ESSENTIAL POINTS OF SPEECH ON SECOND IMPERIALIST WAR
At the Yenan Cadres Meeting
14 September 1939
[Text] I. New Stage of the War
The second imperialist war has long been underway; it has been fought for
several years. The Japanese imperialist invasion of China began in 1931.
Japan first occupied the three Northeastern provinces and thereafter
launched a large-scale aggression against China in 1937. Italian imperialism invaded Abyssinia in 1935. In 1936 Germany and Italy jointly invaded
Spain, and in 1938 Germany occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia. During
this period more than 500 million people in the East and the West were
engulfed in war, while such imperialist nations as England, America and
France did not participate. Therefore, we call this period the first
stage of the second imperialist war. Beginning from now, from the entry
of the British and French imperialist nations into the war, we call it
the second stage, because the conditions are entirely different. If the
war in the past could not be termed a world war and was not on a world
scale, it is different now. Now it is an imperialist world war and a new
stage of that war.
II. Cause of the War
According to historical facts and Lenin's theories, in the imperialist
era the development of capitalism is extremely unbalanced. Therefore, a
war among the imperialist nations is inevitable. Less than 20 years
after the end of the first imperialist war to redivide the world, the
second imperialist war exploded, and the imperialist nations again
launched a war to redivide the world. The initial stage of the new war,
the first stage, was built on the world economic crisis. After the
unprecedented world economic crisis of 1929 to 1933, what followed was
not prosperity but a special kind of slump. Some imperialist nations,
either dissatisfied with their share of the spoils in World War I, such
as Japan and Italy, or wishing to regain what they had lost, such as

Germany, armed themselves to the teeth and ascended the stage of war,
attempting to extricate themselves from the economic crisis by means of
war and to avert the collapse of capitalism. It was thus that the second
imperialist war exploded, forming its first stage.

In the second stage of the second imperialist war, Germany, England,
France, and Poland launched a large-scale war, and all the capitalist
nations in the world will be directly involved. It is built on the new
economic crisis. The new world economic crisis beginning in 1937 has
been permeating England, America, and France, the so-called "peaceful"
nations," in the past several years and is developing toward Germany,
Japan, and Italy. On top of the economic crisis, a grave political
crisis has arisen, and the people are dissatisfied with capitalism and
the bourgeois dictatorship. Whether in the long-fascistized nations or
those in the process of fascistization under the excuse of war, such a
political crisis and the people's dissatisfaction are aggravating. On
the other hand, the socialist Soviet Union is so powerful that no one
dares to provoke it. In this situation, the bourgeoisie of all
imperialist nations feel that, besides expanding the war, besides
expanding the limited war to a general war, and besides destroying their
imperialist friends, they cannot escape from the economic and political
crises or avert their own perdition.

All these are the calculations of the bourgeoisie of all nations on the
eve of their death. As for such calculations, the calculations to escape
the economic and political crises and avert their own perdition by means
of a war to redivide the world, they will inevitably create greater
economic and political crises and hasten their perdition. They have no
way to turn. Like rabid dogs, they have become insane, made completely
insane by the capitalist system. They have no choice but to charge
recklessly at their enemies, at the walls of the world. Such is the
life of the bourgeoisie of the nations of the world. A group of rabid
dogs fighting among themselves--such is today's imperialist war.

III. Goal of the War

"War is a continuation of politics." The nature of imperialism is plunder.
The "peacetime" policy of imperialist nations is always plunder. However,
when the policy of plunder of some imperialist nations encounters the
interference of other imperialist nations, and when peaceful means cannot
be used to overcome such interference, the means of war is resorted to in
order to continue the policy of plunder. Therefore, plunder is the only
political goal of an imperialist war. The goal of the second imperialist
war is identical with that of the first one: it is to redivide the world.
In other words, it is to redivide the colonies and semicolonies and the
spheres of power, to plunder the people of the world, and to gain control
over the people of the world. The goal of the second imperialist war in
its past and present stages is completely identical. Besides this goal,
is there any other goal? Is there any good goal? None at all. Whether

IV. Essence of the War

The essence of the war is determined by its political goal. All wars are
divided into two categories. According to Comrade Stalin, wars are
divided into (1) just, nonplundering and liberating wars and (2) unjust
and plundering wars. Like the first imperialist war, the second war
belongs to the second category, because the goal of both wars is to
plunder the people of the world, having no other aim and not the least
bit of benefit to the people of their own or other nations. Such are
the plundering, unjust, and imperialist essences of the war. To hoodwink
the people and mobilize public opinion, both sides of the war today
shamelessly declare themselves just and accuse the other side of being
unjust. Actually, it is a mockery and a deception. Only national and
people's liberation wars, and wars launched by socialist nations in aid
thereof, are just wars. This time many people are confused. They feel
that, while Germany is unjust, England and France are democracies
resisting fascism and Poland is waging a national self-defense war, and
that England and France are more or less progressive in nature. This is
an extremely confused view. Such confusion comes from failing to clarify
the goal of the war, and also from failing to clarify the different
characteristics of its first and second stages.

V. Characteristics of the First Stage of the War

The characteristics of the first stage of the second imperialist war are:
(1) In terms of the relations among them, some of the imperialist nations,
Germany, Italy, and Japan, the three imperialists, launched an insane
aggressive war, invaded small and weak nations, encroached upon the
interests of the democratic countries, and instigated a fascist threat
inside them. Thus, the people of the whole world demanded that aggression
be resisted and democracy defended, and they asked other imperialist
nations, the so-called democratic nations of England, America, and France,
to intervene in the aggressive war and permit the people to salvage the
little bit of democracy. The Soviet Union time and again declared its
willingness to form an antiaggression united front with the so-called
democratic nations. Had these so-called democratic nations blocked the
aggressors at that time, had they launched a war, together with the
Soviet Union, against the aggressors at that time, such as by aiding the
Spanish Government, blocking the German and Italian aggression, and
helping China stop the Japanese invasion, then such action, such war,

would have been just and progressive. Yet the so-called democratic nations
did not intervene. Instead, they adopted the policy of "nonintervention."
Their goal was to let the aggressors and the aggressed consume themselves
in war before they would intervene and reap the benefit. As for England
and France, which presented Austria and Czechoslovakia to Germany, it was
a condition of exchange. In other words, it was in exchange for Germany's
attack on the Soviet Union. England and France hoped for a conflict
between the Soviet Union and Germany. Borrowing a knife to commit murder,
when both sides were wasted, they could proclaim hegemony over the world.
As a result of this policy of "nonintervention" in the war, only some of
the imperialist nations came forth to do battle, while others "sat atop
the mountain to watch the tigers fight," thus demonstrating the onesided,
limited, and nonintervening essences of the war. The people were unable
to force the bourgeois governments of the democratic nations to abolish
the counterrevolutionary "nonintervention" policy they followed. Hence
the onesidedness. It was the first characteristic of the war in its
first stage.

(2) However, during this period, besides the unjust and plundering war
launched by German, Italian, and Japanese imperialism and the tolerance
of this war on the part of the so-called democratic nations, there was
another factor. There was also the national liberation war, i.e.,
Abyssinia's war to resist Italy, the Spanish Republic's war to resist
Germany and Italy, and China's great resistance war against Japan, and
the people of the whole world and the socialist Soviet Union all sincerely rendered aid to such wars. The wars of the second category were
just, nonplundering and liberating wars. It was the second characteristic of the war in its first stage.

The onesidedness of the imperialist war and the existence of antiimperialist wars were the two characteristics of the imperialist war in
its first stage.

VI. Our Revolutionary Policy in the First Stage of the War

According to the characteristics of the war in its first stage, the
revolutionary policy during this stage, without doubt, was to organize
an antiaggression united front of the aggressed nations in order to
resist the onslaught of the aggressors, to organize the rising antifascist struggles of the people inside the democratic nations in order
to protect democracy, and, at the same time, to continue organizing the
struggles of the Soviet Union and the governments of the democratic
nations to block the further development of aggression. The third point,
organizing the antiaggression united front of the Soviet Union and the
governments of the democratic nations, began after Munich and resulted
from the failure of Spain and the destruction of Czechoslovakia. The
anger of the broad strata of people in England and France, and even of
the leftwing elements in the bourgeoisie, created the possibility of
forcing the Chamberlain and Daladier governments to abandon the policy

BREAKDOWN OF BRITISH-FRENCH-SOVIET NEGOTIATIONS AND THE BEGINNING
OF THE SECOND STAGE OF THE WAR

The bourgeoisie of the so-called democratic nations on the one hand
feared the fascist nations because they were invading their interests,
but even more they feared the development of the revolutionary strength.
They feared the Soviet Union, the liberation movement of the people of
their own countries, and the national liberation movement of the colonies
and semicolonies. Therefore, they refused to form a true antiaggression
united front or wage a true antiaggression war with Soviet participation,
but instead organized their own counterrevolutionary united front and
fought their own plundering bandit war.

The British-French-Soviet negotiations lasted more than 4 months, from
15 April to 23 August. While the Soviet Union exhausted all its
patience, England and France refused to subscribe to the principle of
equality and reciprocity, only asking the Soviet Union to guarantee
their security. Yet they would not guarantee the security of the Soviet
Union or the Baltic nations, thus leaving a gap for Germany, nor would
they permit Soviet troops to pass through Poland to resist the aggressors.
Naturally, the Soviet Union was unwilling to agree to such a treaty proposed by England and France, a treaty which was completely incompatible
with the revolutionary goal and compatible only with the counterrevolutionary goal. Meanwhile, England and France absolutely rejected the
treaty proposed by the Soviet Union, which was based on the principle of
equality and reciprocity, truly beneficial to blocking the development
of the aggressors, and truly beneficial to world peace. This was the
basic cause for the breakdown of the negotiations. During this period
Germany abandoned its anti-Soviet stand and wished to discard the so-called "anticommunist agreement" and recognize the inviolability of the
Soviet border. Thus, the mutual nonaggression pact between the Soviet
Union and Germany was concluded. The lack of any sincerity on the part
of England and France in their negotiations with the Soviet Union, their
lack of sincerity in halting aggression, and their decision to break up
the negotiations proved nothing else than that Chamberlain had already
decided on war.

Therefore, the outbreak of the war was not intended by Hitler, but by
Chamberlain, because, if he really wanted to avoid war, the participation of the Soviet Union was indispensable. Even England's Lloyd George,
a bourgeois representative, would understand this point. Yet some idiots
cannot understand it even today, feeling that Chamberlain had not made
any advance preparations for the war. They fail to see that Chamberlain's
participation in the three-nation negotiations was only for the purpose
of mobilizing public opinion, so that he could tell the people: The
British and French governments have done their best and, since we cannot
succeed in the three-nation alliance, we have no choice but to open fire
on Germany.

In this situation, the war between Germany and England, France, and
Poland exploded in early September. Thus began a new stage of the
second imperialist war--its second stage.

VIII. Characteristics of the Second Stage of the War

At present, after the outbreak of the world war, the condition has
basically changed. The distinction between the fascist and democratic
nations in the past has lost its meaning. Today, the distinction can
only be: (1) the nations waging an unjust and plundering imperialist
war and those actually supporting such a war--the first category;
(2) the nations waging just and nonplundering national liberation and
people's liberation wars and those supporting such wars--the second

category. Now we must make new distinctions based on the new conditions
and discard the old ones, because the conditions have changed. The
bourgeoisie of the democratic nations have made their final rejection of
compromise with the people. They have rejected compromise with the
Soviet Union and launched a plundering war. Now the most reactionary
nation in the world is England, and the ringleader against the Soviet
Union, communism, democracy, the people, and small nations is Chamberlain.

In this situation, all communist party members must understand that the
time for striving to rally the bourgeoisie and the governments of the
so-called democratic nations and for building a united front together
with the Soviet Union, the people of all nations, and the colonies and
semicolonies has passed, and there is no longer such a possibility.
The only possibility today is for the Soviet Union to build an antiwar
and antiaggression united front together with the people of the capitalist
countries and the oppressed colonies and semicolonies. We no longer can
count on the bourgeoisie of the so-called democratic nations. This component, as a result of its vacillation, has finally shifted to the enemy
stronghold and become one of the two strongholds in the imperialist war.
It is a momentous change. Therefore, the possible components of the new
united front have been reduced from four to three, with the following
results: First, the second imperialist war has shifted from limited to
general (from limited reaction to general reaction); next, the components
of the new antiwar and antiaggression united front have changed from
complex to simple. These are the two characteristics of the war in its
second stage.

Many comrades fail to pay attention to the changes in condition or the
characteristics of the changes. They think that everything is the same
as before, and their thinking is suspended in the past, looking at the
new changes with the old viewpoint and ignoring the essential changes
in the new situation; therefore, they unconsciously fall into the trap
of complete error, into the situation of the social democratic party.
I hope that the comrades committing this error will promptly correct
themselves, and I believe that, once reminded, they will correct themselves promptly.

IX. Our Revolutionary Policy in the Second Stage of the War

In view of the characteristics of the war in its second stage, what
should be the revolutionary policy of the proletariat, especially of the
Communist Party?

I feel that it should be as follows:

(1) We must appeal to the people in the belligerent nations to rise and
resist the imperialist war, expose its imperialist essence, regard all
the belligerents as bandits, be they of one side or the other, especially
British imperialism, the ringleader, warn the people against being tricked

by the imperialist bandits, propagandize to them to turn the imperialist
war into a revolutionary domestic war, and build a people's united front
against the imperialist war.

In all belligerent nations, wherever there are communist parliamentary
members, they must vote against the war budget in the manner of the
courageous and firm struggle waged by Germany's proletarian leader,
Comrade Liebknecht, in the German parliament during the first imperialist
war. They must never vote for the war; they must never merge their own
identity with that of the social democratic parties, because the social
democratic parties of these nations are repeating the errors of the first
imperialist war and, under the so-called slogan of "defending the mother
country" (the mother country of the capitalist bandit group), are shamelessly supporting the war. Japan's social democratic party, the so-called
Social Mass Party, has long since deserted the proletariat in order to
support the aggressive war of its warlords. Under the intimidation and
bribery of Chamberlain and Daladier, the social democratic parties of
England and France have betrayed the British and French proletariat in
order to support the bandit war of British and French imperialism. The
Polish social democratic party supports the running dog bought by
Chamberlain, the bourgeois reactionary government of Poland, betraying
the interests of the nation. In Poland, doubtlessly, they should mobilize the entire people, ally with Russia, resist the German imperialist
aggression, and fight to defend and liberate Poland. Yet the fascist
government of Poland has suppressed its national liberation movement and
refused the aid of the Soviet Union; it is willing to lead the people to
serve as the cannon fodder of British and French financial capital and
to turn Poland into a component of the reactionary front of international
financial capital. Without doubt, we sympathize with the Polish people,
but we definitely do not sympathize with the reactionary government of
Poland. That the Polish social democratic party supports such a government is similarly intolerable. Therefore, whether in Germany, Japan, or
Italy, or in England, France, or Poland, only by exposing the treachery
of the social democratic party will the communist party of all belligerent
nations be able to rally the masses, organize a revolutionary united
front, and prepare to smash the counterrevolutionary war with a revolutionary war.

(2) In the neutral countries, such as America, the communist party members must expose before the people the imperialist policy of the bourgeois
government, i.e., the policy of neutrality in name but supporting the war
in fact, and attempting to make a big profit from the war. During the 2
years of the Sino-Japanese war, U.S. imperialism, under the mask of
neutrality, has reaped a big profit, and now it wants to make another big
profit out of the new war. Two weeks ago, in my talk on 1 September, I
thought that the American bourgeoisie for the moment would not abandon
the democratic and peacetime economy. Who would expect that, within a
few short days, it would declare the so-called "partial emergency situation." Thus, it is following the steps of England and France and

advancing toward reaction and war. The communist party members must
oppose such a false neutrality, which actually aids the imperialist war,
the fascism of the governments of such nations, the treachery of their
social democratic parties, and their involvement in the war, so that the
area of the war will not expand without limit.

(3) In the colonies and semicolonies, it is the national united front,
either to resist the aggressors (such as in China) or to resist the
suzerain nations (such as in India), in order to attain the goal of
national independence. We must oppose the activities of the national
renegades to betray the national interest in such nations before we can
develop the united front to defeat the enemies. In the colonies of the
belligerent nations, we must oppose the treacherous activities of the
national renegades in support of the war waged by their suzerains and
resist recruiting the people of the colonies into the front of the
suzerain nations. We must tell the colonial people of the painful
experience of the first imperialist war. In the colonies and semicolonies, if we do not oppose the national renegades, the national
liberation movement will have no hope.

X. The Future of the War

This war is a sustained war. I agree with Comrade Voroshilov's speech at
the 18th congress of the Soviet Communist Party. He said: "Modern wars
in the future will be sustained, prolonged and consuming." He also said:
"Without doubt, in an inevitable and general military conflict, there
will be an unprecedented life and death juncture." His estimates are
correct. The quality of being sustained is found in imperialist and
anti-imperialist wars, counterrevolutionary and revolutionary wars,
their continuation and partial and temporary suspension, the reorganization of and changes in the participants, and the destruction and creation of participants. Such intertwining, tortuous, and complex changing
conditions form the sustained essence of war. The second imperialist
world war is an unprecedented calamity for mankind. Death, illness,
starvation, unemployment, loss of education, loss of family members, and
the breaking up of homes--all kinds of tragedies will fill the whole
world. Without doubt, such conditions will cause the oppressed people
of the capitalist nations and the oppressed people of colonies and semicolonies to wake up, unite, resist the imperialist war and organize
revolutionary wars. The scale will be much larger than that of World
War I. During the first war, besides Russia, there was no communist
party in any nation. Now it is different. The communist party is
distributed in several dozen nations, and it has become strong in politics and organization. During World War I there was no socialist nation.
Now it is different. The Soviet Union not only exists but has become a
first-class power. It is firmly against the imperialist war and for the
people's liberation and national liberation wars. It will have a great
effect in defending the interests of mankind and in blocking imperialism.

Now the world has been clearly divided. All the bourgeoisie participating
in the imperialist war are reactionaries, forming a reactionary stronghold. The current imperialist war is a war between the two factions of
the imperialist group in this great reactionary stronghold. This factional conflict in the great reactionary stronghold will not stop them
from joining together to resist the Soviet Union, the people's liberation movement of all nations, the national liberation movement of the
colonies and semicolonies, and the world revolution. It would be infantile to think that they will fight forever or that they will be easily
overthrown by the revolutionary people. This is one aspect--the aspect
of the world reactionary front. In the other aspect we have the Soviet
Union, the people's liberation movement of the capitalist nations, and
the national liberation movement of the colonies and semicolonies. All
these form the revolutionary front and the revolutionary stronghold.
The goal is to smash the world reactionary stronghold, defeat the
imperialist war with the revolutionary war, overthrow the ringleaders
of war, knock down the bourgeoisie, and liberate the oppressed people
and oppressed nations in the world from capitalism, from the imperialist
war. This is a great struggle process, an arduous and sustained process,
and a process of educating the people, wakening them, organizing them,
and leading them to fight the bourgeoisie. The capitalist economy has
reached a dead end, and the era of great revolutions with momentous
changes has arrived. The current era is the new era of war and revolution and the era to completely reform the dark world into a world of
light, and we are in the midst of it.

The nation of China, which has waged 2 years of resistance war, is a
component of the world revolutionary stronghold, an important and effective component. The national liberation war of the 450 million people
will produce a great effect in the reform process of the world. The
imperialist war is detrimental to the world and to China. Nevertheless,
the existence and development of the Soviet Union, the people's liberation movement of the capitalist nations in the world, and the national
liberation movement of the colonies and semicolonies are all beneficial
to China and constitute the reliable aid to China's revolutionary war.
China, the Soviet Union, and the people's liberation and national liberation movements of all nations must organize a firm united front. It will
be a revolutionary united front, a united front against the counterrevolution. On this point, the war between the imperialists and their
mutual wasting furnish a favorable condition to the people's liberation
and national liberation movements, China's resistance war, and the Soviet
Union's construction of a communist society. In this respect, the darkness of the world is temporary, and its future is bright. Imperialism
will perish; the liberation of the oppressed people and nations is without doubt. China's future is also bright. As long as its Anti-Japanese
National United Front becomes more consolidated and we, under the slogans
of persevering in the resistance war, opposing surrender, adhering to
unity, opposing splits, adhering to progress, and opposing regression,
struggle vigorously, our enemy will perish, and a free and independent
new China will soon emerge.

* MILITARY AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS MAGAZINE OF THE 8TH ROUTE ARMY, No 9,
Political Department of the 18th Group Army of the Citizens Revolutionary Army (8th Route Army), 25 September 1939

* CHIEH-FANG (LIBERATION), No 85, 30 September 1939

* RESIST-ENEMY NEWS, No 101, 26 October 1939

* "On World War II," Education Bookstore, 1 November 1939

* "Guide to the Anti-Japanese National United Front" (9), Liberation
Press, July 1940

* "Collection of Important Documents Since the War of Resistance,"
Chinese Communist Central Secretariat, 1942