840.20/4–1748

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Douglas ) to the Under Secretary of State ( Lovett )

top secret
personal

Dear Bob : I have had several visits with Churchill since my return, the last being on Thursday when he discussed the possibility of war with the Soviet.

You probably know his view, that when and if the Soviet develop the atomic bomb, war will become a certainty, even though by then Western Europe may have become again the seat of authority and a stable political part of the world. He believes that now is the time, promptly, to tell the Soviet that if they do not retire from Berlin and abandon Eastern Germany, withdrawing to the Polish frontier, we will raze their cities. It is further his view that we cannot appease, conciliate, or provoke the Soviet; that the only vocabulary they understand is the vocabulary of force; and that if, therefore, we took this position, they would yield.

You know better than I the practical infirmities in the suggestion. They cover quite a wide range, including the political.

Churchill believes also that if the Soviet try to inconvenience us in Berlin,1 we should retaliate by insisting upon a careful examination of the crews of every one of their ships putting into our ports, by annoying their shipping and their use of the Suez and Panama Canals, and by any other method which appears to be appropriate.

I, myself, doubt very much the wisdom of this policy, principally because it won’t cause enough inconvenience. It seems to me to wave the strand of straw, disguised as a club, would have no effect. On every score the other measures about which we have been talking, if taken reasonably soon, may present to our friends to the east such a demonstration of solidity and irresistible force that we may be able to deter the Soviet and to quash any ideas that they may have. I am inclined to think that such a demonstration, even though the Soviet may ultimately develop—if they have not already developed—the atomic bomb, may deter them.

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I think there is much in what Churchill says; that we cannot appease, conciliate, or provoke the Soviet; that we can only arrest and deter them by a real show of resolution. Such a demonstration of determination, combined with the re-establishment of Western Europe as a center of power, may lead to a satisfactory settlement.

Kindest regards and best wishes.

Yours ever,

Lew
  1. At this point Ambassador Douglas added the handwritten interpolation “(as they are doing)”.