Office of the Historian

121.893/8–1947

The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Department of State

No. 940
Nanking, August 19, 1947.
[Received August 27.]

The Ambassador has the honor to enclose for the information of the Department, a copy of a memorandum of information he received from Mr. Chen Li-fu, concerning an alleged statement made by Major General N. V. Roschin, Military Attaché of the Soviet Embassy, regarding the mission of General Wedemeyer to China. Considering the source of this information, as well as the fact that General Roschin is famous in Nanking for his scrupulous avoidance of any conversation or comment on any political topic, there may be some doubt as to whether he actually did make this statement. This, however, is largely irrelevant since the statement undoubtedly represents his thinking, as well as that of other Soviet officials. Similar statements in recent weeks have been made by Soviet officials in Nanking. Comparable line is followed by the Soviet Embassy Information Bulletin, by such public comments in Moscow as the Embassy receives, and by Communist radio broadcasts. The only difference is that the public assertions usually adopt a more vicious and vituperative tone.

It seems wholly likely that the lower echelon officials believe their own statements, since they have access to little other information and are blinded by the rigid dogmatism of their own narrow concepts which admit of no divergence from the official interpretations. It seems more unlikely that the high, responsible officials are unaware of the truth but that they deliberately indulge in this line of falsification in the pursuit of their own foreign policy objectives.

[Enclosure]

Memorandum by the Ambassador in China (Stuart)

Under date of August 13, 1947, Mr. Chen Li-fu wrote me in Chinese that according to information received by him, the Military Attaché of the Soviet Embassy, Major General N. V. Roschin, had made the [Page 734] following assertion regarding the mission of General Wedemeyer to China:

“This is part of a detailed plan by U. S. A. in preparation for war against the Soviet Union. By utilizing the manpower in Japan, Korea and China, the U. S. A. need only supply arms, technical personnel and all sorts of raw materials. Japan has already come into line and is no longer a problem. But China and Korea require further attention, so General Wedemeyer has been sent to make an inspection and to induce the Chinese Government to settle the civil war and be prepared for war with the Soviet Union. General Wedemeyer is commissioned to assure the Chinese Government that if it can assume this responsibility, U. S. A. will at once begin large scale aid in order to liquidate the Communist Party, because he is a vigorous opponent of Communism and of the Soviet Union.”

Mr. Chen Li-fu is, of course, notorious for his advocacy of the extermination of Chinese Communism by force and would not hesitate to play upon American fears of Russia. On the other hand, this explicit reference to an individual would scarcely be made without some basis. Assuming this to be the case, is General Roschin acting under instructions, or is this a typical Russian reaction, revealing mistaken but none the less serious suspicions of American policy?

J. Leighton Stuart