In a debate in the House of Commons on
May 19, the British Prime Minister had again taken a cool and even disdainful view, as Churchill thought, of the Russian proposals. Somewhat wearily he had explained to the House that “there is a sort of veil, a sort of wall, between the two Governments which it is extremely difficult to penetrate.” Churchill, on the other hand, backed by Lloyd George, argued that Moscow had made “a fair offer . . . more simple, more direct, more effective” than Chamberlain’s own proposals. He begged His Majesty’s Government “to get some brutal truths into their heads. Without an effective Eastern front, there can be no satisfactory defense in the West, and without Russia there can be no effective Eastern front.”
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
This story developed over the course of a week or so. The paper was full of strikes and other labor unrest stories throughout this period. Consider this article a sample.
There is a wooing Stalin update at #2.