740.00119 (Potsdam)/5–2446
No. 521
Briefing Book Paper
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Suggested United States Policy Regarding Poland
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Reconstruction
In order to implement our policy of establishing a truly independent democratic Polish state, we should be prepared, subject to legislative authority, to assist through credits or otherwise in the reconstruction of Polish agriculture and industry. Immediate action on our part to facilitate by credits and otherwise the supplying to Poland of urgently needed equipment and relief materials will promote in a far-reaching and enduring manner a healthy American influence in Poland, especially in regard to the holding of free elections, the final step in the Yalta program. Our efforts in this regard should be on a national rather than international basis. While the Soviet attitude towards United States economic activities in Poland is uncertain, the present situation in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe is not promising. We should, therefore, insist, in order to [Page 785] guarantee the effectiveness of our efforts and to reap the benefits thereof, that American aid be accorded directly and not through the intermediary of either the Soviet Union or some international organization, such as UNRRA. We should strive to obtain from the New Polish Government of National Unity a promise that it will follow a policy of equal opportunity for American interests in trade, investments and access to information. The rapid establishment of normal friendly relations and contacts between our two countries is particularly important, since the large populations of Polish extraction in our country might otherwise seek to make a domestic American political issue of conditions inside Poland.
- For other sections of this briefing paper, see documents Nos. 483 and 510.↩