The Voice of Russia

Joseph Stalin said in Moscow's Red Square: "Another few months, another half year, one year maybe, and Hitlerite Germany must burst under the weight of her own crimes."

"By not flinching," said Winston Churchill, "we came through the dark and perilous passage and now once again are masters of our own destiny."

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek said: "This is a very important time in our united struggle."

General Charles de Gaulle said: "We have now reached the precise moment when the tide of victory is on the point of turning."

Even when Germans spoke, they spoke defensively.

Optimism has a great appetite, and is likely to feed so happily and so fast on morsels like these that nothing ever comes of it but the gas pains of bad morale. But last week the world was offered food for optimism which was solid food, stuff for bone and muscle.

It was a speech made over the Moscow radio by a voice which was high-pitched and soft. The voice was unemotional but it evoked the greatest human emotions, not only pity and fear, but pride and willingness to die. The radio gave the voice a hollow quality. Behind the voice there was a hum which probably was a German air raid but sounded like doom.

The voice was Joseph Stalin's. It said that Russia would fight on until Hitler was defeated. The thing which made this statement new, the thing that made this speech one of the most important declarations of World War II, was this: Stalin's words were demonstrably honest words. They checked with the facts.

There remained little question but that Russia would last out the winter, would fight hard next year, would go on resisting somehow from some mountain Chungking. The laggard democracies would have more precious time to gird for the job of beating Hitler. It would be an awesome job, but now it could be done.

Joseph Stalin began his speech simply: Comrades! Twenty-four years have passed since the victory of the October Social Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet system. He went on to speak of Russia at war.

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