Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, Europe, Volume IV

711.62114/12–144

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Bohlen) to the Secretary of State

[Washington,] December 1, 1944.

Mr. Stettinius: On your instruction I called this afternoon on the Soviet Ambassador. He said he desired to take up urgently the matter of the Soviet citizens who were still in prisoner of war camps in this country. He said that neither he nor his Government were able to understand why so long a delay had occurred in segregating these individuals and turning them over to the Soviet authorities. Furthermore, the treatment these men were receiving was in his opinion not in accordance with treatment which should be extended the citizens of one Allied nation by another.

The Ambassador then said he had a series of specific incidents of the treatment which he had in mind apart from the general question of delay in segregation and transfer of these Soviet citizens. The Ambassador listed the following specific complaints:

1. That Soviet citizens had been required to sign a statement to the effect that they would undertake to enter the Red Army when released and in so doing fully understand that if they were captured by the Germans they might be subject to summary execution by the German authorities and would not be covered by internation[al] conventions. The Ambassador admitted he understood that in the future Soviet citizens in the camps would not be required to sign this statement.

2. That at a camp at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, the Soviet officer who had visited the camp had been greeted with the Nazi salute on the part of the Soviet citizen confined who had stated that this was done under orders of the American commandant.

3. The Soviet Embassy, despite its request, had not been consulted as to the type of work these Soviet citizens should perform in the camps.

4. Soviet officers had not been permitted to visit all of the camps in which Soviet citizens were believed to be confined.

5. Despite the request of the Embassy through its Military Attaché⁸⁷ no list of Soviet citizens in these camps had been presented to the Embassy.

6. That anti-Soviet literature was still being distributed to Soviet citizens in these camps. The Ambassador particularly mentioned Camp Winchester where Soviet citizens were already segregated. Nevertheless, he said, a Lieutenant Kivko, whom he believed to be a chaplain, had brought in a suitcase full of a Russian language publication called Rossiya which is violently anti-Soviet, and he distributed it to the Soviet citizens there. The Ambassador requested that copies of Soviet newspapers be permitted to be distributed in the camps where Soviet citizens had already been segregated. I told him that I understood that this would be done as soon as the Soviet citizens were collected in Camp Rupert and that I would inquire as to other camps.

7. That at Camp Winchester against the wishes of the Soviet citizens there religious services had been held by priests of the branch of the Orthodox Church hostile to the Soviet Union.

I listened carefully to what the Ambassador had to say and took notes. I then told the Ambassador that we had discussed this question with the appropriate authorities of the War Department, and I could assure him, and requested him so to inform his Government, that there was not the slightest desire on the part of the War Department or any part of this Government to delay the segregation and return to the appropriate Soviet authorities the prisoners of war who turn out to be Soviet citizens.

I added that I had just been informed by the War Department that in a week they would begin the transfer to Camp Rupert, Idaho, of all persons in the prisoner of war camps who had any claim to Soviet citizenship and that once they were there the administration of the camp would be carried out in consultation with Soviet officials. I added that Colonel Saraev, the Soviet Military Attaché, had been informed by the War Department this morning that this would be done and that he had been promised that 700 Soviet citizens would be available for transfer to Soviet ships expected in the West Coast on December 20 which according to his statement was the maximum which could be handled by these ships.

I then emphasized to the Ambassador that although he had throughout his statement referred to these men not as prisoners of war but as the citizens of an Allied friendly country, in fact until their citizenship was established they were regarded by our military authorities as prisoners of war since they had been captured by the American Army on the field of battle, they were in German uniform and formed part of German combat units actively engaged in fighting United States forces. I said that under the circumstances they had obviously been treated as prisoners of war since our authorities had no way of knowing in the first instance they were Soviet citizens. I added that I was sure that in analogous circumstances the Soviet military authorities would have taken the same position. In this connection I added that I understood that the Red Army had captured a number of French citizens and that negotiations had been in progress for some months between the Soviet and French Governments and that while some of the citizens had been released there were a considerable number of others which the Soviet military authorities had not been able to segregate and to identify.

I told the Ambassador that I knew our military authorities were most anxious to settle this matter quickly, and as soon as any individuals were identified as possible claimants to Soviet citizenship they were being assembled for transfer to Camp Rupert. I added that I understood from our military authorities that until this was done it would be impossible to put into effect all the specific requests that the Ambassador had made since these men were in many cases still mixed in with genuine German prisoners of war. I repeated that Soviet citizens would be at once sent to Camp Rupert and that every one of his specific requests would be given the most sympathetic consideration. I said that I felt, however, I could answer some of the specific points that he had brought up.

I said, for example, that although I had not previously seen the form of the statement which in the past had been required, I felt sure upon reading it that its purpose was to protect the United States authorities under the Geneva Convention in order to assure that the individual whose release was contemplated was fully aware of the conditions under international law of his release. I added that I could not agree with the Ambassador that it was designed to intimidate these men and prevent them from accepting release.

I said that in regard to the question of the Nazi salute I was sure that it had not been done under the instructions of any American officer but that there was some other explanation.

As to the distribution of the anti-Soviet newspaper Rossiya I had been told by the War Department that it was not on the approved list and that if any individual American officer was distributing it, it would be investigated immediately.

As to the question of visits to the other camps I said it was my understand[ing] that Colonel Saraev had already visited Camp Winchester and would visit Camp Dix next Monday but that in view of the imminent transfer of all Soviet personnel to Camp Rupert our military authorities did not consider it practical to visit other camps since to do so would merely delay the transfer of the Soviet personnel to Camp Rupert. I added that this seemed sensible to me since if Colonel Saraev or his representatives were to visit other camps the Soviet personnel would have to be held there pending his arrival and the transfer delayed until he had made his investigation. In conclusion I emphasized strongly to the Ambassador that it was not to the interest of the American Government to the slightest degree to delay the settlement of this question but quite the contrary and repeated that the difficulties had arisen from the fact that these men had been captured in many cases in actual combat and that it had been a difficult and complicated task to attempt to segregate them since many had no documents and it was very often [difficult?] to distinguish between who was a Soviet citizen and who was merely of Russian origin. Although at the beginning of the conversation the Ambassador in every case had attempted to build up a thesis of calculated purpose behind these various instances, at the end of the conversation he appeared to accept my statements and merely urged that the question be handled as expeditiously as possible in accordance with the request of the Soviet Government.

Charles E. Bohlen

87. Col. Ilya Mikhailovich Sarayev.