Editorial Note
No official record of the substance of the conversation at this luncheon has been found. The information set forth above is derived from the Log, ante, p. 532. According to the account by Elliott Roosevelt (p. 117), it was in the course of this luncheon that the phrase “unconditional surrender” was “born”. Elliott Roosevelt recalls that it was the President, rather than the Prime Minister, who first used the term. It was strongly approved by Hopkins and accepted by the Prime Minister. The President appeared to be especially impressed with the beneficial effect the phrase would have on the Russians.
It is probable that the original “unconditional surrender” discussion between the President and the Prime Minister which Elliott Roosevelt recalls as occurring on January 23 actually had taken place some days earlier. On January 18 the Prime Minister had already suggested the preparation of a statement to the press using the phrase “unconditional surrender”; see ante, p. 635. In speaking to the House of Commons on November 17, 1949, regarding the origin of the phrase (see footnote 6, ante, p. 635), Churchill recalled that the phrase was undoubtedly mentioned in informal talks that he had had with the President during the Conference, probably at meal times. The President had, of course, already informed the Joint Chiefs of Staff on January 7, 1943, of his intention to speak to the Prime Minister about the unconditional surrender formula; see ante, p. 506.