The Hinge of Fate by Winston Churchill

Author:Winston Churchill [Churchill, Winston]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: World War; 1939-1945, History, World War II, Military
ISBN: 9780795306228
Publisher: New York : Rosetta Books, 2002.
Published: 2002-11-15T02:22:45.921000+00:00

The Hinge of Fate

606

That evening we attended the official dinner at the Kremlin, where about forty people, including several of the military commanders, members of Politburo, and other high officials were present. Stalin and Molotov did the honours in cordial fashion. These dinners were lengthy, and from the beginning many toasts were proposed and responded to in very short speeches. Silly tales have been told of how these Soviet dinners became drinking-bouts. There is no truth whatever in this. The Marshal and his colleagues invariably drank their toasts from tiny glasses, taking only a sip on each occasion. I had been well brought up.

During the dinner Stalin talked to me in lively fashion through the interpreter Pavlov. “Some years ago,” he said,

“we had a visit from Mr. George Bernard Shaw and Lady Astor.” Lady Astor suggested that Mr. Lloyd George should be invited to visit Moscow, to which Stalin had replied, “Why should we ask him? He was the head of the intervention.”

On this Lady Astor said, “That is not true. It was Churchill who misled him.”“Anyhow,” said Stalin, “Lloyd George was head of the Government and belonged to the Left. He was responsible, and we like a downright enemy better than a pretending friend.”“Well, Churchill is finished finally,” said Lady Astor. “I am not so sure,” Stalin had answered. “If a great crisis comes, the English people might turn to the old war-horse.” At this point I interrupted, saying, “There is much in what she said. I was very active in the intervention, and I do not wish you to think otherwise.” He smiled amicably, so I said, “Have you forgiven me?”“Premier Stalin, he say,” said Interpreter Pavlov, “all that is in the past, and the past belongs to God.”

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