Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dr Barnsby: The Nazi attack on the Soviet Union

Nasir Khan

In June 1942, German Chancellor Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in the same way as in 2003 American President George W. Bush attacked Iraq. Both of them had their political, economic aims and they knew how to achieve their objectives.

If we were to compare these two powerful men, obviously Bush had the military and technical superiority that Hitler couldn’t have dreamt of. However, in the most destructive war in human history where more than 27-million Soviet citizens perished, the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the war. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union the Soviets rallied all their forces to fight the German invaders. Consequently, the Nazi aggressors were finally defeated primarily by the patriotic forces of the Soviet Republics in the Eastern Front while other countries contributed on the Western Front. Thus by an enormous joint-effort the world was saved from the Nazi yoke.

But who could have imagined at that time that the inhuman Nazi power was soon to be replaced by an even more powerful and vicious power – American Imperialism?

But in the present wars of aggression waged by the American ruling classes the victim nations (Iraq, Afghanistan) need support to stop the aggressor. But there is no such support. Why? The answer is simple: The fear of the global power of the American ruling classes (the military-industrial complex) to any substantial opposition to their policies. Any individual opposing the American policies can easily be bundled to Guantanamo or other American secret prisons worldwide by the American intelligence services that operate globally.

However, I am delighted that my great friend Dr Georg Barnsby, aged 90, a historian of the working class movement, wrote his following columns, commemorating the Nazi attack on the workers’ first state. Incidentally, I was only a child when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union and now as an old man I am witnessing the daily brutalities, misleading propaganda and horrible consequences of the wars of aggression of American imperialism under President Bush.

We are proud of the work of Dr George Barnsby, who struggles to further the cause of peace, social justice and human aspirations in a world dominated by manipulation of political power and deception.

We salute Dr Ge0rge Barnsby for his being a steadfast antiwar activist and a true comrade.

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The Barnsby Blog: June 22nd 1941

ATTACK OF HITLER ON THE SOVIET UNION

Today is the anniversary of one of the most important events of the
20th century. Operation Barbarossa June 22nd 1941 when Hitler hurled
4.5million Axis troops at the Soviet Union along a 1,8oo mile front.
Wikipedia recognises its importance with a 26 page article on the whole
German-Soviet conflict, but there is no single mention, as far as I can tell
in the Observer this week.

The event was the key event of my political life which began about 1936
with the Duchess of Athol’s book against Appeasement which first roused my
political consciousness and is relevant to this very day when our Mayor is
giving a celebratory dinner to the veterans who saved Britain from Nazi and
Japanese fascism.

The event was so important to me because I was conscripted in October
1939 and took part in a divisional church parade on the Sunday following June 22
when the Red Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Hewlett Johnson, (who had previously been anathema
to people because of his support for the Soviet Union at a time when Stalin
had signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler to protect himself from the
chief Appeasers, Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax who wanted agreement
with Hitler to fight the Socialist Soviet Union) preached the sermon to a greatly appreciative military congregation.

After the church parade I was asked by various officers how long I
thought the Russians would last, for it was almost universally believed that
Russia would collapse, and it remains one of the proudest moments of my life
when I could tell them that Hitler had signed his death warrant that victory
in the war was now certain. I was correct, but it was a close-run thing as the
Russians the Red Army and the Soviet people suffered dreadful casualties and
the German conquered most of the Ukraine and were at the gates of
Leningrad and Moscow before winter intervened and the Russians could
recuperate and take the offensive the following spring.

If I can continue the story, it was then that I published a soldiers’
paper, perhaps the first since the Commonwealth period and Cromwell’s
armies, advocating a Second Front in Europe in 1942 called first Red Front
after the German working class paper and then, more moderately, Second
Front. Because of this I was detached from my unit and sent abroad where I
ended up in Burma and India for four years.

June 24th, 2008

THE TURNING-POINT OF WORLD WAR 2-- HITLER’S ATTACK ON THE SOVIET UNION

I was saddened to think that I appear to be the only person to have
recognised the significance of 22 June 1941 as the day that Hitler attacked
the Soviet Union and thus sealed his fate and the victory over fascism. I
wrote yesterday of my own reactions as a soldier stationed near Canterbury
who attended a church parade where Dr. Hewlett Johnson, the Red Dean of
Canterbury gave the sermon to a delighted military congregation even though
it was almost universally thought that the Red Army would be defeated and so
we should continue to be the only country opposing Hitler.

The event was particularly important for Britain. At the outbreak of
war in September 1939 Stalin startled the world by signing a non-aggression
pact as the only way in which the Soviet Union could protect itself against
being attacked by Hitler and the Appeasers of Britain and France. Between
June 1940 when France was crushed and Britain lost most of its equipment at
Dunkirk and 22 June 1941 much had happened. The Appeasers had been routed,
Churchill had become Prime Minister and stirred the nation with his, ‘We
shall fight them on the beaches…we will never surrender’ speech. The blitz
had taken place in which ‘the few’ had made it impossible for Hitler to
invade Britain, but the British Appeasers led by Neville Chamberlain and
Lord Halifax had shown their madness by wanting to assist the Finns by
helping them defeat the Russians, and I remember the call on our daily
orders board for British volunteers who were able to ski to go to Finland.

Winston Churchill was also suspect as a previous enemy of the working class
during the General Strike of 1926. So here was Britain after the fall of
France standing alone against Hitler with nothing but ‘tears and sacrifices’
in Churchill’s words again in sight. And at this point Hitler attacks the
Soviet Union and we Communists were able integrate with the nation in the
long task of defeating world fascism. It was the most significant day in my
insignificant existence.

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