Office of the Historian

740.00112 European War 1039/11–2144: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Sioeden (Johnson)

Washington, November 21, 1944—8 p.m.

2347. We are prepared to permit the shipment of buna and tire accessories including crude rubber if the Swedes will agree now that [Page 669] immediately upon the arrival of the shipment in Sweden they will terminate all exports to Germany and pending its arrival will restrict to an absolute minimum by administrative or other measures the quantities of goods still eligible for export to Germany. The crude rubber will be furnished from U.K. stocks. Actual allocation of rubber by CRMB25 is expected in day or so.26

Since U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff have stressed the importance from American military standpoint of total cessation of Swedish exports to Germany even if this involves closure of all Swedish ports, we are not in a position to support British request to Swedes to keep Danish communications and Swedish west coast ports open. As British desire in this respect seems to be based on military and military intelligence considerations, it would seem appropriate for the British Chiefs of Staff to present their views in Combined Chiefs of Staff. In the meantime, however, Department would be guided by views of our own military authorities which are as stated above. Please concert action with your British colleague. You are of course aware of the urgency which this Government attaches to securing objective.

Sent to Stockholm, repeated to London as the Department’s 9804.

Stettinius
  1. Combined Raw Materials Board (United States and Great Britain).↩
  2. The Swedish Minister called on the Secretary of State at the latter’s request on November 21, 1944, and was informed of the substance of this paragraph. He was also advised that President Roosevelt had approved of this policy.↩