HELP FOR SOVIET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24837, 10 February 1942, Page 5

HELP FOR SOVIET

AN URGENT NEED CRITICAL STAGE IN SPRING FORMER AMBASSADOR’S PLEA (Rec. 7 p.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 8. A strong appeal for the utmost effort to help 1 the Russians to defeat a possible terrific German attempt in the spring to obtain the oil of the Caucasus was broadcast to the British people by Sir Stafford . Cripps, who until recently was British Ambassador at Moscow. “ There now stands between Hitler and certain, and not too long delayed, defeat the chance that he may be strong enough to renew the offensive with success in the spring,” Sir Stafford said. “In April it may become possible for him to. launch a fresh attack in South Russia towards the much-coveted and much-needed oil of the .Caucasus. He will probably concentrate'all his force in that direction—a new and terrific blitz planned with the meticulous care of the German mind. It is up to us all to see that we play a full part m defeating that offensive. Greater Aid Required

“ That: spring offensive if it comes .off.” he said, “will be the most critical stage of the ,war and we must see to it that there is no risk of a Russian defeat because we failed them in these hours of trial. If we give Russia all the support we are capable of, then there is every chance of Germany being defeated by this time next year. “President Kalinin stressed to me the dangers of over-confidence amongst the people at this turn in the struggle. Any idea that a maximum effort is no longer necessary or that we can leave the Russians to defeat Germany alone is absolutely false.. “ The moral of the fighting now proceeding is not that we should send less help to Russia, but that we must send more. The Russians’ losses are heavy and the expenditure of ammunition, planes and tanks very large indeed. While at the mopient we may not be able to help with men, we can and must help with arms of every kind, raw materials and foodstuffs. “ Someone Must Go Short ”

“The amount we can afford will depend on the quantity we turn out. We need much for our own use and for .the other United Nations. The total supply is insufficient to fill all the needs. Someone somewhere must go short and suffer the terrible consequences of that shortage. “ Every hour by which we can shorten the war will mean the saving of hundreds of lives and the suffering of millions. The cry goes up .all over the world, ‘ How long? We are anxiously reaching out to that time when the New World begins to show itself in a clear outline on the horizon—not the new ‘ order' of brutalised domination with which Hitler has sought to delude the people, but a world of new values, cleansed of the old evils and giving full and free manhood to people of every class, religion, nation and colour—that practical ideal, for which we, equally as the people of Russia and the occupied countries of Europe, are in reality fighting, that hope which makes all our sacrifices seem worth while, that positive achievement which we are determined shall issue from this ghastly war, which is itself the brutal negation of every teaching of our Christian civilisation. Situation in Far East

“Our share has been a great one. For over two years we have kept the seas open for our own defence and the defenders of democracy the world over. For the moment in the Far East that control has been lost, and we can now see all the more clearly what that loss means. "We need not despair. The Allies will regain their Americans, the gallant Dutch and- ourselves, with .the help of the dominions and China, and maybe of others, too. “ We have kept our island intact as the vital centre of resistance to the Nazis in Western Europe and the Atlantic. Our armies have engaged and captured or destroyed large enemy forces in Africa which might otherwise have been; made use of oh other fronts.” ■" , ’ ’ ■ Sir Stafford Cripps contrasted the comparatively happy lot of the British people, , in spite of many tragedies, with the frightful suffering going on every day of the Russian workers of all kinds—co-ope/ative farmers, doctors, actors, managers, mothers and children. Suffering cold 30 to 40 degrees below zero, they were experiencing the brutalities, savage violence and rapine of the invaders. Civilians had to turn themselves into guerrilla fighters behind the enemy lines, certain that they would die a death of torture if captured. They had been starved, stripped of clothing in the bitter cold of the open streets and forced to work day and night as slaves for the enemy, building. roads and fortifications to defeat their own countrymen. Similar tragedies were being enacted with a greater or lesser degree of brutality in every • territory into which the German forces had penetrated, carrying with them Hitler’s new standards of moral degradation. > Magnificent Morale

In the vast areas behind the front in the Soviet Union, every sacrifice in service and comfort was being made by men, women and children alike. Their morale was magnificent. The conditions of living were far harder and more difficult than in Britain. Russian industry had been turned- over practically 100 per cent, to war work and nothing else. The food was of the most simple and elementary kinds. Where transport had to be taken for the army, the supply might often be uncertain, sometimes short. Clothing was practically a monopoly of the armed forces, which were superbly equipped. The rest of the people made do with what they got, but did not complain because they recognised that along the path of personal sacrifice lay ultimate victory. There was'' one luxury available in Russia—music, drama and dancing, which formed the foundation of the great Russian culture and which the Soviet Government, even in time of war, was doing much to encourage, Sir Stafford added. The Russians tolerated nothing that decreased the war effort or the efficiency of the fighting forces. Way to Moscow Barred

The British people had not gone through the experiences of the Soviet people, because of the magnificent defence by the air force and the navy, which had staved off the threat of invasion, and because Hitler was treacherous enough to attack the Soviet Union. The easy march to Moscow which he had promised the German people had turned out a very different affair to that which. he and they expected. He had failed to capture that great city, the seat of Russian culture, because the Soviet people said to him with one voice: “ You shall not pass.” The whole ordered ' discipline and courage of a great-hearted people barred his way. This turning eastwards of the Nazi hordes had for a time at least relieved Britain from the threat of invasion. They must now make it certain that no such attempt would ever be made against their shores, that their daughters and wives would never have to suffer the ghastly horrors that had befallen Russian women.

Sir Stafford said that never in the history of Russia had there been a leader so outstanding and so popular as Premier Stalin was at the moment. “ I feel that my job here now,” he added, ‘ is, first, to do my utmost to get every aid and help for Russia in this critical stage, and, secondly, to play what part I can in first winning victory, which is essential, and the building of the world we are hoping for.

“ Clarification of our decision as to the reconstruction of Europe is most urgent. In that clarification we want the whole-hearted co-operation, not only of the United States, but of Russia. Either we have a partnership with Russia in the reconstruction of Europe or we plunge the world again

into chaos. A leading Government—and none better than the British Government —should give in terms far more definite and precise than the Atlantic Charter what is going to happen after the Allies are victorious, as victorious they will be. The more attractive that picture is in practical terms to the people of the world, the quicker will come victory. It is better to be moderately practical than hopelessly idealistic. “The future beckons us across the bleak and agonising months of war that still lie between us and victory,” he concluded. “ Let us hasten forward, impelled by our own efforts and sacrifices to greet that more safe and happy future.”