862.014/5–1145: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 11—5:10 p.m.]
1540. Pursuant to instructions set forth in Department’s 1033, May 8, 11 a.m., I saw Vyshinski this afternoon, delivered to him a memorandum along the lines set forth in the Department’s telegram and read the contents of it to him in Russian. He was clearly disconcerted by this communication and it was difficult to make anything definite out of his remarks, which were somewhat confused. After reading him the document, I stated that I could show him numerous reports indicating that these districts had been placed under the authority of the Warsaw Government. He replied by saying that reports [Page 294] of this nature were well known to his Government; that it was entirely natural that things should be this way; that it was impossible to prevent a local Polish administration from recognizing the authority of the Polish Government which was recognized by the Soviet Union. He added ironically that after all Russia could hardly be expected to ask Polish officials to acknowledge the authority of the London Government in the existing circumstances.
I said that I took it from his words that he acknowledged that these territories had been turned over to the authority of the Polish Provisional Government. To this he replied hastily that he was not prepared to acknowledge or deny anything whatsoever, that his Government would have to have time to acquaint itself with the communication that I had made, that he was not authorized to make any official statements about it at this time, and that he would submit it to his Government. He stated that he thought, however, that his communication of April 15 would effectively answer my aide-mémoire and that the Soviet Government would have nothing to add to that. I told him that I did not think his communication of April 15 would answer our questions at all and pointed out that it was specifically the statements made in that letter that we failed to understand.
He then said that his communication of April 15 had related only to Danzig and that the future of that city was not finally settled. He reiterated that the Soviet authorities had found it necessary to set up a Polish administration there and he thought it natural that that administration should recognize the authority of the Warsaw Government. I pointed out that neither his note nor my aide-mémoire related solely to the question of Danzig. I said that it was not a question of the establishment of a local administration. We, too, had set up civil administrations with the help of local inhabitants in our zone of occupation in Germany and, incidentally, had been severely criticized for doing so by Soviet publicists such as Ehrenburg. The question was to whom such civil administration should be subordinated. We could understand that it might be responsible to the local Russian commanders but we could not understand its being made responsible to other authorities not concerned with the occupation of Germany. In this connection I repeated that we had numerous reports which indicated that this last was exactly what had been done in the districts of Poland to which I referred.
Vyshinski then said that there were all sorts of press reports and that one could not put much credence in them, particularly in some of them that came from America. I replied that however that might be, I did not think he would be inclined to dispute the seriousness of the Polpress as a source and I read to him an item which had appeared in Polpress for March, to the effect that Bierut, Osubka-Morawski, [Page 295] and Rola-Zymierski had participated in ceremonies at Katowice on the occasion of the incorporation of Silesia into Poland and that Morawski had also visited Gleiwitz and Zazhe where the military commandants had transferred their power to him and to the Silesian Woewode Zawadski.
Vyshinski then remarked that it had been decided at the Crimea Conference that Poland should get these lands. To this I replied in the sense of the last sentence of the Department’s telegram under reference.
I told him in conclusion that for our Government these territories were still parts of Germany occupied by Soviet forces, and that we would be able to view them only in this light in connection with any questions that might arise in connection with them, until such time as it might be agreed otherwise after due consultation and deliberation.
Sent to Department as 1540; repeated to Paris for Murphy37 as 111.
- Robert D. Murphy, United States Political Adviser for Germany.↩