During the last months of World War II, it had become clear that the aggression of Soviet Socialism entailed the domination of various nations in eastern Europe. Instead of liberating these countries from Nazi oppression, the communists merely substituted their own dictatorial regimes for Hitler’s.
Harry Hopkins worked to shape U.S. foreign policy in such a way that it benefitted Josef Stalin. His actions ultimately worked against the well-being of England, France, the United States, and the nations of eastern Europe.
Historians can only guess at his motives: Why did Hopkins want to help the USSR? Why was he willing to compromise the freedom and human rights of people in other countries? This was known only to himself.
The influence of Hopkins can be seen in his communication with Stalin in early 1945, around the time of the final collapse of the Nazi government. President Roosevelt had died, and President Truman had sent Hopkins as a special envoy to Stalin.
Stalin and Hopkins discussed various topics related to postwar Europe, as historians Stan Evans and Herbert Romerstein write:
When Stalin in his usual aggressive manner said the British did not want a “Poland friendly to the Soviet Union,” Hopkins responded, also as usual, that the view of the American government was different: “that the United States would desire a Poland friendly to the Soviet Union, and in fact desired to see friendly countries all along the Soviet borders” (a formula that included, for example, Finland, the Baltic states, Rumania, and China). To which Stalin replied, “if this be so we can easily come to terms regarding Poland.” Indeed they could, as the Soviets imposed a brutal Red regime in Poland and the United States stood back and let it happen.
Acting as an official representative of the United States, Hopkins consigned millions of people in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and other countries to decades of horror. The Soviet Socialists would institute military occupational governments which imprisoned, tortured, beat, and murdered millions of citizens in these countries.
Communism in eastern Europe during the second half of the twentieth century was a human rights nightmare. Although Harry Hopkins did not cause this misery by himself, he was certainly a factor in the suffering and death.
While being partly responsible for terror imposed on eastern Europe, he was also partly responsible for causing the United States to betray its friends and faithful allies. Hopkins redirected military supplies away from England and toward the USSR. When President Roosevelt was forming foreign policy, Hopkins influenced him to distance himself from Winston Churchill’s views. Hopkins urged FDR not to resist Stalin’s aggression.
In a breath-taking act of betrayal, Hopkins shipped quantities of uranium to the Soviet Socialists. In addition, he had access to secret scientific and technological documents related to the development of the atomic bomb. He sent copies of these documents to the Soviet Socialists.
Harry Hopkins contributed materially to the USSR’s ability to develop and manufacture atomic weapons. Emboldened by the possession of these weapons, Stalin instituted the communist dictatorship in North Korea, supported communist guerillas in China, and sent subversive agents into various countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. Hopkins directly and indirectly contributed to terrorism and suffering around the globe.
