CWIHP Bulletin nr 10 part 1 The plenums

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today, how skillfully the Americans stewed the porridge ing the GDR and turning it over to Western Germany.
[zavarili kashu] in Taiwan,10 how they sent [publisher Malenkov: We spoke then about conducting a
Randolph] Hearst and [other] messengers [to Moscow]. political campaign on the question of German reunification
What for? To deafen us, to test if we have guts, if we are and I believed that one should not have set the task of the
nervous or not. This is being done to test us. development of socialism in the Democratic Germany.
Malenkov: I have no right to not say that I was Molotov: Comrades, we have heard the draft resolu-
wrong, when in April or May [of 1953], during the tion proposed by the Central Committee s Presidium for
discussion of the German question, I believed that in the approval of the Plenum and we have heard two speeches
existing international situation, when we had started a big of comrade Malenkov on this issue. I think that there is a
political campaign [ peace initiative after Stalin s very big difference between them, and to put it simply,
death trans.], we should not have put forward the task of both the first and the second speeches of comrade
socialist development in Democratic Germany [i.e. the Malenkov are fraudulent. Fakes!
GDR trans.] in the question of Germany s reunifica- Both the first and the second speeches are not truthful,
tion.11 not quite honest. This is a shortcoming to which I would
I viewed this question at that time from a tactical side. like to draw your attention. But we must look at this issue
I fully understand that defending this view essentially is fundamentally. Comrades, we are discussing, in essence, a
politically harmful, politically dangerous, incorrect. And I political issue. We should draw lessons from it, to learn
did not adopt such a position. The decision that was certain things for the future.
passed at that time at the suggestion of comrade Molotov I What is the main fault of comrade Malenkov? It
consider to be the correct one. seems (and it is written in the decision of the Presidium of
Bulganin: At that time you thought it was incorrect. the Central Committee that is proposed for your consider-
Malenkov: In the course of discussion I considered it ation and approval) that the main errors of comrade
to be incorrect. Malenkov are the following. First: absence of principles
Bulganin: You then said: For how long will we feed in policy-making. Second, carelessness in the realm of
ourselves with the cud from Molotov s mouth, why do you theory. This is not simply a mistake, comrades, not simply
read Molotov s lips. a drawback: a communist cannot be unprincipled, a
Malenkov: You must have confused my words with leading figure cannot be careless on the questions of
Beriia s. theory. It will not do, comrades. I can admit everything:
Khrushchev: You simply lack courage even now to blindness, blindness. But no, it is not blindness, it is the
admit it, and Bulganin told me about [your words] exactly lack of principles. No, it was not blindness, when comrade
at that time. Malenkov was in cahoots, was inseparable for a decade
Malenkov: Today I admit that I essentially took a with that scoundrel Beriia. It was not blindness, comrades,
wrong position on the German question. but the absence of political principles, and for that he
Khrushchev: At that time you and Beriia believed received the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers
you could get away with anything. [from Beriia trans.]. He did not stay in cahoots [with
Molotov: You should summon your courage and Beriia] for free; it was not all that simple an enterprise:
speak more frankly Even now you beat around the bush Lavrentii and Georgii. Lavrentii and Georgii drank
36 COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 10
together, drove in a car together, traveled from dacha to before all the people we made a mistake, we are remov-
dacha, etc. No, comrades, we should admit that we are ing [him] from the post of Chairman of the Council of
dealing with a very profound phenomenon that exists not Ministers. This is what lack of principles can lead to, but
only inside the CC, but exists even lower: in regional it will not make a home for itself in our party. The party
committees, in district committees, but here it took a very will sort it out and will take measures.
dangerous turn, comrades. The absence of principles in The second shortcoming of comrade Malenkov is
party life, particularly for the leader of the whole party, carelessness on issues of theory. Comrades, for the
the whole state this is a dangerous affair. And that leading cadres of the party this is inadmissible. One can
comrade Malenkov overlooked criminal tendencies in not simply say about Marxism this is wrong, let s turn it
Beriia s activities this was not a coincidence, not merely upside down; or this is Leninism and this is not; this does
blindness. Regarding this blindness we all share the not fit; communism or capitalism let me try communism.
blame, here are all the members of the Presidium we all What kind of a party leader are you if you do not know on
were a little bit blind, even too much, since we took Beriia the elementary level which way you are going towards
until Stalin s death (I am speaking for myself) for an communism or capitalism and have to choose. What
honest communist, even though a careerist, even though a kind of party secretary are you then? Can such a man be a
crook, who would frame you up behind your back [okhulki secretary of a [low-level party] cell? I believe not. In the
na ruku ne dast]. As a careerist, he would not stop at any regional committee, in the district committee there is no
machinations, but on the surface, he seemed an honest place for such a man, not to mention the Central Commit-
person. I must say that on the day of Beriia s arrest, when tee...
we sat at the Presidium, and Beriia sat in the CC Pre- Another issue is about the destruction of civilization.
sidium, here in the Kremlin, I gave a speech: here is a This [was] a very dangerous theoretical error. Comrade
turn-coat [pererozhdenets], but comrade Khrushchev Malenkov remarked: I overlooked it. We also fear
turned out to be more correct and said that Beriia was not a responsibility for what he said in the speech. But what is
turn-coat, but he was not a communist and had never been, this actually about? That allegedly if there were a third
which is more correct. world war, atomic war, the conclusion is only one the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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