740.0011 EW/9-1644: Telegram
The Chargé Near the Polish Government in Exile (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State1
us urgent
Poles 102. Premier Mikołajczyk has requested me to transmit the following appeal of the Council of National Unity in Warsaw addressed to the President, Mr. Churchill and Marshal Stalin, dated September 15th and received in London today:
“On the forty-fifth day of the struggle of the people of Warsaw for the freedom of the capital and of Poland, witnessing the first signs of effective assistance in the form of air cover and dropping of arms and food, the Council of National Unity affirm that this has brought great relief to Warsaw.2
The Council of National Unity stress the inflexible will of the people of Warsaw and of Poland to fight the Germans unto the end for the freedom and independence of Poland. To carry on this fight it is indispensable to supply the soldiers of the home army. The Council of National Unity therefore fervently appeal for continuous dropping of arms, ammunition and food, for permanent air cover to be organized and for the bombing of German concentrations and military objectives. The enemy is attacking the city with continuously reinforced formations. The lack of quick and effective succor may cause a catastrophe.”
Mr. Mikołajczyk indicated that he was conscious that the arrangements made for lending assistance to Warsaw through the American shuttle service and through British planes from Italy had been impeded by weather conditions recently but felt he must underline the continued urgency of assistance as reflected in the foregoing message.3
- Sent over the signature of Winant.↩
- The reference is to a drop of supplies to Warsaw carried out by Soviet planes on September 13, 1944. See Craven and Cate, pp. 316-317.↩
- For a message from Winant dated September 18, 1944, announcing that 107 American planes had dropped supplies over Warsaw on that date, see post, p. 491.↩