760C.61/4–943
Memorandum by Mr. Elbridge Durbrow of the Division of European Affairs96
While the attached despatch from Ambassador Biddle97 reporting the Polish Government’s point of view of the internal situation of Poland should be evaluated as being solely from Polish sources, the information contained therein relative to the difficulties between the Polish Government’s underground and the Soviet Government’s underground in Poland is of interest.
According to these Polish reports, Communist partisans in Poland, which allegedly are composed of escaped Russian prisoners of war and Polish Communists under the direction of Soviet officers dropped by parachutes, are endeavoring to undermine and cause the liquidation of the Polish Government-in-Exile’s underground groups. The method used is apparently to identify the Polish Government’s underground members and expose them to the Gestapo. Furthermore the pro-Soviet partisans are apparently adopting the same tactics as those in Yugoslavia, that is to carry on sabotage and other activities at the present time rather than waiting until a more favorable opportunity arises to act.
[Page 373]In connection with the activities of the Soviet partisans in Poland who have apparently been advised to carry on extensive sabotage activities at the present time in order to weaken the German war effort, it is interesting to recall that according to reports received from the Polish Ambassador in Kuibyshev he recently suggested to Stalin that, if the Soviet authorities thought it would be necessary, General Sikorski could have his underground organization carry on extensive sabotage activities such as blowing up bridges and disrupting transportation in general. Mr. Stalin replied that he did not think the time was opportune to avail himself of the activities of these persons but he would keep it in mind.
These alleged Soviet activities tie in with the program sponsored by the newly launched Polish paper in Moscow Free Poland and indicate that the Soviet Government is at least keeping the way open to establishing a Communist Poland if it should prove advantageous. The attached clipping from the New York Times98 quoting from a recent issue of Free Poland is of interest in this connection. It is particularly significant that Free Poland in a recent issue stated that it supports the Polish-Soviet Agreement of 1941 as a basis for future relations. It will be remembered that to all intents and purposes the Soviet Government has broken all the stipulations in that Agreement except that they still maintain diplomatic relations.
These indications point to the possibility that the Soviet Government may desire to cause a break with the Polish Government-in-Exile and set up a Moscow-controlled “Free Poland”.