740.0011 European War 1939/12246: Telegram
The Minister in Finland (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7 p.m.]
209. In audience with President Ryti this afternoon I inquired whether reports were true that German forces in northern Finland had moved or were moving eastward in Rovaniemi area towards [Page 38] Russian border. He answered that these reports were not true. Movements of German forces in Finland remained within framework of transit agreement of last September which provided that number of troops moving in each direction should be approximately the same. German forces moving southward had not yet reached ports of embarkation and President did not indicate that their immediate departure was expected. He said German High Command had requested permission to use certain roads situated further to east of Rovaniemi than those heretofore used to reduce congestion in present troop movements since northward and southward moving columns were now meeting.
President told me that about 87 German transports had recently arrived in Finnish ports and that he knew first 38 of them carried 6,500 troops so that he estimated total force which had arrived at approximately 15,000 or one division.
President said he expected next few days to be critical in German-Soviet relations but that up to last Sunday no ultimative demands had been made by Germans upon Russians. Since then it was possible such demands had been made but if so he had no information regarding them other than report previously received from his Minister at Washington summarizing statements apparently made to him in Department of State on this subject. Nevertheless there had been greatly increased activity of Russian spies in this country recently and, while it was true that there had been no great increase of Russian forces in northern area facing Finnish frontiers, one further division had recently arrived at Viipuri96 and no one knew how many divisions Russia had available in Leningrad district which could easily be transported to Finnish frontier.
President pointed out that if there should be hostilities between Germans and Russians it would be natural to expect latter to make effort to seize demilitarized Aland Islands in order to cut the north–south communications of Germans and that Russians might similarly attempt sudden seizure of Åbo and Helsinki. It was against these possibilities that I gathered present Finnish mobilization was more especially directed. President told me in confidence that strength of Finnish division prior to present mobilization had been approximately two battalions for each division or roughly 2,000 men.
The President seemed well aware of necessity for Finland not to become actively involved on German side but he also intimated that elimination by Germans of the Russian menace remained a thought not unwelcome to the Finish mind.
[Page 39]President spoke at some length regarding question of peace and its organization following war, reiterating his previously expressed view that if war continues to point of exhaustion, or if another war should follow present one in another quarter century, civilization of white race must collapse. He seemed to exclude Russia from proposed postwar reorganization and alluded to possible expediency of German control over Ukraine and the Don basin, mentioning German colonial aspirations as limited to Tanganyika Territory in Africa. He was quite confident Germans would not willingly declare war upon the United States and expressed hope that we would not enter war as a declared belligerent because he felt that as only non-belligerent great power except Russia, United States was an essential fulcrum on which to base peace settlement.
The President seemed very tired and said he had been under intense strain, reiterating opinion that next few days were critical in German-Soviet relations.
- Vyborg.↩