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

740.00119 Control (Austria)/4–3045

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of European Affairs (Matthews)

[Washington,] April 30, 1945.

Participants:	The President
	Acting Secretary of State Grew
	Mr. William Phillips90
	Mr. H. Freeman Matthews

Mr. Grew told the President that a government had been set up in Austria obviously under Russian instigation. The only information which we had other than that contained in the press was a notification received on April 27 from the Soviet Government to the effect that Renner, a well known Austrian Socialist leader and former Chancellor, was planning to form a government and that the Soviet did not intend to oppose his administration.⁹¹ Mr. Grew continued that the British Foreign Office had already issued a statement declining to recognize the new government (he read the ticker report) and he thought we should get out a statement along similar lines. Mr. Grew then read a draft statement which the President promptly approved (without change) and which was subsequently issued by the Department.⁹²

Mr. Grew continued that the Prime Minister proposed to register a strong protest at Moscow and asked the President to join him in a message to Stalin.^92a Mr. Grew asked whether the President agreed that we should make some representations to Moscow. He outlined briefly to the President the composition of the Austrian Government and the fact that Moscow-trained Communists seemed to hold the key positions of Minister of Interior and Minister of Education and Religion.⁹³ The President said that he agreed that we should protest against the procedure of the Soviet Government hi acting unilaterally without consultation but not to comment on the composition of the Government. He requested that this protest be delivered by our Embassy at Moscow and a copy sent to Winant to communicate to Prime Minister Churchill. He told Admiral Leahy⁹⁴ to reply to the Prime Minister’s personal message to the President merely stating that we were taking it up through our Moscow Embassy and that Mr. Winant was being directed to give him a copy of our telegram. (These directions were carried out this afternoon.)^94a

H. Freeman Matthews

90. Special Assistant to the Secretary of State.
91. Apparent reference to a communication from Vyshinsky transmitted in telegram 1361, April 26, 6 p.m., from Moscow, p. 94.
92. Infra.
93. The reference here is to Churchill’s messages Nos. 25 and 26, April 30, to President Truman, supra.
93. Austrian State Secretary for Interior (Staatssekretär für Inneres) Franz Honner and State Secretary for Education and Religious Affairs (Staatssekretär für Volksaufklärung, Unterricht und Kultusangelegenheiten) Ernst Fischer.
94. Adm. William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army and Navy.
95. For text of the protest to the Soviet Government, see telegram 981, April 30, to Moscow, below. The reply to Prime Minister Churchill along the lines requested by the President was sent as his message No. 19, not printed.