Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russia

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Globalization41
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Location: California

Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russia

#1

Post by Globalization41 » 04 Apr 2004, 20:06

Chicago, Special to The New York Times,
Sunday, June 29, 1941: Bitterly condemning
Stalinist Russia as "one of the bloodiest
tyrannies and terrors ever erected in human
history," the former President Herbert Hoover
charged here tonight in a radio address to the
nation that the Communist Internationale had
continually carried on a world conspiracy
against democracy
and that the Communist
party in America, acting under orders from
Moscow,
had attempted to hamstring national
defense by strikes in production plants "down
to the last week" before the Nazi-Soviet war.
... At the outset of his address, which was
broadcast from coast-to-coast over the red
network of the National Broadcasting
Company, Mr. Hoover charged that while the
opposition to entering the war since his last
speech six weeks ago had grown stronger in
the American people, "we have moved
officially nearer the war." ... "If we go
further and join the war and we win, then we
have won for Stalin the grip of communism on
Russia and more opportunity for it to extend
over the world," Mr. Hoover charged. "We
should at least cease to tell our sons that they
would be giving their lives to restore
democracy and freedom to the world."
... "Is
the word of Stalin any better than the word of
Hitler?" Mr. Hoover asked. "Stalin has taken
advantage of the very freedoms of democracy

to destroy them with the most potent fifth
column in all history." ... Mr. Hoover
contended that if the "war of ideology" were
carried out to its logical conclusion by this
country and dictatorship wiped from the face of
the earth, America and Britain would have to
defeat not only Hitler, Mussolini, and the war
party in Japan,
but also Stalin, "unless Hitler
disposes of him first." ... He admitted that it
would not be "pleasant" to live in a totalitarian-
controlled world,
but asserted that the
American Republic was carried through its
infancy by its founders in a world of complete
dictatorship, imperialism, and aggression.
...
Mr. Hoover asserted that America did not need
to become involved in war to assure a just and
permanent peace. He held that if the country
stayed out of the war, it would be in a better
position to influence the settlement of a just
peace. He warned that entrance into the war
would be accompanied by loss of freedom and
further centralization of authority.
... In
addition, Mr. Hoover declared that we were
not yet prepared for war. He said that the
nation did not yet have 50,000 mechanized
troops, so necessary in modern warfare, and
that our program of national defense was "still
confused
in a mass of committees, boards, and
commissions." ... "If anything calls for us to
keep out of the war now it is our
unpreparedness," he asserted. "And we should
arm to the teeth.
When we are armed, then the
voice of America will be heard and it will be
listened to."

London, United Press, The New York Times,
Monday, June 30, 1941: [Late Sunday, U.S.
time]
The Daily Mirror today attacked Herbert
Hoover's Chicago speech as German
propaganda
and described the former President
as a "Nazi mouthpiece" using "Nazi reasoning"
in an attempt to confuse U.S. opinion. ...
"Mr. Hoover would like to go to the peace
conference which will follow the war with the
resources of the U.S. still unexhausted, after
Britain had done all the fighting," the
newspaper said, "and have his country demand
from us all payments of loans plus interest."

[Stay tuned for late breaking war bulletins.
... Globalization41.]


Last edited by Globalization41 on 19 Jun 2004, 20:53, edited 1 time in total.

varjag
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Location: Australia

#2

Post by varjag » 06 Apr 2004, 13:47

Hoover appearently had a better understanding of the nature of Stalins murderous regime that F.D.R. even gained. The London 'Daily Mirror' would have to 'attack' such a speech as Hoovers - without US help Churchill and his Empire was going the way of the TITANIC. Fortunately(?) the Nips came to his assistance five months later.


Globalization41
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Posts: 1453
Joined: 13 Mar 2002, 03:52
Location: California

German Economic Policy Causes Famine in Greece

#3

Post by Globalization41 » 01 Jan 2013, 06:44

[Associated Press, The New York
Times,
Monday, June 30, 1941 Edition.]

Ankara, Turkey, June 27
(Delayed)--Foreigners arriving
from Athens today declared that
many Greeks were going hun-
gry while Greek wheat and po-
tatoes were being shipped to
Germany. ...
Some travelers said there was
"real famine" in Greece. Dairy
cattle in the Athens area have
been slaughtered for beef, leav-
ing a milk shortage, they said,
and some estimated that more
than half of the Greek population
was not getting enough food for
subsistence. ...
Greek newspapers have adopt-
ed a pro-German attitude.

[The New York Times,
Monday, June 30, 1941, Edition.]

William Patrick Hitler, 30-year-
old nephew of the German Chan-
cellor, who has been on a lecture
tour in this country and Canada
during the last two years, left yes-
terday to join the British forces in
Canada for service abroad. ...
The young Hitler, who regards
his uncle as a "menace," arrived in
this country with his mother, Mrs.
Brigid Hitler, two years ago. Since
that time both have waged war
against the Fuehrer. William has
waged his from the lecture plat-
form, while his mother has been
waging a private war against the
Hitler family. ...
Last week, Mrs. Hitler, who has
sought to have her marriage to
Hitler's half brother, annulled,
joined the British War Relief So-
ciety in New York as a volunteer
worker.

Ottawa, June 29 (Canadian
Press
)--J.G. Taggert, chairman
of the Bacon Board, said in a state-
ment tonight that Canadians could
insure the meeting of Canada's
pork commitments to Britain by
reducing consumption by 50 per
cent.

[Panzers Pass Minsk.]

[Globalization41]

Heinrich George
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Location: Falls Church, Virginia

Re: Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russ

#4

Post by Heinrich George » 06 Jan 2013, 20:33

Hoover had much more to say. His magnum opus on the war was published in 2011

Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoover's Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath:

http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Betrayed- ... ert+hoover

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victor82
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Location: Florida

Re: Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russ

#5

Post by victor82 » 18 Jan 2013, 06:42

Heinrich George wrote:Hoover had much more to say. His magnum opus on the war was published in 2011

Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoover's Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath:

http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Betrayed- ... ert+hoover

What ever you do, beg borrow or STEAL this book. It's an eye-opener by Hoover and one that gets to his opposition to any idea of intervening on behalf of Moscow, which he considers as the great mistake of the war.

A long, detailed, opinionated, and superb memoir. Like all memoirs, Hoover is right by his own lights, but it is a necessary companion piece to any WWII library.

Globalization41
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Joined: 13 Mar 2002, 03:52
Location: California

Re: Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russ

#6

Post by Globalization41 » 19 Jan 2013, 07:47

Thanks for the tip on the Herbert Hoover book. I'll pick it up or order it the next time I'm at the book store. ... Within the above link of the previous posts, there's a clickable on the book cover picture allowing for plenty of excerpts. ... Hoover and FDR really hated each other. Hoover was anti-communist and anti-Nazi. Roosevelt was anti-Nazi, but gullible to Stalin's sweet talk and verbal support for the "groaning masses." ... In America, it is generally assumed Hoover caused the Great Depression. But it would seem more likely the Depression was cause by Wall Street's priority of wealth transfer instead of wealth creation. One could blame Hoover, however, by arguing he did not offer to tightly regulate the stock market.

Herbert Clark Hoover

Excerpts:

By March of 1897, Hoover was on his first trip east of the Mississippi in order to sail for London, and meet his new employers. By May of 1897 he arrived in western Australia. From there, a railroad journey took him inland to Coolgardie, described by Hoover as a place which suffered from "red dust, black flies, and white heat." Local whirlwinds--called willie willies--could carry away a flimsy house in a cloud of dust. Later the mining headquarters were moved about 20 miles to Kalgoorlie which Hoover found no better.

His duties included sampling, surveying, and evaluating mines that were offered to his firm for purchase. Hoover traveled sometimes by camel which he said was "an even less successful creation than a horse" to mines with names like IOU, Siberia, and Never Never . Hoover's big mine find was the wealthy Sons of Gwalia Mine. He worked on all sorts of technical problems, and rose higher in the management ranks of the company during his time in Australia. Charles Moreing thought Herbert Hoover could help with the firm's fortunes in China, and so he offered Herbert a chance to go to China with a better salary. This in turn caused Herbert to consider his personal life, and in 1898 he cabled Lou Henry with a proposal of marriage. Herbert traveled to China by way of the United States. He stopped in Monterey, California, Lou's hometown, long enough for the couple to be wed. On that very afternoon they took the train to meet their steamer which would sail them to China.

Herbert Hoover learned a lot about technology and management in Australia. He would put this knowledge to good use in China. In China he would also manage various mine resources, plus deal with major economic problems, and a rebellion. Herbert Hoover's dual role would be as the Chinese government's resident chief engineer of the Bureau of Mines for Chihli and Jehol provinces, and Bewick Moreing's representative in China.

[In the early 1020s] Hoover developed major projects for navigation, irrigation of dry lands, electrical power, and flood control. Other sections of the Department of Commerce that Hoover worked with included: the Bureau of Standards which researched safety standards in such items as elevators and auto brakes; the census which provided statistics that could be useful to businesses; the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce which worked to develop markets at home and abroad; the Bureau of Lighthouses; and the Bureau of Fisheries. Regulation of the radio and the airways came under Commerce jurisdiction. As the new air industry developed, Hoover held a conference on aviation to promote codes and regulations. He was instrumental in the development of the Air Commerce Act. Under the direction of Herbert Hoover the Commerce department expanded its capacity to provide businesses with information and advice.

Globalization41.

jerrywarriner
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Re: Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russ

#7

Post by jerrywarriner » 11 Mar 2013, 21:12

At the 1940 republican Nation Convention, Hoover was hoping that if the convention became deadlocked it would turn to him and make him the party's nominee. Of course, Wendell Willkie got the nomination. After FDR won a third term, Willkie served as Roosevelt's emissary, which is not something Hoover would have done.

Imagine what would have happened if Hoover had gotten the nomination and won (perhaps a farfetched notion but, nevertheless IMHO intriguing). Would Hoover had spurned the Soviet Union by refusing to extend Lend-Lease to Stalin's regime? Would Hoover had gotten along with Churchill, who supported aid to Russia?

Although Hitler rejected Soviet peace overtures during the early stages of the war, by snubbing Stalin, Hoover conceivably would have driven Stalin into Hitler's arms, at least before Stalingrad. Hoover's fears about a postwar Russia are in stark contrast to FDR's rosier picture. Also, Hoover would have outmatched Molotov in any discussions during the war.

I'm not aware of any published counterfactuals about a Hoover or even a Taft victory in 1940, but such an essay would make great reading.

Globalization41
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Posts: 1453
Joined: 13 Mar 2002, 03:52
Location: California

Re: Former President Hoover Bitterly Condemns Stalinist Russ

#8

Post by Globalization41 » 12 Mar 2013, 06:44

I heard someone on C-Span the other night pointing out that the 1940 Republican Convention occurred about same time as the fall of France. This paved the way for Wilkie. ... Wilkie leaned toward one-world government and interventionism. The British had been booted off the Continent, the French were folding, and Norway, Poland, Belgium, and Denmark had surrendered. The Red Army had invaded Poland and Finland. The Soviets had steamrolled Japanese occupation forces in eastern Asia. It appeared that Hitler and Stalin were going to double team the world, thus the choice of an interventionist over an isolationist. ... I don't think a Hoover election would have increased the chances of Hitler and Stalin becoming allies. Many Germans formed the idea of colonizing the "Ukrainian breadbasket" during WWI. Subsequent famines resulting from Bolshevik attempts to establish social utopia seemed to justify the concept of German efficiency exploiting the agricultural potential of the Ukraine. Hitler himself, even when he was just a small fish, wanted to set up a land-locked empire carved out of the Soviet Union. He moved east in Poland, then covered his northern flank (Norway), his rear (France), his southern flank (the Balkans), invaded Russia, then before reaching Moscow, turned right to the Ukraine. Hitler didn't really worry about FDR, even to the point of ignoring numerous provocations, so his policy most likely would have remained the same with Hoover as president. ... Stalin just wanted to avoid being blitzed, but Hitler had him in his sights all along. ... I'm guessing Molotov or Ribbentrop would not have bothered talking much with Hoover. ... Hoover's famine-relief expedition to the Ukraine in the 1920s saved millions. He might have acted, if elected in 1940, a little chauvinistic or uppity toward Hitler and Stalin. ... From what Hoover said, he most likely would have practiced strict neutrality. It's hard to say, however, how he would have handled the concept of the Atomic Bomb.

Globalization41

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