Stalin Era Quotes

“All Russians I knew hoped passionately that, with Hitler beaten, the War allies might continue friendship into long years of peace. They knew, of course - they had known all through the war - that there were elements in America that sabotaged the alliance, and even some who would rather see Hitler win. For two years while Russians perished by millions, they had watched their Allies delay the promised "second front" in the west.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Three times, in my years in the USSR , it was decided to limit the police powers and bring the State Security organs under law; each time the name changed but the powers resumed. Such a police becomes a state within a state, with a vested interest in finding "plots," some of which really exist. Such a police presents another danger; its hidden membership is the first organization penetrated by enemy provocateurs.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Neither Hitler nor the West had attacked each other seriously. The Western Front was in what was called 'the phony war'; both sides sat in their fortifications. Hitler was not yet prepared for an all-out assault westward; this took time to organize. And Hitler was also aware that he had friends in the British and French upper class who might yield to his demands. Important voices in the press of Britain, France and America urged that 'the wrong war' had started, that the war should be switched against the USSR as the greater enemy.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Month after month, the Russians, bearing the brunt of war, had waited. The Anglo-American landing did not come until June 6, 1944, when the Russian army had already liberated most of the USSR and was driving across Poland. Many Russians had bitterly wondered whether the Allies delayed so that Russia might take the loss, and landed at last in Normandy because they could not afford to let Russians take Berlin alone.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Russians had not grudged it when the world war turned both the Atlantic and Pacific into 'American lakes,' but when these same Americans, who had taken all the oceans and who were building bases on their islands and shores, called Russia greedy for taking back what she formerly owned, this ranked.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era