Выбрать главу

The Communist founders were not satisfied to have their disciples merely ignore religion. They felt it was highly essential that religion be methodically replaced with militant atheism.

One of their writers declared: “Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism… consequently; a class-conscious Marxist party must carry on propaganda in favor of atheism.”{247} In one of their youth magazines the following instruction appeared: “If a Communist youth believes in God and goes to Church, he fails to fulfill his duties. This means that he has not yet rid himself of a religious superstition and has not yet become a fully conscious person.”{248}

The Communists have written volumes against religion, but this is sufficient to demonstrate that atheism and the rejection of all religions is a very important part of the Communist program.

Can Communist Beliefs Hurt Us?

So there you have the four major premises of Communism. Some people will say, “Well, if that’s what it takes to make a Communist—so what? What they believe cannot hurt me.” Such attitudes have practically been our undoing. These beliefs can hurt us. For example, let me tell you briefly of an important event which occurred toward the conclusion of World War II.

This incident began in June, 1943, when a young Russian by the name of Igor Gouzenko arrived by plane in Ottawa, Canada. He was immediately assigned to the military attache of the Russian Embassy as a cipher clerk. This was the first time Igor Gouzenko had ever been outside of Russia. He later wrote: “I was surprised during the first days by the complete freedom of the individual which exists in Canada, but which does not exist in Russia.”{249}

He observed that even during war time, the people enjoyed comparative freedom, that they were a happy people and that the government served the people rather than vice versa. He vicariously enjoyed their freedom just by watching them. As he himself said: “I saw the evidence of what a free people can do. What the Canadian people have accomplished and are accomplishing here under conditions of complete freedom, the Russian people, under the conditions of the Soviet Regime of violence and suppression of all freedom, cannot accomplish even at the cost of tremendous sacrifices, blood and tears.”{250}

He was impressed by the vast quantities of goods that were on sale in the stores and he was amazed to find they could be purchased by anyone. He was impressed by the lack of fear and the lack of chaos, which the Russian propaganda machine claimed existed. Most impressive of all was the way democracy worked. He said: “The last elections which took place recently in Canada, especially surprised me. In comparison with them, the system of elections in Russia appears as a mockery of the conceptions of free elections.”{251}

What Puzzled Gouzenko Most?

But while Igor Gouzenko was working for the military attache of the Soviet Embassy, he noticed something else. He observed that contact was being made with top Canadian scientists and sometimes with important Canadian officials. Often they were actually cooperating in furnishing highly secret Government data to the Communist military agents. Gouzenko was further puzzled by the fact that he knew these important officials and scientists were aware that the ultimate aim of the Communists was a world-wide revolution which would destroy the Canadian Government as well as all others.

After watching these developments for a period of two years, Igor Gouzenko decided that he would warn the Canadian people of what was happening. Already he had made up his mind that he would never go back to Russia and raise his own child the way he had been raised. He told his wife that he intended to leave the Russian Embassy and warn the Canadian Government of the espionage network in its midst.

To prove his story he secreted a lot of espionage documents in his clothing and then went to the Canadian officials. He thought, of course, that he would be welcomed with open arms—that the Canadians would be delighted to have the in. side story. But as he watched the expressionless face of the first person he contacted, Gouzenko realized he had exposed himself to great danger. The man did not believe him! Only at the last moment, when Gouzenko was actually in danger of being recaptured by the Russian NKVD did it finally dawn on some of the officials that perhaps this Soviet code clerk’s story might be true. He was therefore immediately taken into protective custody so he could tell his story to the world.

Treason in High Places

The Canadians wondered if the people named by Gouzenko actually would collaborate with a potential enemy, The list included such men as Dr. Raymond Boyer, wealthy faculty member of McGill University, who was a senior supervisor in the National Research Council and co-inventor of the explosive RDX in World War II; Eric Adams, graduate of McGill and Harvard, serving in a top position in the Industrial Development Bank; Israel Halperin, professor of mathematics at Queen’s University in Ontario and doing highly technical research for the Directorate of Artillery; David Gordon Lunin, editor of Canadian Affairs; Dr. David Shugar, employed by Research Enterprises Limited, doing advanced research on radar; Harold Gerson, holding a top administrative position in the Allied War Supply; F.W. Poland, an officer in the Directorate of Intelligence of the Royal Canadian Air Force; and there was Kathleen Mary Willsher, who held a confidential position with the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom in Canada.

These and other persons on the list were promptly arrested and investigated by a Royal Canadian Commission. This Commission later reported: “Perhaps the most startling single aspect of the entire fifth column network is the uncanny success with which the Soviet Agents were able to find Canadians who were willing to betray their country and to supply to agents of a foreign power secret information to which they had access—in spite of oaths of allegiance, oaths of office, and oaths of secrecy which they had taken.”{252}

What the Royal Commission wanted to know was why these high Canadian officials would deliberately turn against the interest of their native land. They asked these people if they had been bribed and one of them replied, “If they had offered me money, I would have been insulted.”

When the Commission inquired into the background of these people, they found they were casualties in the ideological war which is being waged between the materialists and the free world. These people had been raised in freedom. They had gone to Canadian and American schools, yet, when asked why they collaborated with the Soviet Agents, one of them made a typical reply: “I thought I was helping humanity.”

How were these men and women, raised in a free world, converted by Communist agents to believe that if they collaborated they would be helping humanity? Supposing you were a scientist and one of these agents came to you. How would you react? Supposing he said, “My friend, you know that there is no divine intelligence guiding the human race; you know there is no Providential destiny for humanity; you know that if superior intelligences like yourself do not help us gain control of the human race it will destroy itself.” Can you even imagine yourself giving this reply: “I must confess that, in my heart of hearts, I do not believe that there is any God or divine intelligence guiding the human race. Therefore, I suppose I should feel it my duty as one of the superior intelligences of my generation—and for the salve of humanity—to collaborate with your movement which is destined to take over and save the race from itself.”