Juan Gonzalo Larrain Campbell

Catolicismo, April 2005

In the pages of Legionário, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira predicted and documented the alliance between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, as well as their break in 1941. 

The signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. No one imagined that a break between Germany and Russia would occur shortly afterward

On this 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, one of the most important events of the last century, I bring to light some predictions Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira made during that conflict.

In an earlier article, I analyzed Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira’s prediction of the outbreak of World War II. He also anticipated one of the most shameful events that had taken place shortly before that: the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, the famous non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. His prognosis made two years in advance is impressive for its accuracy.

This prediction’s sensational character is patent when one has in mind that nothing at that point indicated the possibility of such a pact. The testimony published in the French magazine Historama in this regard is eloquent:

“Public opinion was traumatized in August 1939, when the signing of the German-Soviet alliance pact—a triumph of Berlin’s diplomacy—became known in France and Great Britain. ... In 1939, the German-Soviet pact surprised Western diplomacy.”¹

No less important was Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira’s prediction of the German-Russian rupture as a revolutionary maneuver mounted to deceive the unwary.

The Nazi-Communist alliance greatly helped Hitler in the first two years of the war. In fact, relying on Russian neutrality, after conquering Poland, the Nazi armies attacked the Balkans and seized Czechoslovakia. Unconcerned with their eastern front, they concentrated their efforts on conquering Western Europe and invaded Holland and Belgium to dominate France and attack England.

A Great Secret Forbidden to Write About

However, in June 1941, world public opinion was again surprised by Germany’s attack on Russia. General Heinz Guderian —one of the most important Nazi officers who participated in the invasion of Russia—made telltale statements in Nuremberg on the unexpected nature of that attack:

“I noticed the first hint of war with Russia in the autumn of 1940, after Molotov’s visit to Berlin. [Franz] Helder, the German Chief of Staff, told me an operation was under consideration to be carried out by three army groups . . . It was such a secret that it was forbidden to write down anything about it under any circumstances.

“I was amazed. I had thought that we would only have to fight on one front and that we could safeguard our friendship with Soviet Russia.”²

However, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira had predicted in 1939 the events that the Nazi command considered a war secret in 1940 and surprised even that German general.

Guided by a profoundly rational understanding of the unity of the revolutionary process and the fundamental solidarity among its agents (in this case, Nazism and Communism), Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira was never fooled by even the noisiest disagreements between them.

Furthermore, keenly aware that the ultimate goal of the agents of the world Revolution is to destroy the Catholic Church and Christian civilization, he analyzed the international political situation with this in mind and based on solid principles. He was thus able to discern and denounce the Revolution’s most hidden designs with unparalleled accuracy.

Behind the Scenes of Germany’s Break with Russia

From the standpoint of the interests of the world revolution, victory in the Nazi-Communist tussle could be granted to either side, depending on the circumstances. Despite the immense advantages that Germany gained by allying itself with Russia, , Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira began in 1939 alerting readers to a possible German-Russian split, which ended up taking place in June 1941.

During this period, Nazism was facing growing unpopularity even within Germany. That made it increasingly difficult for it to reach the revolutionary goal of conquering the world for ‘brown socialism.’ It also made it necessary to dissociate Nazism from Communism so the latter would be on the side of the victors (allies) and strive to advance the Revolution worldwide by imposing its totalitarian dictatorship.

How to dissociate them? By having Germany attack Russia. That is just what happened.

We will now document the ‘itinerary’ of hypotheses that led the distinguished Catholic thinker to formulate this prediction.³

1. Hitler and Stalin May Pretend to be Enemies

In an article significantly titled “Confusion,” analyzing the behind-the-scenes movements of international politics, Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira raises the hypothesis that Hitler and Stalin will once again pretend to be enemies:

“In the partnership game played by the two totalitarian dictators, the red dictator and democratic dictators, it is detrimental to unveil their reciprocal solidarity so openly. From this point of view, the German-Russian pact has been a blunder. Hitler and Stalin may soon play enemies once again to impress the unwary and deceive the public.”⁴

2 – The Nazi-Soviet Masquerade Can Resume

Scrutinizing the world situation, in December 1940 Prof. Plinio unveiled the falsehood of the German-Russian tussle and again raised the hypothesis of an eventual break:

“International politics is still full of mysteries, the most important of which is that of German-Russian relations. The two totalitarian powers seem to be acting out a hide-and-seek farce for the whole world. Now they drop the mask of their pseudo incompatibility and present to the public their identical faces as Siamese twins, now they play angry enemies and again threaten to fight each other to the death. Amid all this, the gullible and naive public does not know what to think. And so, the masquerade goes on for as long as the current lords of the world desire.”⁵

One week later, he insisted:

 “Legionário has repeatedly stated that the Nazi-Soviet masquerade may suddenly start again and that Moscow and Berlin may well resume the soap opera of their reciprocal antagonism, which earned them considerable advantages. some time ago.”⁶

3 – Hitler’s Ultimate Goal: a War on Catholicism

As 1940 was drawing to a close, he predicted:

“As of this writing, the newspapers are highlighting the prospects of Nazi aggression against Russia triggered by the German invasion of Hungarian and Romanian territories, apparently signaling a major military action with as yet unknown ends.

“In more than one issue, the Legionário has insisted that the fake hostility between Nazism and Communism could suddenly regain new vigor. That hostility had subsided only officially (in the real world, there was never any struggle and thus nothing to subside) because of circumstantial political interests. It is very much in the Nazi dictator’s style to strike a hard blow on Communism, present himself to humanity as a new Constantine, and, honored by the laurels of this ‘Christian’ victory, wage war on Catholicism more resolutely than ever.”⁷

4 – The End of German-Soviet Collaboration

Against all expectations, one month before the Nazi aggression, Prof. Plinio predicted that Germany could attack Russia:

“As everyone sees, German-Russian collaboration is reaching its peak through Russia’s active intervention in Asian politics alongside Germany.

“The Legionário has long predicted everything that is going on. Precisely now, as their collaboration seems to have attained a peak, let us tell our readers one more thing that will certainly surprise them. At this point, it is just as possible that their relationships last a long time or that Germany suddenly attacks Russia. That will not affect the real and perfect symbiosis between Nazism and Communism. Qui vivra verra.”⁸

The following month, Germany invaded Russia.

An Authentically Counter-Revolutionary Journalist

Forty years later, talking to a friend about his prediction of the attack whose prior knowledge had astonished even General Guderian, Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira commented:

“I perfectly remember writing the ‘7 Days in Review’ [section of Legionário] of May 18, 1941, anticipating the German-Russian break. I was typing in a hurry on my old typewriter and thinking to myself: ‘With this prediction that I’m making. and which will come true, if I were a revolutionary journalist for any newspaper, I would become famous all over the world. But I am writing this, and no one will care at all.”

Today’s leading powers—in revolutionary hands no matter what colors they display or tactical retreats they are forced to make—have been doing all they can to silence the voice of the only man who denounced and unmasked the Revolution in all its amplitude. Unable to silence it completely, they have sought to smother and distort this voice to hide its counter-revolutionary combativeness.

However, we have no doubt in our hearts that a day will come—as Our Lady promised at Fatima—when revolutionary powers are pulverized with the triumph of her Immaculate Heart. From that moment on, a regenerated world will recognize Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira as the providential man, authentic warrior, and guide of the Counter-Revolution.⁹

Notes:

1. Historama, Paris, nº 280, p. 97.

2. Raynard Cartier, “Comment Hitler a perdu la bataille de Moscou,” Historama, nº 246, May 1972, p. 58.

3. Let me clarify that the Nazi-Communist break did not invalidate the thesis on the fundamental ideological union of both regimes. Indeed, Hitler proved this ad nauseam by his attitude during the war, especially from 1943 onwards. He concentrated all his efforts on the western front, virtually leaving Russia free to conquer Eastern European countries, where he imposed his red tyranny for over 40 years. On that occasion, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira wrote several articles supporting this thesis, which history later confirmed.

4. “Confusão,” Legionário, nº 366, September 17, 1939.

5. “7 dias em revista,” Legionário, nº 429, 1-12-1940.

6. “7 dias em revista,” Legionário, nº 430, 8-12-1940.

7. “7 dias em revista,” Legionário, nº 433, 29-12-1940.

8. “7 dias em revista,” Legionário, nº 453, 18-5-1941.

9. All references in this article to the words “Revolution” and “Counter-Revolution” are in the sense Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira has given them in his work, Revolution and Counter-Revolution.