Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III

740.00119 EW/12–2945

The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, December 29, 1945—3 p.m.
[Received December 29—12:10 p.m.]

4318. [To Berlin:] Reurtel 102, November 28, to Warsaw and 102, December 15 to Moscow.¹⁷ Embassy has no information of efforts undertaken by Polish representatives for restitution of Polish property from Russian zone. Following comments may, however, be of interest:

1. We doubt that any serious search for or registration of Polish property has been carried out in Russian zone. If Russians have permitted Polish representatives to visit Russian zone and move items to Poland it is probable that this was done for political effect and that Russians having little feeling of responsibility for economic rehabilitation permitted Poles to take pretty much what they liked.

2. In considering number of items which could not be found we suppose Poles have taken into account factors of wartime destruction, scorched earth tactics and Russian removals.

3. We should be interested to know whether Poles regard as property subject to restitution items taken from former German territory now turned over to Poland. This might explain their high estimate of numbers of items believed to be in Russian zone. This estimate of 66,000 items in Russian zone seems to be very much out of line with your statement that no Polish property had been located in US zone. Items removed from German territory now allotted to Poland would, of course, be difficult of identification.

4. It is our impression that any Polish initiative taken with respect to such matters must be regarded as at least approved and probably engineered by Russians for Russian purposes. If Poles are pressing for despatch of Polish representatives to our zones this is very possibly being done primarily for Russian intelligence purposes. In any case we feel no request of this nature should be granted without adequate quid pro quo.

Sent to Berlin as 207, repeated Dept 4318.

Kennan

17. This message was repeated to the Department as telegram 1129, November 28, 9 p.m., from Berlin. It reported the arrival of two Polish officials to discuss restitution of Polish property found in the United States Zone. In the course of discussions, the Poles stated that restitution to Poland from the Soviet Zone was almost complete but that less than 10 percent had been recovered out of an estimate of 66,000 items. (740.00119 EW/11–2845)