Office of the Historian

762.61114/6–3045: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman)

Washington, June 30, 1945—2 p.m.

1471. Important German secret records now being examined in Germany by joint FonOff–State Dept. team include following relative to shooting of son of Stalin while allegedly attempting escape from prison camp: (1) letter dated April 1 [22], 1943 from Himmler11 to Ribbentrop12 re incident; (2) photographs; (3) several pages of documentary evidence.13

FonOff suggested that British and American Governments present originals of above documents to Stalin and wished to instruct Clark Kerr14 to inform Molotov that these documents had been found in Germany and to request Molotov’s advice as to proper manner of making them available to Stalin. Clark Kerr was to state that they were a joint UK/US find and were to be presented by FonOff and US Embassy. Winant informed FonOff that in our opinion that presentation, if made, should be in name not of FonOff and Embassy but FonOff and State Dept.

Dept. will appreciate views of Embassy on appropriate manner of making these documents available to Stalin. If you think it advisable, you might request Molotov’s advice on this matter, proceeding jointly with Clark Kerr in case he has been similarly instructed.14a

Grew
  1. Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the German Police and leader of the Nazi Elite Guard.↩
  2. Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Minister for Foreign Affairs, 1938–45.↩
  3. The United ‘States Political Adviser for Germany, Robert D. Murphy, forwarded to the Department of State in despatch 558, July 5, 1945, from Frankfurt (840.414/7–545) a roll of microfilm containing 19 frames regarding the shooting of Stalin’s son, Lt. Yakov Dzhugashvili, on April 14, 1943, while he was attempting as a prisoner of war to escape through electrified wire surrounding the Special Camp A in Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg.↩
  4. Sir Archibald J. K. Clark Kerr, British Ambassador in the Soviet Union.↩
  5. For a time, consideration was given by the United States and British Governments to finding an appropriate way to present these documents and photographs to Stalin. After more careful study of the incident and its background, the Foreign Office proposed to drop the original idea of presenting the evidence to Stalin, because the unpleasant and unsavory revelations of the documents could not have been of any comfort to Stalin. Since nothing had been revealed to any Soviet official about the discovery of these documents, the Department informed Ambassador Harriman in telegram 1895, August 23 (840.414/8–945), that it had agreed that the documents should not be given to Stalin.↩