Office of the Historian

740.0011 European War 1939/8–1644: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman)

Washington, August 17, 1944—7 p.m.

1962. Your 3020, August 16, 11 p.m.94 The President has authorized you to make personal representations to Stalin, or if he is unavailable, to Molotov to urge the reconsideration of the Soviet attitude in regard to the use of the shuttle bombing arrangements to drop supplies to the Polish Underground forces in Warsaw. You should at the same time point out that, while we earnestly hope that the Soviet Government [Page 1379] will cooperate with the British and American Governments in the matter of furnishing assistance to the Polish Underground forces and that the Soviet Government will for its part furnish such aid as may be practicable under the circumstances, even if such cooperation is not forthcoming, the United States military forces intend in so far as militarily feasible to continue to furnish aid to the Polish Underground forces inside German-occupied Poland since this Government perceives no grounds for departing from its consistent policy of furnishing all possible aid to any forces of the United Nations who are engaged in fighting our common enemy.

The Department desires to commend you for your representations made to Vyshinski on this subject (your 3000, August 15) and in discussing this matter with Stalin or Molotov you are authorized to present the position of this Government in such manner as you consider to be most effective.

The President received your 3028, August 17,95 before approving above instructions, but he still feels that at the present stage of this matter it would be best to act on those instructions and hold in abeyance the question of a personal message from him to Stalin.

Hull
  1. Not printed; this telegram advised the Department that the British Ambassador had been instructed to make representations on the subject of aid to Warsaw directly to Stalin or Molotov, if possible in association with Ambassador Harriman, but not to delay action on this account.↩
  2. Not printed, but see footnote 92, p. 1378.↩