MEMORY OF STALIN

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27986, 5 June 1956, Page 11

MEMORY OF STALIN

More Details Of Soviet Attack

(Rec. 10 p.m.) NEW YORK, June 4. The Soviet Communist Party chief, Mr Khrushchev, was reported today to have made an even stronger indictment of Josef Stalin than had been reported in Western countries earlier, the “New York Times” said today. The newspaper, in a Washington dispatch said that the United States Government had obtained a text of the secret denunciation of Stalin made by Mr Khrushchev to the twentieth congress of the Communist Party in Moscow on February 24. The text of the Khrushchev address will be made public in Washington later today, the newspaper said. A similar report was published by the New York “Herald-Tribune” from a correspondent in Paris, quoting French diplomatic sources. The “New York Times” said the text of the Khrushchev address had been in the hands of Western governments for several days. “Among the most important revelations of the document.” the “New York Times” said, “were the following:—

‘Mr Khrushchev accused Stalin of the intention of 'doing away’ with the Foreign Minister. Mr Molotov, and

Mr Mikoyan, a first Deputy Premier. ‘Mr Khrushchev told the congress that ‘neither comrade Molotov nor comrade Mikoyan would be here today’ if Stalin had not providentially died on March 5, 1953. “Personal Cowardice”

“Stalin was charged with personal cowardice, panic, and almost psychotic depression at the time of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union

in June. 1941. ‘Stalin was charged with maniacal military interventions that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers. The worst such intervention was the unsuccessful attemnt to encircle Kharkov in

1942-43. made against the advice of the Soviet High Command. "Stalin was charged with deliberately ‘framing’ his old comrades of the Bolshevik Party. He was said to have personally refused clemency to them and ordered the secret police to carry out their execution “Mr Khrushchev declared that Stalin had conducted foreign affairs in a manner so eccentric and arbitrary as to weaken materially the Soviet Union’s international position. “Stalin declared that he would ‘gel rid of Ti+o with a shake of my little finger.’ Stalin shook his finger. Mx Khrushchev said, but ‘nothing happened.’

“Stalin spread malicious stories about Marshal Georgi Zhukdv. attempting to belittle the military reputation of the present Defence Minister, and exiled him to the provinces at the end of World War II.”

The “New York Times” said tha‘ Washington officials were amazed a the violence of Mr Khrushchev’s language and thp intemperate nature o: his attack on Stalin.

In addition to these points the newspaper said that the Khrushchev speech—which ran to 50 typewritten nages—claimed that Stalin almost lost the war because he ignored a warning from the British Prime Minister. Sir Winston Churchill, ard the then British Ambassador to Moscow, Sir Staf ford Cripns.

“Both Britons told Stalin that German v was preparing to attack." the newspaper said. “Stalin did not be lieve them. He was confident that his pact with Hitler had averted the danger of an attack ”