861.01B11/152
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius) to the Secretary of State
The Secretary: As requested, I have talked to Joe Davies23 today relative to asking Ambassador Gromyko informally to withdraw the [Page 1233] request pertaining to Kravchenko. Mr. Davies stated that he had made this request twice before and had gotten nowhere and he thought it would be useless to ask again. He said if you thought it wise he would be willing to address a personal letter to Stalin on the subject. I urged that he not do this, however, without your agreeing to it.
I finally persuaded Mr. Davies to have another conversation with Ambassador Gromyko in an attempt to get him to withdraw the request, and he has promised to report to you or me again on the matter within the next few days.24
- Joseph E. Davies, former Ambassador to the Soviet Union during parts of 1937 and 1938. On May 10, at the Soviet Embassy, he had mentioned to Under Secretary of State Stettinius, “that he felt the Kravchenko case was quite important, and he hoped it would not be pressed.” (861.01B11/152)↩
- Davies informed Stettinius by telephone on June 2, that he was to have lunch with Ambassador Gromyko, when he would further pursue this matter. He still felt that it might be necessary for him to write a letter before the matter could be effectively handled. (861.01B11/6–244)↩