Events at the front are taking on an ever more ominous hue. Deep pessimism about the immediate prospects reigns in government circles. It’s thought that Paris will fall any day now, France will be occupied by the Germans, and the French government will soon move to London. Nonetheless, everybody remains adamant: whatever may happen to France, England is ready to fight on her own.

The more serious the situation becomes, the more intense is the ‘psychological assault’ against me. Politicians, journalists, public figures – one way or another, they all try to put before me the following questions: Can the Soviet Union really remain indifferent to events in Western Europe? Do the defeat of France and the massively increasing threat to England really leave the USSR unmoved? Does the tremendous strengthening of Germany, and its transformation into the real hegemon of Europe, really not clash with Soviet interests?… Behind these questions lurks another, which is rarely asked openly: Why don’t you want to help us? I receive a stream of letters, some signed, some not, in the same vein.