740.0011 European War 1939/32269: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:30 p.m.]
2164. The Soviet press reports of publicity given throughout the Soviet Union to the Tehran Conference37 strongly indicate that the Government has utilized the enthusiasm engendered by the Conference as an aid in its continuing campaign for increased war production. The accounts of meetings in factories throughout country report that the workers pledged by doubled effort to help realize plan adopted at the Conference.
Other indications of the interweaving of Conference with the war production drive are furnished by factory director A. Elyan’s statement in Izvestiya, December 8, that workers of his factory would answer the Tehran declarations with renewed efforts and IzvestiycHs editorial of same date exhorting workers to greater effort.
Press, December 9, devoted even more space than on preceding day to similar material.
Izvestiya gave over a quarter of front page to accounts of factory meetings. These were headed “Still more planes, tanks, armaments and munitions to the Red army.” A subhead stated that Soviet people [Page 607] was answering decisions of the leaders of the three Allied Powers with new feats of labor.
This presentation of the Conference to Soviet people indicates the Government is taking energetic measures to guard against any possible slackening of effort which might be engendered by optimistic reactions to Conference. There is also suggestion in this attitude of a desire to remind Soviet people that the achievement of victory still requires an all out effort on their part.
- For documentation on the conferences between President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier StaUn, with their advisers, at Tehran between November 28 and December 1, 1943, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943.↩