860C.014/4–1845: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 18—11:59 p.m.]
1251. My next following message transmits the text of the reply received from Vyshinski to Ambassador Harriman’s inquiry of April 8 concerning the possible incorporation into Poland of certain territories in the Soviet military zone in Germany.
It will be seen that Vyshinski in this reply makes the following three points: [Page 230]
- 1.
- That in the districts in question the German population has left and only the Polish population remains behind.
- 2.
- That the Polish population constitutes the basic population of these areas, and
- 3.
- That the transfer of the areas to Polish civil administration “has no relation to the question of boundaries”.
I wish to point out that none of these points can be substantiated.
With respect to the first point, there have been numerous indications in the Soviet press that while large numbers of Germans have indeed fled at the approach of the Red Army there are also considerable numbers which have remained behind.
Secondly, as the Department is aware, it is not generally true that the Poles constitute the basic element of the population in any of these districts.
Thirdly, with respect to the assertion that the establishment of Polish civil administration in these areas has no relation to the question of boundaries, I wish to make the following comments:
- a.
- This flatly contradicted by the manner in which these transfers have been portrayed to the Polish and Russian peoples. All the resources of a controlled press in both countries have been mobilized to make it clear to the public that these were straight cessions of territory in the most formal sense of the term. Such words as “final” and “inalienable” have been liberally used. I refer in this connection to Mr. Harriman’s telegram 1091, April 9, 9 a.m. [p.m.], in which examples were given of the press treatment both in Poland and Russia of the ceremonies of transfer of administration. Since the date of despatch of that telegram a considerable amount of further material of this sort has been received in the Embassy. If, therefore, there is any sincere incognation [inclination] on the part of either Russian or Polish authorities to view these arrangements as temporary and provisional this has been assiduously concealed from the public in these countries, and it is clear that the changes are being deliberately presented to the Polish and Russian peoples in such a way as to prejudice politically any removal of the territory at a later date from Polish administration.
- b.
- The Department will wish to give particular attention to the implications of this situation from the standpoint of reparations, bearing in mind that the Russians have made it evident that Poland, in their opinion, should be one of the principal reparations-receiving powers. It is difficult to see how the existence of Polish administration in these districts could fail to operate in such a way as to remove the areas effectively from the reparations-paying sections of German territory.
- c.
- While this Embassy does not have the EAC documents bearing on this question, we understand from the British that the EAC agreements actually stipulated that no part of Germany should be handed over to the “administration of a power not represented on the commission”. If this is correct, even though the Russian thesis that this has nothing to do with boundaries were accepted, it would still not [Page 231] operate to justify the turning over of the areas unilaterally to Polish administration.