Editor’s Note
—The two memoranda printed in this appendix were prepared by Charles E. Bohlen in March 1960 on the basis of his original longhand notes of two Truman–Stalin meetings at the Berlin Conference and from memory, in view of the fact that the editors were unable to find the memoranda of conversation which Bohlen is certain he transcribed in July 1945. For literal transcripts of the original longhand notes referred to, see ante, pp. 43–46, 87. With respect to these later reconstructions of the Truman-Stalin meetings of July 17 and 18, 1945, Bohlen has made the following explanatory comment:
“I made no attempt to reproduce the actual words during these interviews, since the notes are too fragmentary to ensure any accuracy even with the exercise of memory. Rather, I have sought to deal in narrative form with the subjects covered.”