Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Central and Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume IV

700.001/11–2450: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Kirk) to the Secretary of State ¹

confidential

Moscow, November 24, 1950—7 p. m.

1082. Bearing in mind that Soviet rulers believe that history develops according to fundamental laws and that their world outlook is the science of these laws, it is not strange that we see the Soviet-manipulated peace congress issue forth at Warsaw in November 1950² with ideological heirs to the Communist Manifesto of 1847 and the Bolshevik slogan of 1917, “all power to the Soviets” in the shape of the manifesto to the peoples of the world and the appeal to UN. The stage of these latter new arrivals is far more vast than mid-19th Century Europe or early 20th Century Russia—it is the entire world today. But their purpose is the same—to prepare a revolutionary situation for the seizure of world power by those who spawned them.

The peace manifesto of 1950 seems to bear less relation to the realities of 1950 than did the Communist Manifesto to those of 1847. Likewise the Duma³ of 1950 (the UN, of course) has a far stronger and broader popular base than that possessed by the Russian Duma of 1917, and its awareness of the dangers confronting it and its resolution in meeting the threat posed to it are demonstrably greater. Nevertheless, there should be no relaxation of effort to make sure that the switch in popular support from the Duma to the Soviets in 1917 will not find a parallel in this instance.

It may not be wise to carry such analogies too far, but it does seem desirable in this case that in addition to countering the activities of “peace” movement by revealing its Soviet Communist inspiration, much attention should be given to illustrating clearly its historical antecedents and their purpose—the preparation of a favorable situation for the forcible seizure of power. The Embassy is not in a position to carry out the research required to make specific suggestions, but feels that this is an important line to pursue in disclosing the aims and methods of this present arm of Soviet Foreign policy.

Department pass Paris, USUN, Rome: Sent Department 1082, repeated information Paris 222, USUN 158, Rome 33.⁴

Kirk

1. This telegram was apparently drafted by Edward L. Freers, Counselor of the Embassy in Moscow.
2. Some 2,000 delegates, including a small contingent from the United States, participated in the Second World Congress of Partisans of Peace, held in Warsaw, November 16–22, 1950. The Congress adopted a brief “Manifesto to All Nations of the World” and a lengthy “Proclamation to the United Nations.” For the text of the Proclamation (or Resolution) of the Congress, see Margaret Carlyle, ed., Documents on International Affairs, 1949–1950, issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1953), pp. 145–148. The Embassy in Warsaw, which reported upon the Congress in a series of telegrams and in a summary despatch 350, December 5, from Warsaw, none printed, characterized the Congress as an instrument for the propagation of Soviet foreign policy.
3. The parliament in prerevolutionary Russia.
4. Telegrams 3222, December 7, from Paris, and 2495, December 8, from Rome, neither printed, fully concurred in the desirability of pointing out the historical antecedents of the Warsaw Peace Congress and making clear their common purpose of preparing for a revolutionary situation (700.001/12–750 and 700.001/12–850).