Gareth Jones
[bas relief by Oleh Lesiuk]
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Gareth Jones' letter to former British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George sent from Berlin on 27th March 1933 in which he informs his employer of a Soviet famine.
[Also included is Gareth's covering letter to A.J. Sylvster, Lloyd George's Secretary.]
Source: House of Commons Archives – Lloyd George papers’ section
on Jones.
Berlin
[Monday] March 27, 1933
My
Dear A.J.,
I
have just arrived from Moscow and enclose a letter for the Chief [Lloyd George],
with an interview with Litvinoff.
My
visits have been a great success, met Hitler, Goebbels, Litvinoff, etc., etc. I
studied the Labour Camp Movement, by which employment is given to nearly 300,000
young Germans.
So
I have first-class information.
Perhaps
the Chief would like to see me. I shall be arriving in London on Thursday and
leaving for Cardiff (Western Mail) Friday night. If I could come to Churt some
Saturday afternoon, I should be delighted to give the Chief my views of the
situation.
Would
you be so kind as to ask a messenger to forward all my letters to the Reform
Club, so that I can get them on Thursday morning.
With best greetings.
Gareth
Berlin, March 27, 1933.
Dear
Mr. Lloyd George,
I
have just arrived from Russia where I found the situation disastrous. The
Five-Year Plan has been a complete disaster in that it has destroyed the Russian
peasantry and brought famine to every part of the country. I tramped alone for
several days through a part of the Ukraine, sleeping in peasants’ huts. I
spoke with a large number of workers, among whom unemployment is rapidly
growing. I discussed the situation with almost every British, German and
American expert. I had interviews with the following:
Litvinoff
Karl Radek
The Commissar for Finance, Grinko
The Vice-Commissar for Light Industry
The Vice-Commissar for Education
The President of the Atheists (who has given me a special message to you as a Baptist!).
The
British and the German Ambassadors
The
situation is so grave, so much worse than in 1921 that I am amazed at your
admiration for Stalin.
Before
going to Russia, I went to Germany where I met Hitler and flew with him in his
aeroplane to attend a giant meeting in Frankfurt, had a long conversation with
Goebbels and other Nazis, with Breitscheid, von Schleicher, etc.
I
made a special study of the Labour Camps, which impressed me deeply. I also
visited Checho-slovakia and Danzig.
Therefore
I have much material on which you may want to question me. On Saturday April
1st, I begin work at Cardiff on the “Western Mail”. Should you wish me to
come to Churt at anytime – perhaps a Saturday afternoon – I should be
delighted to come and report.
About
the German situation, I am not so alarmed and believe that the English
newspapers have lost their heads.
In the meantime I enclose my conversation with Litvinoff.
Yours sincerely
Gareth Jones.
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