On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union

J. V. Stalin

ON THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF THE SOVIET UNION

24TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT OCTOBER SOCIALIST REVOLUTION
SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE JOINT CELEBRATION MEETING OF THE MOSCOW SOVIET OF WORKING PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF MOSCOW PARTY
AND PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS
NOVEMBER 6, 1941
Comrades!

Twenty-four years have elapsed since the victory of the October Socialist Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet system in our country. We are now on the threshold of the next, the twenty-fifth, year of existence of the Soviet system.
It is customary at meetings in celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution to review our achievements in the realm of peaceful construction for the past year. And we are indeed in a position to make such reviews, for our achievements in the realm of peaceful construction grow not only from year to year, but from month to month. These achievements and their magnitude are known to all, both friends and foes.
But the past year has not only been one of peaceful construction. It has also been a year of war with the German invaders who perfidiously attacked our peace-loving country. It was only in the first six months of the past year that we were able to continue our peaceful, constructive work. The second half of the year, more than four months of it, has been marked by fierce warfare against the German imperialists. The war thus marked a turning point in the development of our country in this past year. The war has considerably diminished, and in some branches has altogether suspended our peaceful constructive work. It has compelled us to place all our work on a war footing. It has converted our country into one all-inclusive rear, which serves the front, our Red Army and our Navy.

The period of peaceful construction has come to an end. A period of war of liberation from the German invaders has begun.
It is therefore quite appropriate to discuss the results of the war in the second half of the past year, or rather the period of a little over four months of the second half of the year, and the aims we have set ourselves in this war of liberation.

THE COURSE OF THE WAR FOR FOUR MONTHS
I have already said in one of my public speeches at the beginning of the war that the war has created a grave menace for our country, that serious danger threatens our country, that we must understand and realize this danger and place all our work on a war footing. Today, after four months of war, I must emphatically state that far from having abated, this danger is greater than ever. The enemy has seized a large part of the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Moldavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and a number of other regions; he has forced his way into the
Donetz Basin, hangs like a black cloud over Leningrad and is threatening our glorious capital, Moscow. The German fascist invaders are despoiling our country, destroying the towns and villages created by the efforts of the workers, peasants and intellectuals. Hitler's hordes are slaughtering and outraging the civilian population of our country, showing no mercy to women, children or the aged. Our brothers in those regions of our country which the Germans have seized are groaning beneath the yoke of the German oppressors.

Rivers of enemy blood have been shed by the men of our Army and Navy, who are defending the honour and liberty of their native land, manfully repulsing the attacks of a bestial enemy and setting examples of valour and heroism. But the enemy stops at no sacrifice, he does not care one iota for the blood of his soldiers, he keeps hurling fresh detachments into the field to replace those that have been shattered, and is exerting every effort to capture Leningrad and Moscow before the advent of winters for he knows that winter bodes him no good.

During the four months of war we lost 350,000 in killed and 378,000 missing; our wounded number 1,020,000. In the same period the enemy lost over 4,500,000 men killed, wounded and taken prisoner.
There can be no doubt that as a result of the four months of war Germany, whose reserves of manpower are already giving out, has been far more weakened than the Soviet Union, whose reserves are only just beginning to come into full play.

FAILURE OF THE "BLITZKRIEG"
In launching their attack on our country the German fascist invaders calculated that they would be able to "finish off'' the Soviet Union for certain in one and a half or two months, and in this short period would succeed in reaching the Urals. It must be said that the Germans did not conceal this plan for a "lightning" victory. On the Contrary, they gave it the utmost publicity. The facts, however, have revealed the utter folly and groundlessness of this "lightning" plan. Today this crazy plan must be regarded as having definitely failed. (A p p l a u s e.)

How is it to be explained that the "blitzkrieg" which succeeded in Western Europe, failed and collapsed in the East?
What did the German fascist strategists count on when they asserted that they would finish off the Soviet Union in two months and reach the Urals in this short period ?

They seriously counted in the first place on creating a universal coalition against the U.S.S.R., on enlisting Great Britain and the U.S.A. in this coalition, after frightening the ruling circles of these countries with the spectre of revolution, and thus completely isolating our country from other powers. The Germans knew that their policy of playing on the class antagonisms in the different countries and the antagonisms between these countries and the Land of Soviets had already produced results in France, the rulers of which, after allowing themselves to be scared by the spectre of revolution, in their fright laid their country at the feet of Hitler and renounced all resistance. The German fascist strategists thought that the same thing would happen in the case of Great Britain and the United States. The notorious Hess was in fact sent to England by the German fascists precisely to persuade the English statesmen to join in a universal campaign against the U.S.S.R. But the Germans sadly miscalculated. (A p p l a u s e.) Not withstanding all Hess's efforts, Great Britain and the United States, far from joining the campaign of the German fascist invaders against the U.S.S.R., proved to be in one camp with the U.S.S.R. against Hitler Germany. Far from being isolated, the U.S.S.R. acquired new allies in the shape of Great Britain, the United States and countries occupied by the Germans. It turns out that the German policy of playing on antagonisms and using the spectre of revolution has lost its efficacy and is unsuitable in the new situation. Not only is it unsuitable, it is even, fraught with grave danger for the German invaders, for under the new conditions of the war it leads to diametrically opposite results.

Secondly, the Germans counted on the Soviet system being unstable, on the Soviet rear being unstable, and believed that after the very first serious blow and the first reverses suffered by the Red Army conflicts would break out between the workers and peasants, that squabbling would begin among the peoples of the U.S.S.R., that uprisings would occur, and the country would break up into its component parts, and this, it was expected, would facilitate the advance of the German invaders right up to the Urals. But here, too, the Germans sadly miscalculated. Far from weakening, the reverses of the Red Army only served still further to strengthen both the alliance of the workers and peasants and the friendship of the peoples 'of the U.S.S.R. (A p p l a u s e.) More, they
converted the family of peoples of the U.S.S.R. into a single and unshakeable camp, selflessly supporting their Red Army and their Red Navy. Never has the Soviet rear been so firm as it is today. (L o u d a p p l a u s e.) It is quite likely that if any other country had lost as much territory as we have lost now it would not have stood the test and would have fallen into decline. If the Soviet system has stood the test so well and has even strengthened its rear, it must mean that the Soviet system is now a most stable one. (L o u d a p l a u s e.)
Lastly, the German invaders counted on the weakness of the Red Army and Red Navy, believing that the German army and German navy would succeed at the very first blow in overwhelming and scattering our Army and Navy and opening the way for an unhindered advance into the depths of our country. But here, too, the Germans sadly miscalculated, overrating their own strength and underrating our Army and Navy. Of course, our Army and Navy are still young, they have been fighting for only four months, they have not yet succeeded in becoming a thoroughly seasoned army and navy, whereas they are confronted by the seasoned navy and seasoned army of the Germans, who have already been at war for two years. But, in the first place, the morale of our Army is higher than that of the German, for it is defending its native land against alien invaders and believes in the justice of its cause, whereas the German army is waging a war of annexation, is plundering a foreign country, and is unable to believe even for a moment in the justice of its vile cause. There can be no doubt that the idea of defending their native land, which is what our people are fighting for, is hound to breed, and actually is breeding
in our Army heroes who cement the Red Army, whereas the idea of seizing and plundering a foreign country, which is what the Germans are in fact waging the war for, is bound to breed, and actually is breeding in the German army professional looters, devoid of all moral principles and corrupting the German army. Secondly, as it advances into the interior of our country, the German army is moving farther and farther away from its own German rear, is forced to operate in hostile surroundings, is forced to create a new rear in an alien country, a rear, moreover, that is being disrupted by our guerillas -- all of which is radically disorganizing the supply of the German army, causes it to fear its own rear and destroys its faith in the stability of its position, whereas our Army is operating in its own native surroundings, enjoys the constant support of its rear, is assured of supplies of men, munitions and food, and has a profound faith in its rear. That is why our Army has proved to be stronger than the Germans anticipated and the German army weaker than might have been expected, judging by the boastful self-advertisement of the German invaders. The defence of Leningrad and Moscow, where our divisions lately wiped out about thirty seasoned German divisions, shows that in the fire of our Patriotic War there are being forged, and already have been forged, new Soviet men and commanders, airmen, artillerymen, mortar men, tankmen, infantrymen, and sailors, who tomorrow will become the terror of the German army. (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)
There can be no doubt that all these factors, taken together, predetermined the inevitable collapse of the "Blitzkrieg" in the East.

REASONS FOR THE TEMPORARY REVERSES OF OUR ARMY
All that, of course, is true. But it is likewise true that alongside these favourable factors, there are a number of factors that are unfavourable for the Red Army, as a result of which our Army is suffering temporary reverses, is obliged to retreat and to surrender a number of regions of our country to the enemy.
What are these unfavourable factors? What are the reasons for the temporary military reverses of the Red Army?

One of the reasons for the reverses of the Red Army is the absence of a second front in Europe against the German fascist troops. The fact of the matter is that at the present time there are no armies of Great Britain or the United States of America on the European continent to savage war against the German fascist troops, with the result that the Germans are not compelled to divide their forces and to wage war on two fronts, in the West and in the East. Well, the effect of this is that the Germans, considering their rear in the West secure, are able to send all their troops and the troops of their allies in Europe against our country. The situation at present is such that our country is waging a war of liberation single-handed, without military help from any one against the combined forces of the Germans, Finns, Rumanians, Italians and Hungarians. The Germans preen themselves on their temporary successes and are lavish in their praises of their army, claiming that it can always defeat the Red Army in single combat. The Germans' claims are nothing but empty boasting, for it is
incomprehensible why in that case the Germans have resorted to the aid of the Finns, Rumanians, Italians and the Hungarians against the Red Army, which is fighting absolutely single-handed without any military help from outside. There can be no doubt that the absence of a second front in Europe against the Germans greatly eases the position of the German army. But neither can there be any doubt that the appearance of a second front on the European continent -- and it must unquestionably appear in the near future (l o u d a p p l a u s e) -- will materially ease the position of our Army to the detriment of the German army.

Another reason for the temporary reverses of our Army is our lack of an adequate number of tanks and partly of aircraft. In modern warfare it is very hard for infantry to fight without tanks and without adequate aircraft protection. Our aircraft are superior in quality to the German, and our splendid airmen have covered themselves with glory as dauntless fighters. (A p p l a u s e.) But we still have fewer aeroplanes than the Germans. Our tanks are superior in quality to the German, and our splendid tankmen and artillerymen have on more than one occasion put the vaunted troops of the Germans, with their numerous tanks, to flight. (A p p l a u s e.) But we still have several times less tanks than the Germans. Therein lies the secret of the temporary successes of the German army. It cannot be said that our tank-building industry is working badly and is supplying our front with few tanks. No, it is working very well and is producing quite a number of splendid tanks. But the Germans are producing far more tanks, for they now have at their disposal not only their own tank-building industry, but
also the industry of Czechoslovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Were it not for this the Red Army would long ago have smashed the German army, which never ventures into action without tanks and cannot withstand the onslaught of our troops if it has not a superiority in tanks. (A p p l a u s e.)
There is only one way of nullifying the Germans' superiority in tanks and thus radically improving the position of our Army, and that is, not only to increase the output of tanks in our country several times over, but also sharply to increase the production of anti-tank aircraft, anti-tank rifles and guns, and anti-tank grenades and mortars, and to build as large a number as possible of anti-tank traps and every other kind of tank obstacle.

This is the task now.
We can accomplish this task, and we must accomplish it at all costs!

WHAT ARE THE "NATIONAL-SOCIALISTS"?
In our country the German invaders, i.e., the Hitlerites, are usually called fascists. The Hitlerites, it appears, consider this wrong and obstinately persist in calling themselves "National-Socialists." Hence, the Germans are trying to assure us that the Hitler party, the party of German invaders, which is plundering Europe and has engineered this dastardly attack on our socialist country, is a socialist party. Is this possible? What can there be in common between socialism and the bestial Hitlerite invaders who are plundering and oppressing the nations of Europe?
Can the Hitlerites be regarded as nationalists ? No, they cannot. Actually, the Hitlerites are now not nationalists but imperialists. As long as the Hitlerites were engaged in assembling the German lands and reuniting the Rhine district, Austria, etc., there might have been some ground for calling them nationalists. But after they seized foreign territories and enslaved European nations -- the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Norwegians, Danes, Netherlanders, Belgians, the French, Serbs, Greeks, Ukrainians, Belorussians, the inhabitants of the Baltic countries etc. -- and began to reach out for world domination, the Hitlerite party ceased to be a nationalist partly for from that moment it became an imperialist, predatory, oppressor party.

The Hitlerite party is a party of imperialists, and of the most rapacious and predatory imperialists in the world at that.

Can the Hitlerites be regarded as socialists ? No, they cannot. Actually the Hitlerites are the sworn enemies of socialism, arrant reactionaries and Black-Hundreds who have robbed the working class and the peoples of Europe of the most elementary democratic liberties. In order to cover up their reactionary, Black-Hundred nature, the Hitlerites denounce the internal regime of England and America as a plutocratic regime. But in England and the United States there are elementary democratic liberties, there are trade unions of workers and salaried employees, there are workers' parties, there are parliaments; whereas in Germany, under the Hitler regime, all these institutions have been destroyed. One need but compare these two sets of facts to perceive the reactionary nature of the Hitler regime and the utter hypocrisy of the German fascist
buncombe about a plutocratic regime in England and in America. In point of fact the Hitler regime is a copy of the reactionary regime which existed in Russia under tsarism. As we know, the Hitlerites suppress the rights of the workers, the rights of the intellectuals and the rights of nations as readily as the tsarist regime suppressed them; they organize mediaeval pogroms against the Jews as readily as the tsarist regime did.

The Hitlerite party is a party of enemies of democratic liberties, a Party of medieval reaction and Black-Hundred pogroms.

And if these brazen imperialists and arrant reactionaries still continue to don the toga of "nationalists" and "socialists," they do so for the purpose of deceiving the people, of hoodwinking the credulous and of using the flag of "nationalism" and "socialism" to cover up their predatory imperialist nature.

Crows decked in peacocks' feathers. . . . But no matter how much crows may deck themselves in peacocks' feathers they will not cease to be crows.
"We must resort to all means," says Hitler, "to bring about the conquest of the world by the Germans. If our hearts are set on establishing our great German Reich we must above all things force out and exterminate the Slavonic nations -- the Russians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians. There is no reason why this should not be done."

"Man," says Hitler, "is a born sinner; he can be ruled only by force. In dealing with him all means are permissible. When policy requires it we should lie, betray and even kill."
"Kill everyone who is opposed to us," says Goring. "Kill, kill! Not you will answer for this, but I! Hence, kill!"
"I emancipate man," says Hitler, "from the humiliating chimera which is called conscience. Conscience, like education, cripples men. My advantage is that I am not deterred by any considerations, theoretical or moral."

In an order of the day dated September 25, issued by the German command to the 489th Infantry Regiment, found on a dead German non-commissioned officer, it is stated:
"I order fire to be opened upon every Russian as soon as he appears within a distance of 600 metres. The Russians must know that they are faced by a resolute foe from whom they cannot expect any mercy."

In one of the appeals of the German command to the soldiers, found on the dead body of Lieutenant Gustav Ziegel, a native of Frankfort-on-Main, we read:
"You have no heart or nerves; they are not needed in war. Eradicate every trace of pity and sympathy from your heart -- kill every Russian, every Soviet person. Do not hesitate, whether you have an old man or a woman, a girl or boy before you, kill! Thereby you will save your own life, ensure the future of your family and win eternal glory."

There you have the program and instructions of the leaders of the Hitlerite party and of the Hitlerite command, the program and instructions of men who have lost all semblance of humanity and have sunk to the level of wild beasts.

And these men, destitute of conscience and honour, these men with the morals of beasts, have the insolence to call for the extermination of the great Russian nation, the nation of Plekhanov and Lenin, Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, Pushkin and Tolstoy, Glinka and Chaikovsky, Gorky and Chekhov, Sechenov and Pavlov, Repin and Surikov, Suvorov and Kutuzov! . . .

The German invaders want a war of extermination against the peoples of the U.S.S.R. Well, if the Germans want a war of extermination, they will get it. (L o u d a n d p r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

From now on our task, the task of the peoples of the U.S.S.R., the task of the men, commanders and the political personnel of our Army and our Navy is to exterminate to a man all the Germans who have intruded into the territory of our country as invaders. (L o u d a p p l a u s e. "H e a r, h e a r ! C h e e r s.)
No mercy should be shown the German invaders!
Death to the German invaders! (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)

THE DEFEAT OF THE GERMAN IMPERIALISTS AND THEIR ARMIES IS INEVITABLE

The very fact that in their moral degradation the German invaders, who have lost all semblance of humanity, have long ago sunk to the level of wild beasts, tells us that they have doomed themselves to inevitable destruction.

But the inevitable destruction of the Hitlerite invaders and their armies is not determined by moral factors alone.

There are three other basic factors, which are operating more powerfully with each day that passes, and which are bound to lead in the not distant future to the inevitable defeat of Hitler's robber imperialism. (A p p l a u s e.)

Firstly, there is the instability of the European rear of imperialist Germany, the instability of the "new order" in Europe. The German invaders have enslaved the peoples of the European continent -- from France to the Soviet Baltic countries, from Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Soviet Byelorussia to the Balkans and the Soviet Ukraine; they have robbed them of their elementary democratic liberties; they have deprived them of the right to order their own destiny; they have taken away their grain, meat and raw materials; they have converted them into their slaves; they have crucified the Poles, Czechs, Serbs, and have decided that after achieving supremacy in Europe, they can now use it as a basis for building up Germany's world supremacy. That is what they call the "new order in Europe." But what is this "basis," what is this "new order"? Only the self-admiring Hitlerite fools fail to see that the "new order" in Europe and the infamous "basis" of this order represent a volcano which is ready to erupt at any moment and overwhelm the German imperialist house of cards. Reference is made to Napoleon and it is said that Hitler is acting like him, that he resembles Napoleon in every way. But, firstly, Napoleon's fate must not be forgotten. And, secondly, Hitler no more resembles Napoleon than a kitten resembles a lion. (L a u g h t e r, a p p l a u s e.) For Napoleon fought against the forces of reaction and relied on progressive forces, whereas Hitler, on the contrary, relies on the forces of reaction and fights the forces of progress. Only the Hitlerite fools in Berlin fail to realize that the enslaved peoples of Europe will fight

and revolt against Hitler's tyranny. Who can doubt that the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the U.S.A. will give every support to the peoples of Europe in their struggle for liberation against Hitler's tyranny? (A p p l a u s e.)

Secondly, there is the instability of the German rear of the Hitlerite invaders. So long as the Hitlerites were engaged in uniting Germany, which had been carved up by the Versailles Treaty, they could enjoy the support of the German people, who were inspired by the ideal or the restoration of Germany. But after this aim had been achieved and the Hitlerites took the road of imperialism, of seizing foreign lands and of subjugating foreign nations, thereby converting the peoples of Europe and the peoples of the U.S.S.R. into sworn enemies of present-day Germany, a profound change of heart took place among the German people against the continuation of the war, in favour of ending the war. Over two years of sanguinary war, the end of which is not yet in sight; the millions of human lives sacrificed; starvation, impoverishment; epidemics; the atmosphere of hostility to the Germans all around them; Hitler's stupid policy which has turned the peoples of the U.S.S.R. into sworn enemies of present-day Germany -- all this could not but set the German people against the unnecessary and ruinous war. Only the Hitlerite fools fail to see that not only the European rear but also the German rear of the German troops represents a volcano which is ready to erupt and overwhelm the Hitler adventurers.

Lastly, there is the coalition of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the United States of America against the German fascist imperialists. It is a fact that Great Britain, the United States of America and the Soviet Union have

united in a single camp, which has set itself the aim of defeating the Hitler imperialists and their robber armies. Modern war is a war of engines. The war will be won by the side that has an overwhelming preponderance in the output of engines. The combined engine output of the U.S.A., Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. is at least three times as large as that of Germany. That is one of the grounds for the inevitable doom of Hitler's robber imperialism.
The recent three-power conference in Moscow, attended by Lord Beaverbrook as representative of Great Britain and by Mr. Harriman as representative of the United States, decided to give our country systematic aid in the way of tanks and aircraft. As you know, we have already begun to receive tanks and aeroplanes in accordance with that decision. Even prior to that England undertook to supply our country with such materials as we are deficient in, as aluminium, lead, tin, nickel and rubber. If we add the fact that a few days ago the United States of America decided to grant the Soviet Union a loan of 1,000,000,000 dollars, we can confidently state that the coalition of the United States of America, Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. is something real (l o u d a p p l a u s e), and that it is growing and will continue to grow to the benefit of our common cause of liberation.
Such are the factors which determine the inevitable doom of German fascist imperialism.

OUR TASKS

Lenin distinguished between two kinds of war -- predatory, and therefore unjust wars, and wars of liberation, just wars.
The Germans are now waging a predatory war, an unjust war, for the purpose of seizing foreign territory and subjugating foreign peoples. That is why all honest people must rise against the German invaders, as enemies.

Unlike Hitler Germany, the Soviet Union and its allies are waging a war of liberation, a just war, for the purpose of liberating the enslaved peoples of Europe and the U.S.S.R. from Hitler's tyranny. That is why all honest people must support the armies of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain and the other Allies, as armies of liberation.
We have not, and cannot have, any such war aims as the seizure of foreign territories and the subjugation of foreign peoples -- whether it be the peoples and territories of Europe or the peoples and territories of Asia including Iran. Our First aim is to liberate our territories and our peoples from the German fascist yoke.
We have not, and cannot have, any such war aims as that of imposing our will and our regime upon the Slavonic or other enslaved nations of Europe, who are expecting our help. Our aim is to help these nations in the struggle for liberation they are waging against Hitler's tyranny and then to leave it to them quite freely to arrange their lives on their lands as they think fit. There must be no interference whatever in the internal affairs of other nations!

But if these aims are to be achieved, we must crush the military might of the German invaders, we must destroy to the last man the German forces of occupation who have intruded into our country for the purpose of enslaving it. (L o u d a n d p r o l o n g e d a p p l a u s e.)

But to achieve this our Army and Navy must receive active and effective support from our entire country; all our workers and office employees, men and women, must work with might and main in the factories and supply the front with ever greater quantities of tanks, anti-tank rifles and guns, aircraft, artillery, mortars, machine guns, rifles and ammunition; our collective farmers, men and women, must work with might and main in their fields and supply the front and the country with ever greater quantities of grain, meat, raw materials for the industries; our entire country and all the peoples of the U.S.S.R. must organize in a single fighting camp, waging, together with our Army and Navy, the great war of liberation for the honour and freedom of our country, for the rout of the German armies. (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)

This is the task now.
We can and must accomplish this task.
Only when we have accomplished this task and have routed the German invaders can we achieve a lasting and just peace.
Fight until the German invaders are utterly routed! (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)

Fight for the liberation of all the oppressed peoples who are groaning under the yoke of Hitler's tyranny! (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)
Long live the unshakeable friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union! (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)
Long live our Red Army and our Red Navy! (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)

Long live our glorious motherland (L o u d a p p l a u s e.)
Ours is a just cause victory will be ours! (L o u d a p p l a u s e. A l l r i s e. S h o u t s: "C h e e r s f o r t h e g r e a t S t a l i n!" "L o n g l i v e C o m r a d e S t a l i n!" E n t h u s i a s t i c, p r o l o n g e d o v a t i o n. T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l e i s s u n g.)