512
World War Two and the
Partisan Struggle
1939–1945
The Hitler-Stalin Pact
and the Start of the Second World WarWhen the Second World War began on 1 September 1939 subsequent to Nazi
aggression in Poland, with Great Britain and France deciding to come to its
aid, Walter and his comrades saw these events as further proof of imperial-
ist warmongering, which meant that the conflict “could not be a struggle of the
working class.”^1 When, the following 28 September, Germany and the Soviet
Union signed an agreement of mutual friendship and common borders, they
immediately conformed, blaming the “colonialist” forces and the “criminal pol-
icy of the English and French provocateurs” more than Germany’s territorial
ambitions.^2 On that occasion, Dmitrii Manuilskii convened a meeting of all
the representatives of the communist parties present in Moscow, in which Broz
took part. Manuilskii explained why the agreement with Germany was neces-
sary, adding, however, that this was merely a political maneuver. Nothing kept
the other parties, aside from the Soviets, from continuing their attacks on Fas-
cism. He asked everyone present to write a proclamation to their own party
that traced future lines of conduct in conformity with what he had said. With
the exception of Broz, none of the representatives adhered to his request, afraid
of saying something wrong. In his proclamation, he asserted that German and
Italian Fascism, the worst enemy of progressive humanity, continued to be a
threat to Yugoslavia. Manuilskii enthusiastically approved, adding that here
was someone capable of thinking with his own head.^3 This attempt to distance
the CPY from Soviet foreign policy was, however, only temporary. When the
Soviet Union attacked Finland, Stalin’s directive prevailed, according to which
the fight against Fascism was not of primary importance, since what mattered
most was the “class struggle” with the bourgeoisie. As Tito said later, “Just when
Hitler’s Army was changing the map of Europe, and the Fascist offensive was