860C.01/8–1144: Telegram
The British Prime Minister (Churchill) to President Roosevelt
[740.] This seems to me the best ever received from U. J.
Begins:
I have received your messages of July 25th and July 27th on the subject of departure of Mikolajczyk. Monsieur Mikolajczyk and his party will be given necessary assistance on arrival in Moscow.
You know our point of view on the question of Poland, who is our neighbour and relations with whom have an especial importance for the Soviet Union. We welcome National Committee, which has been created on territory of Poland from democratic forces and I think by creation of this Committee a good start has been made for unification of Poles friendly disposed towards Great Britain, U.S.S.R. and the United States and for the surmounting of opposition on the part of those Polish elements, who are not capable of unification with democratic forces.
I understand the importance of Polish question for the common cause of the Allies and for this very reason I am prepared to give assistance to all Poles and to mediate in attainment of an agreement between them. The Soviet forces have done and are doing everything possible to hasten the liberation of Poland from the German usurpers and to help Polish people in restoration of their freedom and in the matter of welfare of their country.
Ends.
Message of July 25th is contained in my telegram of July 26th. to you.52 Following is text of my message to U. J. of July 27th.
[Page 1301]Begins:
Mikolajczyk and his colleagues have started. I am sure that Mikolajczyk is most anxious to help a general fusion of all Poles on lines on which you and I and the President are I believe agreed. I believe the Poles who are friendly to Russia should join with Poles who are friendly to Great Britain and the United States in order to establish the strong free, independent Poland, the good neighbour of Russia and an important barrier between you and another German outrage. We will all three take good care there are other barriers also.
It would be a great pity and even a disaster if the Western democracies found themselves recognising one body of Poles and you recognising another. It would lead to constant friction and might even hamper the Great business which we have to do the wide world over. Please therefore receive these few sentences in the spirit in which they are sent, which is one of sincere friendship and our twenty year alliance.
- For text of the message of July 25 from Churchill to Stalin contained in this telegram, see Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the U.S.S.R., Stalin’s Correspondence with Churchill, Attlee, Roosevelt and Truman, 1941–45 (English edition published by E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York, 1958), p. 244.↩