Foreign Relations of the United States, Conference at Quebec, 1944

Roosevelt Papers

Draft of a Statement by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill¹

[Undated.]

The Italian people, freed of their Fascist and Nazi overlordship, have in these last twelve months demonstrated their will to be free, to fight on the side of the democracies, and to take a place among the United Nations devoted to principles of peace and justice.

We believe we should give encouragement to those Italians who are standing for a political rebirth in Italy, and are completing the destruction of the evil Fascist system. We wish to afford the Italians a greater opportunity to aid in the defeat of our enemies.

Italy has made real progress these last twelve months.² We believe the United States and Great Britain should give her³ greater political recognition, and we propose to invite the Italian government to send its own direct representatives to Washington and London, and on our part we will give our representatives at Rome the status of ambassadors.

First and immediate considerations in Italy are the relief of hunger and sickness and fear. To this end we have instructed our representatives at the pending conference of UNRRA to declare for the sending of food and clothing and medical aids⁴ to Italy.

Along with this is the need for first steps to be taken⁵ toward the reconstruction of an Italian economy—an economy wrecked⁶ under the years of the misrule of Mussolini, and ravished by the German policy of vengeful destruction.

These steps should be taken primarily as military aims to put the full resources of Italy and the Italian people into the struggle to defeat Germany and Japan. We should assist the Italians in the restoration of their power systems, their railways, motor transport, roads and other communications, and send our engineers, technicians and industrial experts into Italy to speed the work of rehabilitation.

The Italian prisoners of war should be given opportunity to volunteer their full efforts in the fight against the enemy, to carry the flag of Italy into battle against Germany and Japan.

We should all look toward that day⁷ when the last vestiges of Fascism in Italy will have been wiped out, when the last German will have left Italian soil, and when there will be no need of any Allied troops to remain—the day when free elections can be held throughout Italy.⁸

1. Attached to this draft in the Roosevelt Papers is the following typewritten notation: “This was not sent. It was one of many drafts. F[ranklin] D. R[oosevelt]. (Quebec Conference File)”.
2. This sentence has been crossed out by hand on the source text. The words “and other essential supplies” have been inserted by hand at this point.
3. The word “her” has been changed to “Italy” by hand on the source text. The manuscript changes described in this footnote and in those which follow are all in Boettiger’s handwriting.
4. The word “wrecked” has been changed by hand to “laid low”.
5. This passage has been changed by hand to read: “At the same time, first steps should be taken”.
6. The word “wrecked” has been changed by hand to “laid low”.
7. This passage has been changed by hand to read: “We all wish to speed the day”.
8. The following clause has been added by hand at the end of this sentence: “and when Italy can begin to take her own high place in the great family of democratic nations.”