Office of the Historian

860C.01/4–1645: Telegram

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

London, April 16, 1945—10 a.m.
[Received 7:15 p.m.]

Poles 51. I saw Mikolajczyk this noon. He told me he had given out his statement32 publicly proclaiming his acceptance of the Crimea [Page 222] decisions concerning Poland (my 51 to Department, 135 to Moscow, April 1633) on rather short notice.

He said that just before leaving for Washington Friday34 evening, Mr. Eden had discussed with him a message received by Churchill from Marshal Stalin. In that message Stalin had referred to British insistence on Mikolajczyk’s inclusion in the Moscow consultations looking toward the formation of a new Polish Government. Stalin had said he would try to prevail on the Lublin Poles not to oppose Mikolajczyk’s inclusion, though the latter had given no indication that he was not sabotaging the Crimea decisions. Eden suggested that in order to disarm this opposition Mikolajczyk make a suitable public statement. Mikolajczyk told Eden that articles carried in his weekly paper Jutro Polski, organ of the Peasant Party, indicate that he accepted the Crimea decisions. Eden suggested publication of a signed article. Mikolajczyk agreed to publish one in this week’s issue of Jutro Polski. This is to appear on next Thursday.35

Yesterday (Sunday) Mikolajczyk saw Churchill at Chequers.36 Field Marshal Smuts37 was also there. Churchill told Mikolajczyk the signed article would be too late. He therefore suggested a public statement at this time. According to Mikolajczyk, both Churchill and Smuts felt such a statement would be of real value and were optimistic about its effectiveness.

Mikolajczyk said he had his own doubts in the matter. Insofar as he was concerned, the Russians were quite capable of saying that they had not asked him for a statement and that it was too late to include him anyway. It was also not excluded that they might use it in order to influence the current conversations which were apparently in progress with the Polish underground leaders. He also realized that by issuing such a statement he would be attacked as “traitor” in many Polish quarters. Incidentally, he foresaw controversy over it in the meeting of the American Polish Congress scheduled to take place in Chicago on April 22. But he did not wish to stand in the way of British and American efforts to bring about a solution of the Polish question. He thought no single individual should be an obstacle. He therefore issued the suggested statement on Sunday evening.38

[Page 223]

Mikolajczyk also thought Churchill wished to have it in connection with the statement which it was announced he would make on Poland in the House of Commons this week.39 “Speaking quite frankly”, he also thought the British might have wanted it in an effort to forestall a possible foreclosure of the situation by an announcement of an arrangement between the Lublin elements and the Polish underground leaders outside the procedure contemplated by the Crimea decisions. There seemed to be some ground for believing that the Russians contemplated an early announcement. He understood Reuters40 had recently received a stand-by notice from their correspondents in Moscow for an important announcement. It was possible that this related to the Polish situation. I mentioned to Mikolajczyk his previously expressed opinion that the Polish underground leaders would be unlikely to accept an arrangement outside the Three Power Commission (my Poles 49 to Department, 132 to Moscow, April 13, 7 p.m.41), He confirmed that that was his opinion. He had seen the rumors carried in the British press yesterday about Wojciechowski42 being envisaged as the President of the new Polish Government and Wihos [Witos] as Premier or Vice Premier. The Polish underground leaders might, of course, change their earlier attitude. They might, for example, be influenced by the terror in Poland and the desire of the Polish people for some solution whereby it might be abated. But he had no definite information.

Repeated to Moscow as 136, sent Department as Poles 51.

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  1. Regarding Mikolajczyk’s public statement of April 15, see footnote 28, p. 219.↩
  2. In a telegram to the Department, also numbered 51, repeated to Moscow as 135, Chargé Schoenfeld transmitted the text of Mikolajczyk’s public statement of April 15 accepting the Yalta agreements on Poland. (860C.01/4–1645)↩
  3. April 13.↩
  4. April 19. For the text of the Mikolajczyk statement, see Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy, pp. 489–90.↩
  5. See footnote 28, p. 219.↩
  6. Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister, Minister of External Affairs, and Minister of Defense of the Government of the Union of South Africa.↩
  7. April 15.↩
  8. On April 19 Prime Minister Churchill postponed his statement on Poland (see Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 410, cols. 402–405).↩
  9. British news agency.↩
  10. Not printed.↩
  11. Stanislaw Wojciechowski, President of Poland, 1922–1926.↩