Edgar Hardcastle
Source: Socialist Standard, July 1941.
Transcription: Socialist Party of Great Britain.
HTML Markup: Adam Buick
Copyleft: Creative Commons (Attribute & No Derivatives) 2007 conference "Be it resolved that all material created and published by the Party shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs copyright licence".
A few quotations from publications and speeches of the Communist Party of Great Britain :—
September, 1939.
The Communist Party supports the war, believing it to be a just war which should be supported by the whole working class and all friends of democracy in Britain.—(How to Win the War, by Harry Pollitt, published by the Communist Party.)
October, 1939.
We are against the continuance of the war. We demand that negotiations be immediately opened for the establishment of peace in Europe.—(Daily Worker. October 4th, 1939.)
November, 1939.
This is an Imperialist war, like the war of 1914. It is a sordid exploiters' war of rival millionaire groups, using the workers as their pawns in their struggle for world domination, for markets, colonies and profits, for the oppression of peoples.
This is a war to which no worker in any country can give support.—(Mr. Palme Dutt, Why this War? published by Communist Party, November, 1939. Page 12.)
The same month in 1939 Mr. W. Gallacher. M.P., wrote a pamphlet, The War and the Workers, which was published by the Communist Party. Among the "demands" made in the pamphlet was: —
Formation of a new Government which will carry out these demands, begin peace negotiations and represent the interests of the people against the armament kings and plundering millionaires.
The week before June 22nd, 1941.
Soviet diplomacy has triumphed, the effort of the Anglo-French group of Capitalists to embroil the Soviet Union in war with Germany failed, and to-day it is the Capitalist Powers which are exhausting themselves in a devastating war.—(From a Daily Worker Defence League pamphlet. Daily Telegraph, June 27, 1941.)
June 19th, 1941.
When Mr. W. Gallacher (West Fife), the only Communist M.P., interrupted Mr. Churchill in the House of Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister exclaimed: 'You had better be careful; you may get your marching orders—right about turn.—(Daily Express, June 20th, 1941.)
June 24th, 1941.
In view of the war that has been launched against the Soviet Union, it may be said that in a very short space of time there will be a considerable shifting of attitude. I am not the only one who will do the shifting . . .—(Mr. W. Gallacher, House of Commons, June 24th. Hansard, Column 985.)
June 26th, 1941.
Declaring that the Communist Party of Great Britain now stands for full co-operation with the Government in the defeat of the common foe, Mr. William Gallacher, Britain's only Communist M,P., explained yesterday the new turn in his party's policy.—(Daily Telegraph, June 27th, 1941.)
I admit we have called this 'a monstrous Imperialist war,' but when there is an attack against the vanguard of the working class, the working classes in every country must unite.—(W. Gallacher, reported in Daily Telegraph, June 27th, 1941.)
Mr. W. Gallacher, Communist M.P., in a statement yesterday outlining the party's policy in face of the German attack on Russia, said that the Government would be supported in any steps to further co operation between Britain and the Soviet Union 'in the interests of the peoples of both countries.'
They would be prepared, he said, to discuss with members of the Labour or any other party measures to ensure that co-operation, and to inaugurate a big drive in the factories. The situation had now so changed that it was not necessary to put the campaign for a 'people's peace' in the forefront.—(The Times, June 27th, 1941.)
At the same time Mr. Pollitt made it clear that he at least is out to fight the war to a finish.
He said: 'We must go on increasing our production and we must throw all our weight into the fight so that we shall batter hell out of Hitler and Fascism.' —(News Chronicle, June 27th, 1941.)