the Russians as a revolutionary. In turn Mussolini was the first western power to recognise the Russian Bolshevik state and was its biggest trading partner.
Hitler, a member of the German Labour Party was much influenced by Mussolini and when he ascended to the leadership of the party (then renamed National Socialist Workers Party) he developed a bond and pact with the Italian dictator.
Hitler also made friends with the Bolshevik socialists in Russia and agreed to a peace pact and a blueprint to divide European lands between the socialist dictatorships. (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact).
Was not this blatantly war mongering agreement, between self described socialist states, the beginning of World War 2 with all three socialist groups on the same side and each invading their neighbours within a matter of weeks?
In late 1940 Russia officially sent its diplomat, Molotov, to Germany to further agree the details of the USSR joining the Axis powers and in early 1941 it officially signed a neutrality pact with former foes Japan.
Ion Pacepa, the highest Soviet intelligence officer to defect has said that after the discussion with Germany on the USSR joining the Axis powers, Stalin was elated and believed it was a done deal. Later Stalin would receive an intelligence brief that Germany was planning to attack the USSR and Pacepa relates that Stalin angrily refused to believe it and wrote expletives across the report.
If Germany did not attack the USSR but accepted them into the Axis club as Stalin was led to believe, would the cause for WW2 be more accurately thought of as obvious socialist war mongering?
With the USSR being forced to join the Allies has this clouded our view of the true cause of WW2? Were the Soviet socialists made to look like the good guys and the true (perhaps sole) face of socialism and their initial pact with Germany and invasion of European lands forgotten?
This while the German socialism of National Socialism was being downplayed as something entirely different? (later seen as far right, in accordance with Soviet propaganda).
Initially they were all very much on the same side.
Mussolini of course was a very successful socialist activist and created his own form of socialism called fascism and was congratulated by the Russians as a revolutionary. In turn Mussolini was the first western power to recognise the Russian Bolshevik state and was its biggest trading partner.
Hitler, a member of the German Labour Party was much influenced by Mussolini and when he ascended to the leadership of the party (then renamed National Socialist Workers Party) he developed a bond and pact with the Italian dictator.
Hitler also made friends with the Bolshevik socialists in Russia and agreed to a peace pact and a blueprint to divide European lands between the socialist dictatorships. (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact).
Was not this blatantly war mongering agreement, between self described socialist states, the beginning of World War 2 with all three socialist groups on the same side and each invading their neighbours within a matter of weeks?
In late 1940 Russia officially sent its diplomat, Molotov, to Germany to further agree the details of the USSR joining the Axis powers and in early 1941 it officially signed a neutrality pact with former foes Japan.
Ion Pacepa, the highest Soviet intelligence officer to defect has said that after the discussion with Germany on the USSR joining the Axis powers, Stalin was elated and believed it was a done deal. Later Stalin would receive an intelligence brief that Germany was planning to attack the USSR and Pacepa relates that Stalin angrily refused to believe it and wrote expletives across the report.
If Germany did not attack the USSR but accepted them into the Axis club as Stalin was led to believe, would the cause for WW2 be more accurately thought of as obvious socialist war mongering?
With the USSR being forced to join the Allies has this clouded our view of the true cause of WW2? Were the Soviet socialists made to look like the good guys and the true (perhaps sole) face of socialism and their initial pact with Germany and invasion of European lands forgotten?
This while the German socialism of National Socialism was being downplayed as something entirely different? (later seen as far right, in accordance with Soviet propaganda).
Last edited:
