Office of the Historian

740.00119 EW/4–2545: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State 32

Washington, April 25, 1945—6:12 p.m.

26. After conference at Pentagon Building with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at which I was present and after a telephone [Page 768] conversation with Churchill, the following message has been sent from the President to Stalin33 and repeated to Churchill34 and Eisenhower:

  • “1. I am informed by the American Minister to Sweden that Himmler speaking for the German Government in the absence of Hitler due to incapacity approached the Swedish government with an offer to surrender all the German forces on the western front including Holland, Denmark, and Norway.
  • 2. In keeping with our agreement with the British and Soviet Governments it is the view of the United States Government that the only acceptable terms of surrender are unconditional surrender on all fronts to the Soviet, Great Britain and the United States.
  • 3. If the Germans accept the terms of paragraph 2 above they should surrender on all fronts at once to the local commanders in the field.
  • 4. If you are in agreement with paragraphs 2 and 3 above I will direct my minister in Sweden to so inform Himmler’s agent.”

This refers to Stockholm’s 1528, April 25, 3 a.m., which has already been repeated to you.

Grew
  1. Secretary of State Stettinius was attending the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco; for documentation, see vol. i, pp. 1 ff.↩
  2. Sent via Army channels as War Department telegram 72808, April 25, to the Chargé in Moscow, with instructions that it be transmitted to Marshal Stalin (740.00119 EW/4–2545).↩
  3. Sent via Army channels as War Department telegram 72816, April 25, to the Ambassador in London, with instructions that it be transmitted to Prime Minister Churchill (740.00119 EW/4–2545).↩