860C.01/1–1045

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State

Lord Halifax11 called upon me at his request this morning. He stated that his Government had taken the definite position that they would not have any dealings with the Lublin Committee but they had dropped in by parachute a few British Army Officers to work with the underground.

I told him we had no plan whatsoever in connection with our relations with Poland other than that made known the other day12 pending a full discussion among the President, the Prime Minister and Stalin.

  1. British Ambassador.
  2. On January 1, 1945, during the course of a news conference and in response to a correspondent’s question as to whether the United States Government was considering recognizing the Lublin Committee’s claim to be the provisional government of Poland, the Secretary of State made the following statement: “This Government continues to maintain formal diplomatic relations with the Polish Government in Exile in London.” (Office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary in Chargé of Press Releases, Verbatim Reports, Press Conferences, 1945, vol. xvi, no. 1). At his press conference of January 4, 1945, when asked by correspondents whether the United States Government had been in communication with the Soviet Government on the question of recognizing the Lublin Committee, the Secretary of State referred correspondents to his previous statement on Polish relations and added that no useful purpose would be served by his discussing the Polish situation any further (ibid., vol. xvi, no. 4).