740.00119 Council/11–1446
The Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs (Rzymowski) to the Secretary of State
Your Excellency: Acting on the instructions of my Government I have the honor to submit to you the following:
Poland is a direct neighbor of Germany and was for many centuries the object of German aggression and expansion. Over the centuries the German expansion toward the East has led to the incorporation and germanization of large Polish territories. Germany twice has deprived the Polish people of their national independence, and has threatened the very existence of the Polish nation.
In the last war Poland was the first victim of German armed aggression and of German extermination policy. Poland was the first of the United Nations to take up the armed struggle imposed upon her by German invasion. From the first day of September 1939 until the very capitulation of the German army Polish Armed forces carried the struggle on our own territory as well as abroad, on all war-fronts, on land, on the sea, and in the air. In consequence of German invasion [Page 1160] and occupation, Poland suffered untold losses in human lives and in economic and cultural resources.
The Polish-German frontier is longer than that between Germany and any other of her neighbors. The political, social and economic developments in Germany, therefore, are bound to affect deeply the future of the Polish nation.
The Polish nation has thus a legitimate interest in an adequate solution of the German problem. The Polish Government is convinced that the aforementioned facts provide sufficient basis to warrant Poland’s participation in the discussions concerning the future of Germany. The Polish Government believes that the invitation of its representatives to the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, has contributed to constructive solutions which were incorporated in the Potsdam agreement.
In view of the above, the Polish Government requests that it be allowed to present its views and to take part in the deliberations of the Council of Foreign Ministers on those questions relating to the Draft Peace Treaty with Germany which concern the interests of Poland.
I have the honor to beg Your Excellency’s support for this request of my Government, whose desire is to co-operate actively and constructively in arriving at a satisfactory and durable peace.24
I avail [etc.]