Monday, 20 March

I received a telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was about Soviet planes crossing the Xinjiang-Mongolian border and bombarding our troops which are purging rebels. It said they told Ambassador Panyushkin about this and asked him to investigate. Probably the wording was rather mild. I reckon that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ policy is not to cause it to escalate. I think this is the right way.

Today the Red Army has captured Vinnitsa and Mogilev-Podolski. The German army retreated from from these two areas in collapse. As a result the German army moved forward to occupy Hungary, Hungary will then become the stronghold of a stern defence of the Eastern line for the German army. Hungary is a small country, yet it is willing to become a vassal state of Hitler’s Germany, with the hope of gaining from neighbouring countries in the midst of fighting between the two big countries. This will certainly plunge its nation and peoples into deep trouble that it has brought upon itself.

The day before yesterday, the Swedish King urged the Finns and the Finnish Government to accept the conditions of surrender offered by the Soviet Union. Today Hitler talked to Swedish reporters and denied that it was suggested by him, and he insisted that Soviet conditions were tempting. He said in Berlin Molotov has said that Finland should be destroyed, and that Britain and the United States cannot guarantee Finland because they do not need to guard against Communists outside their own countries. What they need to do is to contain the Communist disaster within their countries. In Hitler’s position to talk like this is beneath him and what he says is moaning of defeat. A strong statement is no longer heard. It is just like a dying bird yelling sorrowfully. He will lose soon.

In the morning studied Russian.