Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Eastern Europe, Volume XXV

132. Notes on the 40th Meeting of the Special Committee on Soviet and Related Problems, Washington, October 29, 1956¹

Washington, October 29, 1956

MEMBERS PRESENT

• State—Mr. Jacob D. Beam, Chairman
• Defense—Colonel Oscar R. Schaaf
• Defense—Mr. Roger Ernst
• CIA—Mr. Laughlin Campbell
• Office of Spec. Asst. to the President—Mr. Oren M. Stephens
• OCB—Mr. Paul B. Comstock, Staff Representative

OTHERS PRESENT

• State—Mr. Edward L. Freers
• State—Mr. Howard Trivers
• State—Mr. Robert O. Blake
• State—Mr. Robert M. McKisson
• State—Mr. Philip Burris
• State—Mr. John E. Horner
• State—Mr. Ralph S. Collins
• CIA—Mr. Arthur M. Cox
• USIA—Mr. E. Lewis Revey
• USIA—Mr. Henry Arnold

[The following notes are not exact quotations.]²

Beam: State has been on the telecon with Budapest today.

Freers: All members of the Legation are safe. We are considering authority to evacuate dependents. The Legation thinks the Nagy promise to get Soviet troops out and disband security police³ is a move to divide the rebels between rightist communist and anti-communists. Budapest is under Nagy’s control. Question arises as to how genuine pledge is.

Beam: Troops are apparently coming in from Rumania and the USSR itself. The Legation has no idea of the make-up of various groups. We have asked. An Assistant Military Attaché arrived in Vienna today⁴ The meeting in State on the UN action went fairly well. We are getting up a resolution calling for condemnation and for setting up a committee to investigate the situation. It is to be introduced by the U.S., the U.K. and France. Question has been raised as to whether we should call upon the Soviets to recall their troops from Hungary.

Freers: The Hungarian delegate has not taken a position but he has objected to UN interference⁵

Cox: If the Hungarian delegate took Nagy’s position, would not the Soviets be the only government with their position?

Beam: We might be able to isolate the Yugoslavs and Hungarians from the Soviet position.

Campbell: University students in Washington have sent a telegram to Secretary Dulles stating that they intend to demonstrate for Hungarian independence.

Beam: Columbia students too. Arrangements have been made to pass to VOA.

Revey: Some recent Hungarian refugees express resentment against the free world for not helping.

Campbell: Thompson has cable in from Vienna on that⁶

McKisson: We should not make the present government an object of attack. That would give Russians an excuse. We do not know enough. The Government may meet some of the demands. Soviet responsibility is obvious. The Hungarian Government may even be changed within a day or two.

Beam: Our media could point out the trouble faced by the Government in view of Russian troops that keep coming in. We could alert the people that the Government may be overwhelmed by Soviet forces and be unable to make good on its promises even if sincere.

Cox: Should we tell the rebels not to demobilize?

Beam: The people should be aware that the Government may not be able to carry out its promises.

McKisson: We should try to get across the idea that the Government is not a free agent.

Cox: Could we go a step beyond and say that, until we report the Soviet army to be moving out, they should not lay down their arms?

McKisson: We should report that there is no evidence that the Soviets are moving out, but we should not be in the position of telling the insurgents what to do.

Schaaf: What is our objective?

Beam: Our first objective is to get the Soviets out.

McKisson: Then the prospects of people’s demands would be good. They are not good under Soviet occupation.

McKisson: . . . The Government still makes promises. The Szabad Nep article contradicting Russian allegations of Western subversion is good.⁷

McKisson: Bela Kovacs says a coalition government is needed. That may be the next position to which the Nagy Government is prepared to move.

Freers: We don’t know the relative strength of rightist communists and anti-communists.

Schaaf: Hasn’t the present Government conceded that the rebels have won?

McKisson: Yes, but Soviets are coming in, making such concession rather questionable.

Schaaf: Should we encourage the people to make a deal to get Soviet troops out?

Revey: The leadership has been removed in certain areas, leaving local anarchy.

McKisson: The fighting has apparently tapered off in Budapest but the insurgents control much territory elsewhere. They are in a strong position if they only have to deal with the Government.

Ernst: What do we say to the insurgents?

Beam: We keep them informed. That is about as far as you can go.

McKisson: We are reporting our resort to the UN. Our prime concern is to get the Soviets out. We cannot undertake to direct the insurgents.

Cox: The rebel radio in Gyor⁸ has been critical of outside radio attacking Nagy.

McKisson: The people fighting are of different political principles. They are all anti-Russian and have called for reforms. We would alienate them if we tried to give directives.

Campbell: They are also calling for anti-tank weapons.

Beam: Austrians doing well to encourage them despite neutrality. The decision was taken higher up not to give arms.

Ernst: Someone should go in and find out who the different groups are.

Schaaf: It looks like cross reporting is about all we are doing.

Beam: The UN action is important.

Campbell: Does it rule out a bilateral U.S.-USSR approach?

Beam: No, we have that in mind as a possibility.

Cox: We are considering organizing American contributions to the Hungarian people.

McKisson: The Red Cross seems to be the best agency.

Beam: We are getting a radio transmitter to Legation Budapest for emergency use. The UK Legation is using its transmitter.

McKisson: Legation Budapest voluntarily closed its transmitter down in 1950 when the Hungarians tried to set one up here.

Beam: They might be useful later in Hungary, if there is a violent repression.

Cox: The Bulgarian line is straight Stalinist.

Beam: The German Counselor⁹ has expressed the hope that violence will not spread to East Germany.

(Mr. Freers summarized draft NSC policy paper on Poland and Hungary)¹⁰

Campbell: Should we dramatize the Red Cross assistance by airlift?

Burris: A plane did take off from Idlewild yesterday.

McKisson: To whom will the aid be turned over?

Beam: Apparently the Hungarian Red Cross. Austria is sending relief supplies over the border to whoever is in control.

Beam: The Committee should meet again tomorrow briefly at 3:00 P.M.¹¹

PBC

OCB Staff Representative

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 100.4–OCB/10–2956. Top Secret. Drafted by Comstock.
2. Brackets in the source text.
3. Nagy promised to do this on October 28 in a speech broadcast over the government radio station. See Zinner, National Communism, pp. 428–432.
4. Captain Thomas R. Gleason and Second Secretary J. Thomas Rogers reached the Embassy in Vienna from Budapest on the morning of October 29. Rogers reported that everyone at the Legation was well and that morale was high. He brought a number of messages with him because of the difficulty of maintaining communication with Washington from Budapest. (Memorandum from Henry P. Leverich to Murphy, October 29; Department of State, Central Files, 764.00/10–2956)
5. Kós had opposed Security Council consideration of the Hungarian question. When the issue was placed on the agenda, he was invited to participate in the discussion. He expressed regret that the Council chose to take up the issue despite the fact it was an internal Hungarian concern. In the absence of further instructions, he reserved the right to speak at another time. (U.N. doc. S/PV.746, p. 34) The Security Council adjourned without reaching any specific decision and no definite date was set for a resumption of the discussion. For the next 3 days, the Security Council was exclusively preoccupied with the Suez crisis.
6. See Document 129.
7. On October 29, the paper denied Pravda’s assertion that British and U.S. imperialists had instigated the revolt. See Zinner, National Communism, pp. 449–451.
8. One of a number of “free” provincial radio stations, which commenced operations during the rebellion.
9. Rolf F. Pauls.
10. Reference is to a draft of NSC 5616, “U.S. Policy Toward Developments in Poland and Hungary,” dated October 31. (Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 63 D 351, NSC 5616 Series)
11. The Committee took up the matters of exchange of broadcasters with the Soviet Union, means of getting the Hungarian Government to live up to its promises, the need for some further U.S. official statement on developments in Hungary, and publicity for U.S. relief aid. (Notes of the 41st Meeting, October 30; ibid., Central Files, 100.4–OCB/10–3056)