50 The Young Broz
the ship Sibir when he received news about two decisive events: first, the non-
aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, signed by the two
foreign ministers, Ribbentrop and Molotov; then, when they entered the Bal-
tic, about Hitler’s attack on Poland.^243 What concerned Walter more than the
beginning of the Second World War, however, was the hostility unleashed
against him by Miletić. Once more Kopinić came to his aid, writing a fifty-
page paper on Petko with the support of his old comrade-in-arms Maslarić
(Andreev) and Manuilskii, who procured him access to all the relevant archives.
In fact, it seems that as early as 1923, when he was first captured, Miletić had
begun collaborating with the police and betraying his friends. This was why
he was put in the Sremska Mitrovica jail—as an agent provocateur. Together
with Djilas’s material, Kopinić’s memoir was so compromising and convinc-
ing that Miletić was arrested shortly afterward. On 21 September 1939, he was
condemned to eight years of forced labor. He died at the end of January 1943
in one of Stalin’s gulags, although some believe that he was still alive as late as
1971.^244 Walter met his mortal enemy only twice: the first time at the seat of the
Comintern, where Petko could come and go as he pleased; the second on a
Moscow bus. That time Petko had stood, immobile, holding the bus strap with
his right hand. His dark and bony face seemed indifferent to everything, al-
though from his clenched fist, a thread of blood trickled down, drop by drop.^245
When Dimitrov informed him that Miletić had been arrested, Broz expe-
rienced one of the most gratifying moments of his life. He was on his way to
the office of Damianov (Belov), the powerful Bulgarian who had supported
Petko and had sponsored him for the leadership of CPY.^246 When he entered
the room, Belov received him with bureaucratic haughtiness: “How do you do,
Comrade Walter? Is there something new?”
“Nothing, nothing,” was the answer. “Nothing in particular, the only thing
I can think of is the arrest of Petko.”
Damianov jumped to his feet, surprised and shaken. And for the next half
hour he was unable to speak.^247