860C.01/3–1545
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State22
| Participants: | Mr. Stettinius |
| Polish Ambassador | |
| Mr. Arthur Bliss Lane23 |
The Ambassador started the conversation by saying that Mr. Grew and other officers in the Department whom he had seen had expressed their regret that they could not discuss with the Ambassador the happenings at Yalta and had referred the Ambassador to the Secretary. Mr. Ciechanowski, while realizing how pressed the Secretary is for time, felt that he owed it to his Government in London to report the Secretary’s views regarding the Yalta Conference especially in view of the very critical situation in which Poland now finds itself. The Ambassador said that he would not be frank if he did not express his grave apprehension regarding the unilateral developments subsequent to the Yalta Conference which indicate that the principles enunciated in the communiqué are being ignored. He referred specifically to the arbitrary setting up of a new Rumanian Government and the arbitrary donation by Stalin of Transylvania to Rumania. He said that as the United States is the only country of the three represented at Yalta which does not take unilateral action in Europe, it is of the utmost importance to Poland that the United States Government should know the views of the Poles. Furthermore, the Ambassador continued, he wished if it were possible to explain to his countrymen the point of view of our Government which he fears will be misunderstood if what has happened now in Rumania will be permitted to happen in Poland.
The Ambassador said that what he feared most of all was that the Government which would be set up in accordance with the Yalta communiqué would be composed, as is the present Lublin Government, of elements which are not in the least democratic and which are controlled by Moscow. He said that even the Polish nationality of [Page 166] some members of the Lublin Government can be questioned and that they are all Communists.
The Secretary said that the gist of what happened at Yalta so far as Poland is concerned was an agreement that a new government be set up composed of Poles from within and without Poland and that elements of the Lublin Government should be represented. It was agreed, the Secretary continued, that a commission composed of Mr. Molotov, Mr. Harriman and Sir A. Clark Kerr should meet in Moscow following the Crimea Conference and invite various elements to come.
The Polish Ambassador interrupted at this moment to inquire whether any Poles had arrived in Moscow. With the Secretary’s permission, Mr. Lane replied that as yet none had arrived in as far as official messages to the Department indicated.
The Secretary said that at the Yalta conversations, emphasis was placed on the word “new” in describing the government which was to be set up. He said furthermore that emphasis was placed on the holding of secret elections to elect a permanent government.
The Ambassador expressed doubt that any free or secret elections could be held especially if the United States did not have observers in Poland. He inquired whether it was our intention to send observers to make certain that elections would be freely held.
This question was not answered as the Ambassador immediately inquired whether Mr. Mikolajczyk was going to Warsaw. The Secretary replied that both the President and he had emphasized at the Yalta Conferences the importance of Mr. Mikolajczyk being included, as it was felt that he was one of the outstanding Polish leaders. The Secretary observed, “He is a grand man”, and he expressed the opinion that it would be essential for the success of the negotiations for Mr. Mikolajczyk to be consulted.
The Ambassador then inquired regarding the progress of the negotiations. The Secretary said that due to his absence from Washington he was not aware of all the details and requested Mr. Lane to comment regarding the progress. Mr. Lane said that there had not been any meetings for a few days. He understood that Ambassador Clark Kerr had been forced to undergo an operation on his eye. This undoubtedly may have resulted in some delay. Mr. Lane said, however, that several meetings had taken place between the three commissioners.
(The conversation was interrupted several times by the Secretary having been called to the telephone, once by an extended long distance conversation with Mayor Roger Lapham of San Francisco.)
[Page 167]The Polish Ambassador expressed keen disappointment that the Polish Government in London had not been invited to the San Francisco Conference. He pointed out that Poland had declared war against Japan three days after Pearl Harbor,24 had been the first power to fight against the Nazis, had suffered more than any other nation in percentage of persons killed, imprisoned and deported, was the only occupied country which had no Quislings, and even today Polish troops are continuing to fight outside of Poland against the enemy. He said that it would be very difficult to explain to his people why Poland is not represented.
Mr. Lane said that during the Secretary’s absence Acting Secretary Grew had expressed the hope to the correspondents for background that the new Provisional Government of National Unity in Poland would be set up prior to April 25 so that Poland could be represented at the Conference.
The Ambassador expressed his great gratitude to the Secretary for receiving him at a moment when he realized the Secretary is very much occupied with other matters, but because of the tremendous importance not only to Poland but to the world that the Yalta decisions should not be disregarded he wished again to impress on the Secretary his apprehension as a result of the unilateral action in Rumania. The Ambassador said that he would continue to do all he could to maintain the traditional friendship between Poland and the United States but it would be very difficult for the Poles both within and without Poland to understand any attitude of acquiescence on our part with the setting up of a Communist government and the holding of farcical elections in Poland.
The Secretary expressed agreement as to the importance of carrying out the Yalta agreement and expressed the hope that the negotiations now being held in Moscow would result in a representative government being formed.
- See Jan Ciechanowski, Defeat in Victory (New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1947), pp. 362–364, for a description of a meeting which the Polish Ambassador had with the Secretary of State on March 14, presumably the same meeting described in this memorandum of conversation.↩
- Ambassador-designate to Poland.↩
- Reference is to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.↩