Stalin’s war – review of Sean Mcmeekin’s book –…

Is World War II surely the war of Adolf Hitler? Did he only pose to a conflict that was supposed to change Europe? Why did Stalin so easily despite the hostility of both countries with a pact with the Third Reich? Sean Mcmeekin, an American historian who looks at the conflict on which Józef Stalin won the most, at the publication of Stalin’s “War Stalin’s war” in the publication of “Stalin’s War”, an American historian, who at the Second World War.

Reading the book of Sean Mcmeekin, which based on the most important facts, archives and previously unpublished documents, we get an interesting thesis, which clearly indicates that World War II was a Tyrant war from Moscow, which ruled the Soviet Union many years before its explosion and lived almost eight years after its end. So why does Hitler point to her main perpetrator? After all, when Japan attacked Manchuria in 1931, Hitler was not yet in power in Germany, and when in September 1945 when Japan was capitulated, Hitler had been dead for several months. It is also worth asking yourself the question: did Hitler only strive for armed conflict? Stalin also pursued offensive policy, took the eastern part of Poland in 1939 thanks to the alliance with Hitler, he took the Baltic states and attacked Finland. Finally, when he was attacked on June 22, 1941 by the Third Reich, despite the defeat initially incurred, he first defeated Hitler, and then took part in the war in the Far East, thanks to which he enlarged the area of ​​the Soviet Union both in the West and the East. However, many nations also brought slavery, which lasted until the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. Sean Mcmeekin writes about it in his book.

Sean Mcmeekin’s book was divided into several parts, in which the author analyzes not only the main directions of foreign policy of the Soviet Union, but above all as Stalin wrapped the spider’s nut throughout his rule of all his allies, as he used the opportunity to make an alliance with Hitler, which was favorable for both sides, because each of them, both Hitler and Stalin To achieve his goals, and finally how President Roosevelt, who entrusted himself to Stalin’s promises made during the conference in Tehran and Yalta.

One of the most interesting chapters, where the author showed the true face of Józef Stalin is the chapter “Umizgi to Hitler”. Stalin maneuver between Great Britain and France, and at the same time waited for the movement of Western powers, using both their naivety and errors in politics towards Central and Eastern European countries.

Mcmeekin says:

“Stalin was careful because he did not want to look too willing to cooperate with the Nazis”

“The longer the picture of the diplomatic situation in Europe remained unclear, the greater the advantage over Hitler Stalin gained”

“Delived Żuków in Manchuria, Stalin allowed careful approach to the Germans in Berlin …”

Cited from the abovementioned The chapter quotes regarding the diplomatic activities of the Soviet Union in 1939 clearly indicate that Stalin, but also Hitler made a choice, pushing aside the division dividing their affairs to obtain an agreement that both parties considered their success. It is also interesting to describe the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Third Reich Joachim von Ribbentrop in Moscow, where on August 23, 1939, he signed the Ribbentrop pact – Molotov. The American historian describes the extraordinary events that took place in Moscow, where the flags with swastika were requisitioned from film studies, which were previously used in anti -Nazi films, and now they used to decorate the airport’s runway, like next to the German hymn Moscow the day before, on August 22, he ordered to say that he “went to ducks.”

The war, which broke out on September 1, 1939, and the United Kingdom and France joined the destruction of the fighting pages from September 3. Stalin, however, did not expect the Germans to defeat France in the West so quickly. Importantly, Mcmeekin indicates that Churchill did not oppose Stalin’s activities against Poland, Finland and the Baltic States, writing:

“At the meeting of the war office on November 16, 1939, Churchill went even further in supporting Stalinist aggression: this seemed to be reasonable to the Soviet Union to take advantage of the current situation to regain a part of the territory lost by Russia as a result of the last war, at the beginning of which she was an ally of France and Great Britain …”

“Far from opposing the Soviet invasion, Churchill maintained that it was in the British interest that the USSR would increase his forces in the Baltic, thus limiting the risk of German domination in this area”

The same as Mcmeekin writes:

“The fate of Poland was only the beginning of the great period of communist escosty, which was enabled by the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. With the consent of Berlin and with the green light from London, Stalin could proceed to the Sovietization of the Baltic countries and Finland”

Stalin, having a free hand after a difficult war, defeated Finland, took the Baltic states, Besarabia, part of Bukowina, and the situation in this part of Europe changed only after the aggression of the Third Reich to the USSR in 1941. Mcmeekin also points out that Hitler initially crushed Stalin’s war machine, but it was the leader of the Soviet Union who finally came out of this war not only militarily, but also diplomatically, because due to the submission of President Roosevelt he received permission to master Central and Eastern Europe, and he calls the conference in Yalt as the greatest Hanba Anglosas, because both Churchill, like Roosevelt, were drawn into the game that Stalin has led with them from the beginning to achieve his goal.

Summing up the publication “War of Stalin. New History of World War II” we have a clear message in it. World War II was a war of Tyran from Moscow – Józef Stalin, who left her victorious, defeated the Third Reich, Japan, beat his allies, thanks to which he not only captured with huge areas of Europe and Asia, but also millions of lives.

It was not Hitler’s war or anyone else. It was Stalin’s war!

Author: Sean Mcmeekin;
Title: “Stalin’s war. New History of World War II”;
Publisher: Znak Horizon Publishing House;
Place and year of release: Kraków 2024;
Number of pages: 768;
Price: PLN 94.99.

The book can be purchased from Znak Publishing House