Stalin and the French Communist Party 1941-1947

413 Pages·1962·9.32 MB·English

by  Alfred J. Rieber

FRENCH
OMMUNIST
PARTY.
1941-1947
ALFRED J. RIEBER
Stalin and the French Communist Party
1941-1947
STUDIES OF THE RUSSIAN INSTITUTE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Stalin and the
French Communist Party
1941-1947
by ALFRED J. ~IEBER
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK AND LONDON 1962
The transliteration system used in this series is based on
the Library of Congress system with some modifications
Copyright© 1962 Columbia University Press
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-17354
Manufactured in the United States of America
The Russian Institute
of Columbia University
THE RUSSIAN INSTITUTE was established by Columbia Uni
versity in 1946 to serve two major objectives: the training of a
limited number of well-qualified Americans for scholarly and pro
fessional careers in the field of Russian studies, and the development
of research in the social sciences and the humanities as they relate to
Russia and the Soviet Union. The research program of the Russian
Institute is conducted through the efforts of its faculty members, of
scholars invited to participate as Senior Fellows in its program, and
of candidates for the Certificate of the Institute and for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy. Some of the results of the research program
are presented in the Studies of the Russian Institute of Columbia
University. The faculty of the Institute, without necessarily agreeing
with the conclusions reached in the Studies, believe that their pub
lication advances the difficult task of promoting systematic research
on Russia and the Soviet Union and public understanding of the
problems involved.
STUDIES OF THE RUSSIAN INSTITUTE
SOVIET NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT IN 1937 Ab-ram Bergson
THROUGH THE GLASS OF SOVIET LITERATURE: VIEWS OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY
Edited by Ernest J. Simmons
THE PROLETARIAN EPISODE IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE, 1928--1932
Edward J. Brown
MANAGEMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL FIRM IN THE USSR: A STUDY IN SOVIET
ECONOMIC PLANNING David Granick
SOVIET POLICIES IN CHINA, 1917-1924 Allen S. Whiting
UKRAINIAN NATIONALISM, 1939-1945 John A. Armstrong
POLISH POSTWAR ECONOMY Thad Paul Alton
LITERARY POLITICS IN THE SOVIET UKRAINE, 1917-1934
George S. N. Luckyj
THE EMERGENCE OF RUSSIAN PANSLAVISM, 1856-1870
Michael Boro Petrovich
BOLSHEVISM IN TURKESTAN, 1917-1927 Alexander G. Park
THE LAST YEARS OF THE GEORGIAN MONARCHY, 1658--1832
David Marshall Lang
LENIN ON TRADE UNIONS AND REVOLUTION, 1893-1917
Thomas Taylor Hammond
THE JAPANESE THRUST INTO SIBERIA, 1918 James William Morley
SOVIET MARXISM: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS Herbert Marcuse
THE AGRARIAN FOES OF BOLSHEVISM: PROMISE AND DEFAULT OF THE
RUSSIAN SOCIALIST REVOLUTIONARIES, FEBRUARY TO OCTOBER, 1917
Oliver H. Radkey
SOVIET POLICY AND THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS, 1931-1946
Charles B. McLane
PATTERN FOR SOVIET YOUTH: A STUDY OF THE CONGRESSES OF THE KOM-
SOMOL, 1918--1954 Ralph Talcott Fisher, Jr.
THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN LITHUANIA Alfred Erich Senn
THE SOVIET DESIGN FOR A WORLD STATE Elliot R. Goodman
SETTLING DISPUTES IN SOVIET SOCIETY: THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF LEGAL
INSTITUTIONS John N. Hazard
SOVIET MARXISM AND NATURAL SCIENCE, 1917-1932 David Joravsky
RUSSIAN CLASSICS IN SOVIET JACKETS Maurice Friedberg
STALIN AND THE FRENCH COMMUNIST PARTY, 1941-1947
Alfred J. Rieber
To John ]. Rieber

Acknowledgments
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to acknowledge adequately the great
debt I owe to a large number of people who contributed so much in
so many ways to the completion of this work. Most of all it is difficult
to thank Philip E. Mosely enough for his help and encouragement.
Professor Mosely suggested this topic to me and guided the manu
script through every phase of its development. Shephard B. Clough,
Mario Einaudi, Geroid T. Robinson, Henry Roberts, Alexander
Dallin, and Zigmundt Gasiorowski offered many very helpful criti
cisms. I hope I have taken full advantage of these. Thomas T. Ham
mond read the first four chapters at an early stage of the work and
made many useful suggestions. Gray C. Boyce gave freely of his en
couragement and aid at a critical moment in the writing of the book.
In France I was under a particular obligation to His Excellency
Michel Debn~ for the opportunity to consult him and to meet many
French officials who discussed the problems of French Communism
with me. Robert Aron made the supreme gesture of scholarly assist
ance by sharing with me all the unpublished sources in his posses
sion which he was using for his book H istoire de la Liberation de
France. I am deeply indebted also to all those who submitted to
interviews, of whom only a few are listed in the bibliography. I
would also like to thank those who opened many doors to new
avenues of research and personal contacts in France, especially to
Pierre Racine, Pierre Pascal, and David I. Goldstein for their tireless
efforts on my behalf. Guy Lemmonier and Paul Barton gave liberally
of their time and knowledge to help me clear up obscure points and
find informative people.
The staffs and librarians of the following libraries were extremely
helpful and patient in their efforts to satisfy my requests: Bibli-