From 1939 to 1943 the United States went from a period of total opposition to the Soviets to a gradual acceptance of its new ally. The "New York Times" editorial page shared in this trend: moving cautiously from complete rejection of the Soviets to acceptance of the Russian people, next the Red Army, and finally the Soviet government.…

In many respects the 18 months from June 1941 to December 1942--from the German assault on Soviet Russia to the conclusion of the first year of actual United States participation in World War II--was a brief interval of realism in the United States perception of the Soviet Union. The editorialists of "The New York Times" (probably the…