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Stalin’s 1939 pact with Nazis was designed to allow capitalists to weaken each other, and be ready to confront them later. Stalingrad, and other victories, provided the second chance to implement this strategy. Stalin certainly thought about it. But he probably decided that gaining control over Eastern Europe was more desirable."
That is described in I a book I read recently--"Germany's Key Strategic Decisions 1940-1945." The author is Heinz Magenheimer, an Austrian military historian. This is in Chapter IV, in a section named : "The Question of 'Closing Down the Eastern Front' and a Separate German-Soviet Peace," (pages 192 to 201). It is clear to me, after reading this section, that both Hitler and Stalin were aware of this option. It was not implemented because Hitler believed that he will win militarily, even after Stalingrad.
Mussolini was not the only one to suggest this idea to Hitler. Here is a quote: "Mussolini's attempts, which became tangible in written and verbal form after 6 November 1942 and which were presented to Hitler on 18 December 1942 by Foreign Minister Ciano in the form of appropriate recommendations, were based on the idea of reaching a settlement with the Soviet Union--a second 'peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk.' Mussolini and Ciano argued that within the foreseeable future all available forces would be needed to repel the anticipated invasion of Sicily and Italy by the Western powers."
Sweden was a neutral country and several meetings took place in Stockholm "via various German and Soviet contacts . . . to discover how serious Germny was to conclude a separate agreement, on the basis, for example, of a return to the mutual frontiers existing before June 1941." On page 307 I see a quote from reference 49: "By a note of 12 November Molotov informed the Western Allies of the Soviet feelers via representatives in Stockholm. It appears that Stalin took this step in order to strengthen his political position vis-a-vis Great Britain and the USA." Why was Hitler so stupid?
Ludwik Kowalski, (see Wikipedia), the author of
“Diary of a Former Communist: Thoughts, Feelings, Reality,” at
It is an autobiography illustrating my evolution from one extreme to another--from a devoted Stalinist to an active anti-communist. This testimony is based on a diary I kept between 1946 and 2004 (in the USSR, Poland, France and the USA).
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