Office of the Historian

740.0011 European War 1939/18729

Memorandum by Mr. L. Randolph Higgs of the Division of European Affairs to the Acting Chief of the Division (Atherton)

[Washington,] January 21, 1942.

Mr. Atherton: You will recall that yesterday Mr. Reed25 of the British Embassy told Mr. Achilles26 that the British Government believed it would be making it easier for Finland to make peace with the Soviet Union, if the British and American Governments should make it clear to the Finnish Government that we are not disposed to be lenient in our attitude toward the continuance of present Finnish policy. Mr. Reed said that at present British propaganda was following this line and in response to his inquiry you approved Mr. Achilles’ informing Mr. Reed that our own attitude coincides with the British attitude in this matter.

To follow out the policy mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, you may wish to consider whether we should have the Minister at Helsinki deflate the present optimistic attitude taken by Witting27 as reported in the Minister’s telegram no. 58 of January 20.28 I attach a draft of a telegram29 to the Minister along these lines.

  1. J. L. Reed, Second Secretary of the British Embassy.↩
  2. Theodore C. Achilles of the Division of European Affairs.↩
  3. Professor Rolf J. Witting, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs.↩
  4. Not printed; the Foreign Minister, on the grounds of reports received from Procopé professed to believe in an increasingly friendly attitude toward Finland developing in Washington, which was being reflected generally in the American press.↩
  5. Not printed, but see telegram No. 23, January 21, to the Minister in Finland, infra.↩