January, 1939
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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of subversive movements in America, a spe cial committee of the Massachusetts legisla ture declared, "The Committee is of the belief that the present widespread alarm concern ing Fascism in America in large part is the result of artful propaganda plan ned and inspired by the Communist Party, and widely spread by its satel lites and allies." The Soviets and Nazis work "both sides of the street” of civilization. Neither one could function effectively without the other. Each needs the other; and each bat tens and feeds upon the other. The menace of Communism in Germany gave Hitler his opportunity to sell the people Naziism as a “remedy.” In America today, it is by the ex ploitation of the fear of Fascism that Com munists are making their greatest advance. By pretending to “fight Fascism," the Reds are lining up many non-Communists in their camp. At the same time, the Nazi "Bundites” are pretending to “fight Com munism,” and are likewise lining up non- Nazis in their ranks. Both Nazis and Soviets seek to popular ize the slogan, "If you’re not one, you must be the other. Every American must choose —between Naziism and Communism.” Ob viously, the whole scheme is a "put-up job,” By pretending to fight each other, both the Nazis and the Communists are making their greatest gains. There is just one way to safeguard our nation from both menaces—and that is to oppose them both, with equal vigor. The man who opposes one while condoning the other, is betraying his nation into the hands of the enemies of democracy. THE PERSONAL FACTOR: In any sys tem of "one-man” government, the per sonality of that one individual becomes a dominant factor. It is undeniable that Hitler and Stalin heartily hate each other, despite the fact that each is intelli gent enough to recognize his dependence on the other, and each is acute enough to realize that. Naziism and Sovietism have practically everything in common from the ideological standpoint. It probably cramps his ego, but Hitler is aware that he copied his whole political structure, that he borrowed his chief weap ons and instruments of terrorism, that he learned his revolutionary and conspirator ial strategy, from Bolshevism. His only ma jor alteration in method was that of sub stituting race hatred for class hatred as the driving force of his propaganda ma chine. But despite all this, the personal feud is intense and irreconcilable. So long as both men remain the living leaders of their na tions, the possibility of any sort of working alliance between Hitlerism and Stalinism is too remote to consider. Even if such an alliance were mutually advantageous, it would not and could not become a reality. They probably would go to war rather than join hands in any sort of formal accord; but it is doubtful whether they would go to war for any other reason. Viewing him self as the man of destiny, each dictator regards the other as an obstacle in his path, a rival candidate for the premier place in
The threat of outright confiscation of private business, of government ownership and operation of all industry, is used as a lash and a spur upon businessmen, large and small. By degrees, Naziism is proceed ing to the gradual socialization of the ma jor industries. Meanwhile, as Naziism pushes to the "left," Sovietism steers to the "right.” Stalin is continuing his retreat away from Leninist Bolshevism, to such an extent that he has been obliged to silence the com plaints and criticisms of those veteran Bol sheviks who still remain true to the "Lenin ist line.” Renouncing the policy of com plete government ownership and operation of all property, Stalin is permitting to grow up some degree of private ownership of certain forms of property. Small accumu lations of private goods, and provision for small savings and investments, are per mitted on a restricted scale, and even en couraged. The "profit motive” has been re-introduced and is being exploited force fully in Soviet society. "Production for use” has been abandoned as an unwork able dream. Ability and hard work are be ing rewarded on an increasing scale. A new class of "property owners” is being permitted to take root in the socialized soil of modified Sovietism. Russia is learning from Germany that the "profit motive” can be exploited more read ily than it can be rooted out. And Germany is learning from Russia that liberty is a “luxury,” that freedom for employers, as well as for employees, can be eliminated easily, thus producing the sheer and brutal "efficiency” of a completely slave state. Russia is moving to the right, and Germany is moving to the left; and the coming to gether of the two outer sections of the collectivist movement is merely a matter of time. A centralized collectivist system, embracing the “strong" points of both Naziism and Communism, looms as the ul timate fruitage of developments which seem certain to begin to take form in the ensu ing year. The actual signing and sealing of a Ger- man-Russian accord from all appearances will not eventuate for several years, at least. But despite the staged efforts of their leaders to keep them officially apart, the two nations are moving closer together within the common temple of collectivism. They are being united, organically, as the collectivist ideology materializes as a con crete system in the two nations. PRAGUE AS A PIVOT IN THE COURSE OF THE COLLECTIVIST AD VANCE: It is this writer’s opinion that prior to the surrender at Munich, Prague was the focal center of the Communist ad vance in Europe. It was through Prague that “assistance,” military and otherwise, was directed to "loyalist” Spain from Soviet Russia. It was through Prague that Soviet propaganda was spread throughout the Continent. The “fall of Prague” has been lamented loudly and lachrymosely by the Soviet spokesmen. But, as we have observed, their tears were mostly crocodile. Likewise, the "defection” of France was roundly de plored by the Red propagandists. France had gone back, had defaulted on her pact [Continued on page 17]
A Moscow Correspondent's View “Russo-Nazi Friendship Possibility” is the title of an article in the October 19, 1938, issue of the Chronicle of World Affairs, a League of Nations Associa tion publication, which included the fol lowing statements: Walter Duranty, former regular Mos cow correspondent of the New York Times and erstwhile much read and generally respected interpreter of things Soviet Russian, has of more recent times come to be thought of—justly or unjustly —as “Stalin’s press agent.” Less than two weeks after Munich, Mr. Duranty cabled an article to the United States concerning future Russian policy, which was copyrighted and syndicated by the New York Times and North American Newspaper Alliance. In this article, Mr. Duranty suggests the possibility (he does not say probabil ity) of a Russo-German rapprochement —“cooperation instead of war.” “When you come down to brass tacks,” writes Mr. Duranty, “there is no obstacle now to Russo-German friendship, which Bismarck advocated so strongly— save Hitler’s fanatic fury against what he calls ‘Jewish-Bolshevism.’ But Herr Hitler is not immortal and dictators can change their minds.” twentieth-century history. Strange as it may seem to some, Hitler does not regard Mussolini in this light, according to reli able commentators. THE UNITED COLLECTIVIST FRONT TAKES SHAPE: P e rso n a l an im o sity would keep Hitler and Stalin apart, even if both of them did not realize that the conquest of civilization by collectivism re quires that they pretend to fight each other on separate fronts. Naziism and Sovietism will remain, os tensibly at least, the most irreconcilable of enemies, but all the while they will con tinue to assume their places as elements of a single system. The few points of dis similarity between the two systems are being progressively ironed out. The Hitler ite pretense that Naziism seeks to “protect" religion and private property against ex termination by atheist Communism has proved to be the sheerest of hoaxes. The Nazi persecution and suppression of "non conformists,” whether they be of the Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish faith, con tinue with aggravated savagery. The rights of private business and agriculture have been whittled away to the vanishing point. Hitler's march to power was financed largely by"big business”men, who believed his propaganda that he would save them fromCommunism. These so-called capitalists now recognize that they purchased their own enslavement when they paved Hitler’s path to power. Private business is no more in Germany. All business, all industry, is conducted to build up the power of the State and its military machine. The free dom of the businessman has been destroyed, along with the freedom of labor. Profits of industry and wages of labor are, to a' con fiscatory degree, seized by the State.
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