The Evening Star (May 1, 1946)
ON THE RECORD —
The realities of peace
By Dorothy Thompson
Mr. Byrnes, in Paris, is certain to have a hard time. The peace conference is burdened with the accumulation of past policies, which, however tentatively made, have become realities. Although at Potsdam, Britain and America did not finally approve the award to Poland of Germany east of the Oder and Neisse Rivers, the radical truncation of Germany has become a fact because the Poles have moved in and settled the land while a large part of the Germans have fled or been pushed out.
Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Adriatic is effectively in the Russian zone with the exception of Austria, which is divided, as what remains of Germany is divided, between four occupying powers.
Danubia, of which Austria is historically and economically a part, is being steadily integrated, politically and economically, into the Soviet system. Policies have been permitted which made this inevitable. Britain, the United States and the USSR, beginning with Poland, have connived at the first partition of Europe. They have thus completed the wrecking of Europe, politically, economically and – even more importantly perhaps – spiritually and culturally.
All this has been done on the premise that the first requirement of peace is that the Anglo-American countries should “get on with Russia.” To challenge this assumption as forming any rational basis for peace has practically amounted to high treason, both in this country and in Britain. But the assumption has been, from the very beginning, false in its primary theses.
An obvious concomitant of the theory that we must get on with Russia is that Russia feels she must get on with us. That is not a primary Russian consideration at all. The Russian concept has been to create, by rapid faits accomplis, a situation promising control over Europe and Asia isolating Britain and America from the key global positions – in other words, falling heir to Hitler’s Eurasia.
In this the Soviets have combined traditional Russian imperialism and messianism with its modern expression – communism. The concept of Russia as the redeemer of the world through creating a new world integration is much older than communism. Feodor Dostoevski was a counter-revolutionist, but nobody better understood the Russian mind and soul, and in the last century he wrote:
“Russia must unite under her leader ship all Slav peoples, not for expansion or empire, but to insure their peace and freedom. The next step must be the conquest of Constantinople, not for profit, but for the realization of that truth preserved only in Russia. That cannot be understood by Europeans, who do not believe in the brotherhood and regeneration of man. … Russia must become more Russian, so that Russia can reveal to Europe the new humanity, the new social order which she alone can represent.”
Dostoevski predicted a struggle in which Russia would end Europe. Western Christianity would be obliterated and a revived eastern Christianity arise. “The fate of Poland awaits France; not we, but our children, will see the end of England.”
Not only the Soviets but Tsarists predicted “Poland had to perish – not the authentic Polish race, but the false civilization, the false nationality imputed to Poland.”
The “false” civilization and nationality was what made Poland, historically, the easternmost outpost of western Christianity and the historic defender of the West against Central Asia. To end this forever has been a cardinal point of Russian policy.
Russian civilization has been historically hostile to European, and communism has not changed this. The 1936 purges were actually the liquidation of the European-trained and influenced Communists. Never in history was Russia more Russian and Byzantine than she is today. Even the revolutionary liquidation of the aristocracy contributed to this, because they were Europeanized by culture and intermarriage.
Russia has always admired the science and technology of the west, but hates its “rotting and decadent” civilizations. Her policy is one of splendid isolation: Expansion now, as in Dostoevski’s time, for the avowed purpose of “regeneration”; keeping her own civilization aloof and uncontaminated and “cooperating” only for the purpose of achieving her own ends.
The Anglo-American powers, in complete disregard of their own security and in apparent contempt of their own civilization, have been collaborating for their undoing.
This process is not leading to peace. It is leading inevitably toward war – unless we are to presume that the United States will live on sufferance a generation hence.
Russia is not weak, but strong. The sources of her strength are her singlemindedness, the Russian-firsters in every land, her concept that all life is essentially struggle, her people’s contempt of death and unfamiliarity with luxury, and the ignorance and muzzy-headed simplicity of western leadership that could fight a colossal war at tremendous sacrifice without ever thinking through in advance the problem of Europe, which lies at the root of both world wars.