Office of the Historian

860C.51/8–444

Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius) to the Secretary of State

[Washington,] August 4, 1944.

Mr. Secretary: In your absence I have just received a letter from General Marshall,77 presenting the views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding the allocation of ten million dollars for the use of the Underground Forces of the Polish Government in Exile.

In July the Joint Chiefs approved this allocation provided that the activities of the Polish Underground were closely coordinated with the military operations of the Red Army.

In view of the Soviet recognition of the Polish Committee of National Liberation,78 the Joint Chiefs feel this proviso may not be fulfilled and suggest that the allocation of the funds be temporarily deferred.

E[dward] S[tettinius]
  1. General of the Army George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army.↩
  2. The Polish Committee of National Liberation had been established in Kholm (Chelm) by a decree of July 21, 1944, by the National People’s Council of Poland. It soon transferred its activities to Lublin. See also telegram 2856, August 3, 8 p.m., from Moscow, p. 1428.↩