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Wtthin The Axis

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The War

Dramatic Reversal At Orel

The great offensive of the Red Army against the Nazi strong-
hold at Orel, which this week brought Soviet forces to within a
few miles of the strongly-fortified city and threatens to com-

pletely encircle Hitler’s big army
at that point, is one of the most
Gramatic reversals yet seen in the
great conflict that has been raging
along the Eastern Front since June
22, 1941.

Only a little over a week ago
it was the Wehrmacht that was
on the offensive, attempting, with
one of the greatest concentrations
of men and machines in history,
to break through the Soviet Kursk
salient and open a final assault
against Moscow. The Red Army
held that drive, stopped it dead,
and now are in the ninth day of
a counter-offensiye thai has occt-
pied hundreds of villages and
towns, threatens to cut off the
Bryansk railway line, and has de-
stroyed hundreds of tanks ana
planes.

Hitler is reported to haye told

von Kluge that “Orel must be
held at any cost.’ It is apparent
from this that the Nazis realize
full well that a Soviet victory here
would mean that the Germans
would have to make a complete
withdrawal all along the Orel sali-
ent in a “line-straightening” move,
or run the danger of a Red Army
break-through that could be fatal
to the entire Nazi army. ;

The Soviet offensive is further
proof, if such were needed, that
the Red Army is prepared to be-
gin the “big push” from the East
on a broad front as soon as Allied
troops open the second front in
Western Europe.

To launch that all-out drive now,
without similar action from the
West, would be to endanger the
whole United Nations’ grand strat-
egy.

Delay Can Be Dangerous
The news from Sicily is significant. The Canadian, British

. and American forces are continuing their northward sweep with-

out meeting too great resistance. Italian regiments and even di-

visions are surrendering en masse.
German officers of Italian units are
having difficulty with the men un-
der their command, and there are
reports of Nazis being shot by
Italian troops. :

Effects of the Roosevelt-Church-
ill ultimatum, demanding that Italy
surrender or be knocked out of
the war, is apparently widespread.
Mussolini's hold on the govern-
ment is weakening, industrial dis-
putes in arms factories are in-
creasing, Allied troops in Sicily
have been met with enthusiastic
welcome by the populace, a sign
of the anti-fascist sentiments of the
Italian people.

It is clear by now that the Ger-
mans haye not removed any troops
from the Eastern Front to meet

the Allies in Sicily, evidently bank-
ing on a long-drawn-out Anglo-
American preoccupation with Italy,
and enabling Hitler to evade the
issue of a decisive battle for Eur-
ope this year.

This fact has raised to a posi-
tion of extreme importance the
whole question of the second front.
The offensive in Sicily has been
greeted enthusastically. But there
is a growing fear among people
of the United Nations that even
now there is a danger that de-
cisive offensive action in Burope
will be delayed too long. For that
reason, growing pressure was be-
ing exerted this week on the Anglo-
American leadership to open the
attack on Hitler’s European “fort-
ress” without delay.

Gains Im The South Pacifie

On the Pacific front, American troops have reached to within
a mile of the strategic Japanese air base of Munda in the New
Georgia island group, where the four-pronged Allied offensive

was launched at the end of June.

After the first big naval battle
in the Kula Gulf, in which nine
Japanese warships were sunk or
damaged, announcement was made
of another engagement in which
six Japanese cruisers and destroy-
ers were sunk or seriously dam-

aged, bringing the total of Japan-
ese naval losses off New Georgia
to a total of about twenty.

In New Guinea proper, Ameri- '

can soldiers were pushing ahead
toward Salamaua in the Mubo
Ridge area, while up in the Aleu-
tians at Kiska, the US Navy de-

clared that the island, outflanked
by the capture of Attu, was now
completely isolated.

In China the soldiers of Chiang
Kai-shek are continuing to hold
minor Japanese thrusts on a num-
ber of fronts. The fact that China,
with insufficient arms and sbort-
age of foodstuffs, has been able
to prevent any serious challenge
to her remaining territory, is an
indication of what could be done
were the present trickle of sup-
plies stepped up to a steady

stream. The difficulties faced by
the American forces in the South
Pacific are increased by the fact
that Japan, in no danger of a
eounter-offensive by Chinese
forces, is able to keep her garri-
sons in the Pacific supplied with
full manpower and equipment.
Were China given added assistance
in the form of military equipment,
the pressure on Japan in China
could become so great that the is-
jand-to-island advance of the US
army and navy could be speeded
up by months.

- Soviet Union

Plunderbund In The Ukraine

Fascism is a huge, joint stock company of world plunder.
Goering is the biggest shareholder. But the individual is a share-
holder and he, too, gets something.

So explains the famous Mya
Bhrenburg, Soviet writer and
journalist, writing on Nazis plun-
der of the Ukraine.

The - Germans plunder the
Ukraine “lawfully’—under their
own “Rules of the Ukrainian Fruit-
growing and Potato Company.”
The aim of the company is clearly
stated in the rules: “forcible re-
quisition of the provisions of the
Ukrainian population.”

There are also other companies,
as, for instance, the chicken thieves
who united in a trust. In all, there
are twelve different registered
joint stock companies for the plun-
der of the Ukraine people. Each
one of them has its rules, treasur-
ers, shares, bookkeeping depart-
ment and dividends.

The Germans are tired of plun-
dering retail and have gone in for
it wholesale. Apart from the Ger-
man garrisons in the Ukraine there
are civilian Fritzes and their Gret-
chens, whose job is to rob the
population of their last crumbs.

Recently Alfred Rosenburg, after
reviewing a special parade of Ger-
man thieves, advised them: “You
Germans are surrounded by an
alien and often hostile population.
Remember the needs of Gerniany.”

In the German army there is a
special title, “Officer-Rural Chief.”
Special training for this position
teaches a German to plunder a
whole district. He has the right to
impose taxes, requisition provisions,
and prosecute disobedient slaves.
The latter are tried by another of-
ficer—Commandant. However, in
an emergency, the Rural Chief is
permitted to mete out corporal
punishment.

The Gully Of The

in a letter from one German of-
ficer to another, the fascist stated.
“Old Otta got himself a swell job.
He is now commandant, and you
know what he has invented? He
gives in marriage, he even presents
the young couple with vodka and
matches, but he has the right of
the first night . . . I rather like
the idea...”

Hundreds of thousands of young
girls and women are regularly sent
to Germany.

However, the slave-owners are
not satisfied with this. The Ruhr
magnates demand labor bands.
There is now a new profession
among the Germans—slave hunters.
Every Fritz who brings to the
Commandant’s office an able-bod-
jed Ukraninian girl who has man-
aged to avoid being deported to
German receives eight marks in
cash and the right to send his fam-
ily 12 kilos of food.

In the Ukraine there are “scien-
tifie laboratories,” where the Nazis
scientists carry on their experi-
ments—the testing of different
poison gases on human beings.

At courses for German women
in Kiev and other cities, “profes-
sors” read lectures on “German
fecundity.” One of these professors
declares that “taking into account
the abilities of the Nordic race
and the discipline of the German
women, the Ukraine within forty
years will be a country with a pre-
dominant German population.”

It is not for nothing that the
Berlin papers speak of their “bril-
liant perspectives.” Every Fritz in
the Ukraine has already calculated
how many slaves, cows and marks
he will have in 1960.

Dead

Kiev has been turned by the Germans into a city of cripples,
according to partisans in that area.
During the first few months the Germans recruited all child-

less women up to the age of 45
to be sent to Germany. Therefore
they began in broad daylight to
round up on the streets all able-
bodied persons. After that came
the turn of the 13-year-old children.

The citys population began to
run away to the villages. And now
there are only cripples left in Kiev.

A Pravda correspondent tells of
meeting a school teacher on the
road near the city. The bent, hag-
gard old woman of 27 had worked
as a charwoman after the Kiev
schools were closed by the Ger-
mans, and had almost died of hun-
ger. Among other things, she told
of Babi Yar, formerly nothing but
a deep gully, now the most horrible

spot in Kiey. It was filled to the
top with the bodies of civilians
rounded up daily by the Germans,
then stripped and shot.

Many of the victims after the
firing had died down, would cry
for help, but the Germans were
busy lining up the next batch to
be mowed down by the tommygun
fire.
levelled.

But Kiev’s inhabitants are taking
revenge. Not a night passes with-
out German soldiers and officers
being Inlied. At first the Germans
shot 100 citizens for every dead
soldier. Later the number was
raised to 400. But the killing of
German soldiers has only increased.

In this way the gulley Was

“Pressure

Marking labor
cannot make its
fascism so long as
the win-the-war policr
dent, the CIO this
five million membe
families to put direc
their senators and repr *
during the present two-m
gress recess. Wri
News, the CIO ass
director, C. W. Fow
this chance to tell your —
man what's on the Ameri

Charging Congres :
attempt to wreck price
promote inflation by siz
fice of Price Administra
Fowler said passage
Connally bill over the j}
veto is “designed to

x

Mf

A program to deal }
American workers wi
the Confederation of
meéting, July 26 to Aug -
council will propose, iti §
a world labor congress fi”
pose of studying proble
ing labor now and in}
and affiliation with the
viet trade union com
also be acted upon,
CTAL president, Vicente
Toledano, this week.

The CTAL meetingis |
in Havana at the invite
Confederaton of Cubai —
and President General
Batista, who told dele’
would be treated as fp
family.

Action will also be ta
banning of the Argentit
Confederation of Labor
by President Pedro Ra ’
ernment. The governmet
ed the more radical ¢
groups into which the Ge

Ready To Di

Sa

The signal to jump h
to start the invasion
of the big American
men prepared to follc
radiophoto).