Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1939, General, Volume I

760C.61/778: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, August 28, 1939—4 p.m.
[Received August 28—2:30 p.m.]

480. Embassy’s telegram No. 349, June 29.¹⁸ I am informed in the strictest confidence by a member of the Polish Embassy here that the Polish Government has instructed its Ambassador in Moscow¹⁹ to act on the assumption that the Soviet Government intends to fulfill the assurances which Molotov, Potemkin and Mikoyan have expressed on various occasions to Polish officials to the effect that in the event of a conflict between Germany and Poland the Soviet Government would furnish economic assistance to Poland. My informant stated that the Polish Government apparently did not intend to lodge a protest with the Soviet Government against the conclusion of the German-Soviet pact of non-aggression since a similar agreement exists between Poland and the Soviet Government²⁰ and he added that such a protest would be lodged only in the event of a breach of faith on the part of the Soviet Government in respect either of the strict execution of the Polish-Soviet commercial agreement²¹ or of the assurances under reference.

My informant who has just returned from an inspection trip to Murmansk considers that this port is comparatively small and is not adequately equipped for handling cargoes on a large scale. He pointed out that although facilities appear to be particularly inadequate in respect of handling incoming cargoes since only three large cranes exist for discharging ships, nevertheless in the event of a Polish-German war his Government intended to request the Soviet authorities on the basis of their previous assurances to permit Poland to import via Murmansk a certain amount of essential materials. He ventured the opinion that the Soviet Government would endeavor to fulfill its commercial agreements with both Germany and Poland and that it was possible that the assurances in respect of additional economic assistance in the event of war would be executed to a rough extent.

Steinhardt

18. Not printed.
19. Waclaw Grzybowski.
20. Signed on July 25, 1932; for text, see League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. cxxxvi, p. 41. A protocol signed at Moscow on May 5, 1934, extended the validity of the treaty to December 31, 1945; for text, see ibid., vol. clvii, p. 431.
21. Signed at Moscow, February 19, 1939. See the communiqué of that date issued by the Polish Telegraphic Agency; the Polish White Book, Official Documents concerning Polish-German and Polish-Soviet Relations, 1933–1939 (London, Hutchinson and Co., n. d.), doc. No. 162, p. 182.