740.00119 E.W./10–1644: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 16—11:21 p.m.]
3953. One of Molotov’s secretaries read to an officer of the Embassy this evening over the telephone a note received by the Foreign Office from the Hungarian delegation in Moscow, dated October 16, of which the following is a paraphrase translation:
Begin paraphrase.
The Soviet Government is requested by the Hungarian Delegation in Moscow to give favorable action to the following:
The three Allied Powers to broadcast a message to the Hungarian people on Hungarian wave lengths, the text of which to be along the following lines:
“Control over the Hungarian radio has been seized by the Germans, as a result of which false information is being spread. The Germans misstated on October 15 an appeal of the Hungarian Chief [Page 912] of Staff.35 They have betrayed the Hungarian people in the most flagrant manner. Hungary has been plundered by them. Russia is not endeavoring to harm the peaceful and normal life of the people of Hungary. The Red Army is not going forward with a view to fighting the Hungarian Army but as a friend, with the purpose to liberate Hungary from the German yoke.” End of paraphrase.
Molotov desired to know whether I would approve of the Soviet radios making a broadcast along the aforementioned lines. I replied that I did not feel that my Government would object to such a broadcast made independently by the Soviet provided, of course, that it was not in the nature of a joint tri-partite statement, in which case I would have to obtain the agreement of my Government. I added that I would cable the Hungarian request to my Government and suggest that it arrange broadcasts in the same sense.
- Gen. János (John) Vörös.↩