Office of the Historian

860C.01/6–1545: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman)

Washington, June 15, 1945—5 p.m.

1314. British Embassy here has informally brought to attention of Dept a summary of the instructions sent by the Foreign Office to Clark Kerr13 outlining the objectives which the British Government [Page 345] hopes to obtain in connection with the settlement of the Polish question by the Polish Commission. The British Embassy official suggested that the Department might care to send similar instructions to you.

While Dept appreciates the motivation which undoubtedly prompted the Foreign Office to send these detailed instructions to Clark Kerr, it is informing the British Embassy that Dept does not feel it necessary to send such detailed instructions to you in connection with your work on the Polish Commission since you are fully familiar with the objectives we are striving to attain in regard to Poland and therefore it does not feel that we should tie your hands in this regard by specific detailed instructions at this time.

Repeated to London for information of Ambassador and Schoenfeld.

Grew
  1. For a description of the British Foreign Office instructions to Ambassador Clark Kerr, see ibid., pp. 203–204.↩