740.0011 LCC/25: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 3—1:40 p.m.]
4454. Sir Orme Sargent, as chairman of the London Political Warfare Coordinating Committee,69 has submitted a memorandum to Bucknell70 for comment concerning the enforcement of unconditional surrender on Axis satellites which he proposes to submit to the Committee.
Text of this proposed memorandum is quoted below:
“At their second meeting on the third March the Committee invited me to seek from my Government a clarification of policy regarding the enforcement of unconditional surrender upon the satellite countries and Finland.
“His Majesty’s Government are of the opinion that a rigid application of this principle to the Axis satellites is likely to hinder rather than further our common aim of getting these states out of the war as soon as possible.
“The Soviet Government are understood to be in sympathy with this view and have in fact departed from the principle in framing terms for Finland and Rumania.
“The United States Government have stated that they would prefer not to abandon the principle of unconditional surrender with regard to the Axis satellites as a group, but are prepared to give favorable consideration to its modification in the specific case of any particular country should it be advantageous to the common cause.
“For the purposes of propaganda to or about these countries, His Majesty’s Government consider there is advantage in each case in refraining from any further reference to unconditional surrender. In the cases of Finland and Rumania, propaganda should conform to practice; and in each case we want to encourage active resistance to the Germans and drive home the recent Three-Power Declaration.
“It is understood that the United States Government do not object to British propaganda following this course and that United States propaganda will take the same line.”
Bucknell would be grateful for the Department’s views regarding this proposal as soon as possible.