740.00119 European War 1939/16: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State

1893. At luncheon with Churchill72 today I received the impression that any terms that might be offered by Hitler on a peace basis would be rejected. There may be a slight hope that if he asks for an armistice pending a discussion of the terms, it might be agreed to, principally because England feels she could use the time to great advantage. Churchill told me that there are rumblings from the French that England should be sending up a much bigger army, but the truth of the matter is that the Government here for the last 3 years forgot somehow or other to order the material necessary to equip a big army so they cannot send up a big army because they have no equipment for it.

He says that up to date there is no evidence that the Germans are bringing up troops on either the Dutch or Belgian borders that would indicate they are going to violate the neutrality of either of these countries but that they are massing large forces behind the Siegfried Line.

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It becomes more and more apparent as I talk to them that they are definitely apprehensive of Germany’s strength in the air but in no event will they start the bombing into Germany first. They have no intention of fighting Russia now or later on. Already I see an argument arising that the part of Poland the Russians have is really all Russian. Churchill does not feel that the power of Russia to move out over the world is nearly as dangerous as the Germans and for that reason the Germans under the Nazi regime must be finished off.

I judge there is a feeling that if women and children are killed as a result of these bombings in England that the United States will tend more toward their side. Churchill said “After all, if they bombed us into a state of subjection, one of their terms of course would be to hand over the fleet and if we attempted to scuttle the fleet their terms would be that much worse. And if they got the British fleet, they would have immediate superiority over the United States and raiders troubles would then begin”.

I judge that nobody in authority likes this picture at all but they are keeping up a bold front and seeing what the winter will bring forth. They all contend that all they want is revision of the Neutrality Act73 to give them an opportunity to buy in America but I do not believe it for a minute. If Germany does not break and throw Hitler out, after the passage of the Neutrality Act they will spend every hour figuring how they can get us in.

Kennedy
  1. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty.
  2. The revised Neutrality Act was approved November 4, 1939; 54 Stat. 4. For correspondence pertaining to the act, see pp. 656 ff.