The German supporters of Leon Trotsky, exiled Russian Communist leader, are publishing today a letter from Moscow which confirms the report that Stalin, present-day Bolshevik dictator, ordered the execution of Blumkin, who had returned from Russia with a message from Trotsky for Radek. Blumkin, who on July 16, 1918, shot and killed the German Ambassador to Russia, Count Mirbach, brought with him the plan of Trotsky to put an end to Stalin’s regime in Russia.
When Trotsky’s emissary came to Radek, the latter ordered him to report immediately to the “Ogpu” (secret police) regarding his plans; otherwise, Radek warned Blumkin, he would denounce him to Stalin.
Blumkin, who at the outbreak of the Bolshevik revolution, belonged to the Social-Revolutionary party, which fought the Bolsheviks, later became a Communist. But when he joined the Trotsky opposition, he was denounced by the official Communist leaders.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
