Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, Volume VI

860C.51/1–1246

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Durbrow)

[Washington,] January 12, 1946.

Participants:	Mr. Janusz Zoltowski, Vice Chairman, Polish Reconstruction & Supply Commission.10
	Mr. Elbridge Durbrow, EE
	Mr. Burke Elbrick, EE

Mr. Zoltowski called at his request and discussed for over an hour various aspects of the Polish financial question, including the new nationalization decree. He stated that he wished to have a very frank discussion of these matters and he was told that we too would welcome a frank discussion of the many angles of the question.

Mr. Zoltowski stated that he hoped that the State Department would make no more difficulties and grant a substantial credit to Poland since he had learned from the Export-Import Bank that it had no objection to giving considerable credit to Poland but that the State Department had advised the Export-Import Bank to limit the amount of the credit. Mr. Zoltowski was told that this was true and that while the United States Government desired in every way to assist the Polish people, it did not feel that it could make large credits available to the present Polish Government until the latter had given more concrete indications that its international economic policy would be in general conformity with the announced policies of the United States Government. Furthermore, since at Yalta the United States Government had taken before the world definite responsibilities and commitments regarding the holding of free and unfettered elections in Poland¹¹ and since on the basis of many statements made by responsible members of the present Polish Government it was not certain if, as, and when truly democratic, unfettered elections would be held, we could not see our way clear to extending unlimited credits to the Polish Government at this time. Mr. Zoltowski argued that we should not endeavor to tie in political questions with financial matters and stated that in so doing we might lay ourselves open to the accusations made in the past by communist spokesmen that the capitalist countries use financial means to attain political ends. It was explained to Mr. Zoltowski that in not granting unlimited credits at this time, partially because of political reasons, we were not seeking any advantage whatsoever for the United States but were endeavoring solely to assist the Polish people to attain their full independence by insisting that free elections must be held before we could see our way clear to extend further credits.

Mr. Zoltowski referred to the proposed aide-mémoire which had been handed to Dr. Rajchman, outlining the conditions of the United States Government for the granting of credit to Poland.¹² Apart from the question of tying in the elections with the granting of credit, Mr. Zoltowski also endeavored to argue that it would be impossible for Poland to agree to a general economic policy prior to the forthcoming economic conference at which these questions would be settled.¹³ He was told that we, of course, did not expect Poland to give a blank check in advance of the discussions and agreements to be reached at the conference but that, on the other hand, the Polish Government was fully aware of the basic general principles desired by the United States Government as regards foreign economic policy. In this connection he was told that many of the actions taken by his government gave the impression that it was not planning to adopt an economic policy which would fit into the general policies outlined by the United States. It was pointed out to him that certain actions of the Polish Government indicated that it was tending to fall in line with the economic blackout which is being put into practice by the Soviet Government in all Soviet-controlled areas and that if this tendency on the part of the Polish Government continued, he was perfectly aware that it would not conform to the basic economic policies desired by the United States Government. Mr. Zoltowski stated that it was possible that because of the stipulations we had made to the granting of credit the Polish Government may find it impossible to accept a credit under these conditions. He was informed again that while we desired in every way to assist the Polish people, it was not essential to the United States Government to grant a credit, nor were we under any obligations to do so.

Mr. Zoltowski stated that he was sorry that the Export-Import Bank had announced that Poland had asked for a credit of approximately $500,000,000 since while this figure had been mentioned at Potsdam, the situation has since changed and he stated that he personally had been urging Warsaw to drop any requests for a large sweeping credit and substitute therefor requests for specific projects such as railway equipment, port facilities, vehicles, etc. He emphasized that Poland needed goods rather than cash and therefore, according to Mr. Zoltowski, the Polish Government’s proposals will be for specific projects rather than for a specific global sum. Mr. Zoltowski was informed that this procedure conformed to the plans being formulated by the United States Government for a limited Polish credit.

Mr. Zoltowski discussed at some length the new Polish nationalization decree and it developed in the course of the conversation that he, and apparently the Ambassador, had the impression that the newspaper stories to the effect that Ambassador Lane had protested against the nationalization decree were correct. We assured Mr. Zoltowski that Mr. Lane, on the contrary, had specifically stated that the United States Government had no objection to the adoption of nationalization laws since this was the sovereign right of any country. It was explained that Mr. Lane had protested against the attitude taken by the Polish Government in refusing to permit representatives of American firms to visit Poland in order to inspect American-owned property, which privilege we claimed on the basis of the 1931 treaty of Commerce, Navigation, Treaty [sic] and Consular Eights. It was explained to Mr. Zoltowski that for several months Mr. Lane has been endeavoring to obtain permission for American representatives to enter Poland for this purpose but that he had been unsuccessful in his efforts, Mr. Zoltowski stated he was glad to have this explanation of the nationalization question and he gave categoric assurances that the Polish Government would see that American firms received adequate compensation for any properties nationalized and he stated that Ambassador Lange¹⁴ would in all probability make a public statement to this effect. Mr. Zoltowski was assured that this would be helpful.

In connection with the general question of the nationalization decree, Polish financial obligations to the United States, etc., Mr. Zoltowski suggested that it would be advisable to set up a Polish-American group or commission which would discuss all these questions and reach an equitable settlement. Mr. Zoltowski was informed that we also felt it would be advisable to establish such a commission and that we were planning to instruct Mr. Lane to make a formal proposal to the Polish Government regarding the nationalization decree and the liquidation of this question and other outstanding financial matters.

From the outline of the conversation given above it will be noted that we had a very frank, but friendly, discussion of the entire question.

Elbridge Durbrow

10. Zoltowski was also Financial Counselor of the Polish Embassy.
11. For the Declaration on Poland, included as item VI of the Report of the Crimea Conference, issued by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Marshal Stalin as a communiqué on February 11, 1945, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, p. 973.
12. On January 8, 1946, Dr. Ludwik Rajchman, the Chairman of the Polish Supply and Reconstruction Mission in North America, was invited to the Department to receive copies of a memorandum covering the substance of a proposed exchange of notes which would take place concurrently with the commitment for an Export-Import Bank credit to Poland. The undertakings to be assumed by Poland and set forth in the draft aide-mémoire of January 7, 1946, are summarized in telegram 697, January 22, to London, p. 382. Subsequent negotiations resulted in agreement on the texts of notes to be exchanged on the occasion of the conclusion of negotiations for the extension of the Export-Import Bank credit to Poland. For texts of these notes, exchanged on April 24, 1946, see Department of State Bulletin, May 5, 1946, pp. 761–762.
13. On December 6, 1945, the United States Government suggested to the other world governments that a world conference on trade be convened, perhaps in 1946. For text of the United States proposal, see Department of State Bulletin, December 9, 1945, p. 912. For additional documentation on the interest of the United States in the convening of an international conference on trade, see Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. ii, pp. 1328 ff., and Ibid., 1946, vol. i.
14. Oskar Lange, Polish Ambassador in Washington.