Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, The British Commonwealth and Europe, Volume III

760C.61/8–3044: Telegram

The Chargé to the Polish Government in Exile (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State

London, August 30, 1944—9 p.m.
[Received 11:59 p.m.]

Poles 88. I saw Romer at 6:30 this evening. He gave me the final text of the proposals which the Polish Government is submitting to Moscow. He said these proposals were being transmitted through Ambassador Lebedev today. He added that they were, of course, a compromise but that following the receipt of approval and suggestions from the Polish Underground they had been unanimously adopted by the Cabinet. The Socialists had thus reversed their earlier vote.

The text of the proposal is as follows:

“After the liberation of the capital of Poland, the Polish Government will be reconstructed on the following lines:

The parties mentioned below will, in equal strength, form the basis of the Government: The Peasant Party, the National Democratic Party, the Polish Socialist Party, the Christian Democratic Labour Party and the Polish Worker’s Party.

The possibility of joining the Government by representatives of the Fascist-minded and non-democratic political groups, also by those responsible for the pre-September 1939 system of Government, was ruled out.

Agreement between the Prime Minister and the political parties concerning the choice of candidates for the Government from amongst these parties will take place in Warsaw, and thereafter the President of the Republic will, on the motion of the Prime Minister, appoint a new Government.

The programme of the Government will rest on the following bases:

The Government will bring about the resumption of diplomatic relations between Poland and the USSR.

The Government will immediately proceed to take over the administration of the liberated Polish lands and to prepare the taking over of the new areas to be surrendered by Germany.

To this end the Government will conclude with the Soviet Government an agreement with the view of defining the forms of collaboration with the Red Army in the military sphere. This agreement will be modelled on and carried out in the spirit of agreements concluded by the Allied powers with the Governments of the liberated countries of western Europe. The Government will assure order in the rear of the Soviet Army.

All foreign troops will be withdrawn from Polish territories on the cessation of hostilities.

The Government will, as soon as possible, arrange for the elections to the Constitutional Diet as well as for elections to the local Government authorities on the basis of a decree providing for universal, equal, direct, secret and proportional suffrage. The elections will take place as soon as normal conditions are established in the country.

The new democratic constitution will be passed immediately after the convocation of the Constitutional Diet. A new President of the Republic will be elected on the basis of this constitution.

The Government will undertake the carrying out of social reforms based on the declarations of principles made during the period of occupation by the representatives of the nation in the homeland and by the Polish Government abroad. In particular the agricultural reforms will be enacted without delay.

Until the convocation of the Constitutional Diet a National Council will be appointed to assist the Government as an advisory body. It will be composed of representatives of the aforesaid five political parties, each of which will be represented by equal numbers. Smaller democratic political groups may also be represented on a correspondingly lesser scale.

The Government will bring about an agreement with the Soviet Government with the view to the joint prosecution of the war against Germany and the laying of foundations for a durable Polish-Soviet friendship after the war based on a Polish-Soviet alliance aiming at close political and economic collaboration between Poland and the USSR, while respecting the principle of the sovereignty of both states and of the mutual obligation of non-interference in the internal affairs of the other state. It will be the object of the alliances to devote constant care to the elimination of all German influence in central Europe and the prevention of the possibility of renewed German aggression.

This object will also be served by the alliances between Poland and Great Britain⁷⁸ and France,⁷⁹ by the conclusion of a Polish-Czechoslovak alliance and by the maintenance of the closest ties of friendship between Poland and the United States of America.

Poland would expect fully to participate in the planning for the safeguarding of peace by a system of general security of peace-loving nations; also to take part in the occupation of Germany, especially of her eastern territories adjacent to the future western boundaries of Poland.

With regard to the settlement of the frontiers of Poland, the Polish Government will act on the following principles agreed upon with the Soviet Government in the spirit of friendship and in respect of the fundamental interests of the Polish nation:

Poland who has made so many sacrifices in this war and is the only country under German occupation which produced no Quisling, cannot emerge from this war diminished in territory. In the east the main centres of Polish cultural life and the sources of raw materials indispensable to the economic life of the country shall remain within Polish boundaries. A final settlement of the Polish-Soviet frontier on the basis of these principles will be made by the Constitutional Diet in accordance with democratic principles.

All Germans will be removed from the territories incorporated into Poland in the north and the west by mutual Soviet-Polish cooperation.

Questions of citizenship and repatriation will be duly settled. Polish citizens who have been interned, arrested or deported both in Poland and on territories of the USSR will immediately be released by the Soviet authorities who will assist in their repatriation.

A voluntary exchange of the Polish, White Russian and Ukrainian population will be carried out.

The prosecution of the war and the general direction of all matters concerning the Polish armed forces will pass into the hands of the Polish Government who will form to this end a war cabinet. The latter will, in particular, be competent in the following matters:

a. Problems connected with the general prosecution of the war,

b. Polish-Soviet military collaboration,

c. Polish-British military collaboration,

d. Military cooperation between Poland and other Allied Nations,

e. Unification of all armed forces of the Polish Republic.

The discussions of the War Cabinet may be attended apart from Ministers appointed by the Council of Ministers, by the Chief of the General Staff, and, if necessary, by the chiefs of the services and the commanders of individual groups of the Polish armed forces.

The Polish armed forces will operate under Polish command; in the eastern zone of operations under Soviet Supreme Operational Command; on other theatres of war under the Supreme Operational Allied Command of the respective area.”

Winant

78. Agreement of mutual assistance between the United Kingdom and Poland, signed at London, August 25, 1939; for text, see British Cmd. 6144 (1939), and with text of secret protocol, British Cmd. 6616 (1945).
79. Protocol on mutual assistance between France and Poland signed at Paris on September 4, 1939; for text, see Das Deutschen Institut fur Aussenpolitische Forschung, Monatshefte fur Auswartige Politik, vol. vi, no. 9/10 (September/October 1939), pp. 914–915, 887–889.