874.00/8–945
Memorandum by Mr. Josiah N. Macy of the International Information Division to the Assistant Secretary of State (MacLeish)
Subject: Moscow’s Secret Telegram No. 2835, August 9, 1945
Although he did not divulge the nature of the action, Mr. Durbrow27 informed INI that he is recommending that the Department take action to prevent the imposition of a dictatorship of the Communist minority in Bulgaria. If the action he has recommended does not achieve the desired results, Mr. Durbrow is in favor of our following Ambassador Harriman’s suggestion that the Department give the American press background material on the Bulgarian elections.
Entirely aside from the question of whether or not this Government proposes to take action to prevent the imposition of a dictatorship of the Communist minority in Bulgaria, there is the very definite obligation of this Department to the American people to see that the true story of the elections in Bulgaria is told them. Reference is made to the text of the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the Potsdam Conference in which it was stated: “The three Governments have no doubt that in view of the changed conditions resulting from the termination of the war in Europe, representatives of the Allied press will enjoy full freedom to report to the world upon developments in Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland.”
The American people will be satisfied with nothing less than accounts by their own press association representatives of any elections in Bulgaria. To be an intelligible report, these correspondents must have complete background information and the American public must have sufficient background information to put spot news reports in their proper perspective.
INI recommends that without regard to whatever action the Department may take with regard to these elections, this Government should join with the British in providing the press with facts concerning the background of these elections, and further, that this background be made available to the American public, and that this Government insist that representatives of the American press associations be enabled to cover these elections.28