740.00119 Potsdam/6–645
Memorandum of the Sixth Hopkins–Stalin Conversation at the Kremlin, June 6, 1945, 6 p.m.85
| Present: | Mr. Harry L. Hopkins |
| Ambassador W. A. Harriman | |
| Mr. Charles E. Bohlen | |
| Marshal Stalin | |
| Mr. V. M. Molotov | |
| Mr. Pavlov |
Mr. Hopkins said if it was agreeable to Marshal Stalin he wished to pursue and he hoped to reach a conclusion in regard to the Polish matter they had already discussed. He said he hoped it would be possible to reach an agreement between themselves in regard to lists of Poles to be invited to Moscow to consult with the Commission and the representatives of the Warsaw Government. He said he had anticipated some difficulty in regard to the list from London due to the fact that there was no representative of the Christian Labour Party on the list. The representative of this party, it was felt, would strengthen the list and give more weight to the decision reached after the consultations. He said there were two ways of settling this: (1) to substitute Popiel for Kolodzei, or (2) simply to add Popiel to the list to be invited from London.
Marshal Stalin said he much preferred to remain within the limits set at the Crimea Conference, namely five from wathin Poland and three from London. He said if we departed from these limits there would be no end to the discussions and additions. He said further if it was felt that Popiel was essential he could be substituted for Stanczyk or Grabski. He would have no objection to that.
Mr. Hopkins remarked that Grabski was ill and could not come.
Marshal Stalin continued that if there was objection to Kolodzei he could be replaced by Julian Zakowski. He said that Zakowski was an engineer teaching at Liverpool University and a non-party man.
Mr. Hopkins said that he had no information concerning Zakowski and would like to check, but suggested that they agree on the list from [Page 329] Poland since that was apparently acceptable to all and that from London it be agreed that Mikolajczyk and Stanczyk and either Kolodzei or Zakowski come. He said he could tell Marshal Stalin on behalf of the United States and British Governments that such a list would be acceptable.
Marshal Stalin agreed to this.
Mr. Hopkins said he assumed that the Commission would promptly issue invitations to these eight Poles and of course to the representatives of the Warsaw Government to come to Moscow for consultation.
Marshal Stalin agreed.
Mr. Hopkins continued that President Truman and the Prime Minister would send messages to Marshal Stalin officially confirming this list. He added that his mission here had not been to attempt to settle the many problems involved in the Polish question. That would be a matter for the Commission and the Poles invited for consultation to go into. He said that while this meeting of minds in regard to the list was a great step forward it was obviously not a solution to the Polish question. He added that it was of course understood that during these consultations no decision would be reached which did not have unanimous approval of the three members of the Commission, of which Mr. Molotov was Chairman.
Marshal Stalin said this was correct.
Mr. Hopkins then said that Marshal Stalin would recall that at one of their first meetings he had said that the atmosphere of the consultations would be greatly helped from the point of view of the United States Government if some satisfactory solution could be found in regard to the majority of arrested Poles who were only accused of the operation of illegal radio transmitters. He said he did not intend to go into the details of this subject again but merely wished to emphasize its importance from the point of view of United States public opinion and to express the hope that Marshal Stalin could find his own way to accommodate this feeling and take it into consideration.
Marshal Stalin replied that he would take Mr. Hopkins’s statements fully into consideration in regard to this question.
Mr. Hopkins expressed his thanks for the Marshal’s statement.
Marshal Stalin replied that he wished to thank Mr. Hopkins for his great assistance in moving forward the Polish question.
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- Memorandum prepared by Charles E. Bohlen, Assistant to the Secretary of State.↩
- For other portions of the record of this meeting, see Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, pp. 910–912, and Conference of Berlin (Potsdam), vol. i, p. 60.↩