The Big Three agreed to create a commission, meeting in Moscow, that would decide on reparations. Stalin said, “We three have the first claim on reparations, since we have borne the burden of the war.”
Churchill replied that “exertion in the war” should not be considered. He added that if he agreed to the Soviet figure, he would be driven from office. Stalin retorted, “Victors are not driven out.”
Churchill teased his host by quoting Lenin: “To each according to his needs!”
Stalin was not amused.
Source:
Beschloss, Michael R. “The Only Bond is Their Common Hate.” The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman, and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2007. 185. Print.
Further Reading:
Иосиф Сталин / იოსებ სტალინი (Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin)
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PCc DL FRS RA
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