July 4
The latest mail from Britain indicates that it is necessary to some extent to revise first opinions concerning the German invasion of Russia, Coming as such a surprise—so com= plete that even Germany's ally, Japan, was not apprised of what was toward—it wa originally believed that the concentration of large bodies of troops along the Russo-German border was but part of the usual war of nerves, and that the final decision to attack was something in the nature of an improvisation, Going back some months it was apparent when the growing extent of American aid to Britain came to be fully realized that Hitler would be in need of something in the nature of a counterweight, The only country which could possibly supply this was Soviet Russia, though the Germans fully realized that it was impossible to expect from the Soviet the same support as that which Britain looked forward from the United States, and, because Stalin had never the same keen interest in a German victory as the. United States had in one for Britain, he met Hitler's demands for material cooperation by conceding the minimum, Russia was not coming up to anything approaching the expectations which Hitler had of his trade agreements with Stalin, and for some months past there has been a tense~ ness between the two, Hitler desired an extension of Russian assistance. Stalin was reluetant not only because Russta needed most of what it produced, but also because a German victory over the democracies would lay Russia open to a German attack, It is now reliably reported that when he was dealing with "Prince Paul of Yugoslavia last March, at a time when the latter apparently expected some support from the Kremlin, Hitler told him that his great attack on Russia was imminent, that his need for Russian oil, wheat and raw materials was great and that they would have to be acquired by force if that were necessary, The fact that Russian economy has not yet reached the point where the country could really be classed as an exporting one, meant that surpluses available for Germany would not be great.
'That was no concern' of Hitler's. At the expense of Russia, if need be, he wanted the means of keeping his great war machine going, and, if Stalin could not be persuaded to deliver what was wanted peacefully,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.