Hitler's peace

Now Stalin was shaking his head. “Speaking for myself, I care even less about German elections than I do about Europe’s Jews. Frankly, I have no faith that the German people are capable of reform, and I really don’t see that an election would be enough to curb their militarism. As far as I can see, the only condition I would insist on would be the payment by Germany of war reparations to Russia. This would have a twofold effect. First, it would go a long way toward preventing the German Reich from ever making war again. And, second, it would only restore that which Germany’s aggressive war against Russia has destroyed.” Stalin waved his hand dismissively in the direction of Roosevelt. “Everything else is of little account to us, including the matter of the Fuhrer’s retirement. Indeed, we should probably prefer to have one strong man in charge of the country rather than see it collapse into the anarchy that would surely follow on his retirement. At the very least, we should prefer him in semiretirement only, at the Berchtesgaden perhaps, with Reich Marshal Goring taking over the day-to-day running of the country.”

Roosevelt smiled uncomfortably. “I don’t see that I could ever sell that kind of deal to the American people,” he said.

“With all due respect to the president,” Stalin said, “Russia has had greater experience of making deals with Germany than the United States. There is no reason to suppose that a deal cannot be reached now. Still, I recognize your difficulties in this regard. Might I suggest that your best policy might be to present the American people with the fact that there existed a fait accompli between Germany and the Soviet Union and that there was very little you could do about said fait accompli except to recognize that fact and deal with it.”

I could already see the direction these negotiations were headed in, and how Stalin was determined to have a peace, albeit at the right price. And I remembered something that John Weitz had said to me back on the Iowa: that Stalin’s greatest fear was not the Germans, but that the Russian army might mutiny, as it had done back in 1917.

“I have two conditions,” said Hitler, holding up his hand almost imperiously. “My first is that the British should return the German deputy fuhrer, Rudolf Hess.”

“I am opposed to the return of Hess,” said Stalin. “The British have held Hess in reserve in order that they might make a separate deal with Germany. But what is more offensive to us is that Hess went to the British to solicit their help as an ally in an attack on Russia. This we cannot forgive. We say that Hess must stay in prison.”

“Haven’t the Russians tried to make a separate peace with Germany themselves?” Roosevelt asked. “Has Marshal Stalin forgotten the negotiations in Stockholm between the Soviet ambassador, Madame de Kollontay, and Germany’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop? I don’t see how you can criticize the British for doing what you yourselves have done.”

“I did not criticize the British,” said Stalin. “Only Rudolf Hess. My objection was only to his repatriation. But since we are on the subject of negotiations for a separate peace, it did not escape the attention of our intelligence services that your own personal representative, Commander George Earle, and von Papen, the German ambassador in Turkey, also held a series of peace talks.”

There was long silence. Then Hitler, smiling now, a little gleefully it seemed to me, as if he had enjoyed this display of tension between Stalin and Roosevelt, spoke up: “My second condition,” he said, “is that Germany cannot afford to pay any war indemnities. All property removed from occupied territories will be returned, of course. But it only seems to us fair that each should bear his own costs. For Germany to pay war reparations to Russia would then open the way to other claims by Britain, France, Poland, and the rest. Where would it stop? And what would Russia say to paying war reparations to Poland? And what about Italy? Would they pay Abyssinia at the same time as they tried to make a claim on Germany? No, gentlemen, we must wipe the slate clean, or there can be no real peace. Need I remind you that it was the bill presented to Germany by the League of Nations, and more especially the French, after the Great War of 1914 to 1918, that left Germany with no alternative but to go to war again?”

“Speaking for myself,” Roosevelt said, deliberately echoing Stalin’s turn of phrase, “I care less about war reparations than I do about the return of Rudolf Hess. Neither of these matters is an issue for us.”

“That is because you have lost so little,” said Stalin, somewhat irritated. “I don’t see how we could ever meet our lend-lease payments without receiving German war reparations.”

“I think the Fuhrer has made a good point, Marshal Stalin,” said Roosevelt. “If he pays you reparations, then what war reparations will you pay the Poles?”