740.0011 European War 1939/14949: Telegram
The Minister in Finland (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:12 p.m.]
426. Department’s 185, September 8.29 Owing to his illness, Foreign Minister was not able to see me until this morning when I brought to his attention passages from Dienst aus Deutschland quoted in [Page 65] Berlin’s telegram 3372, September 4,30 and inquired whether these statements represented official attitude of Finnish Government. Minister said notwithstanding Field Marshal Mannerheim’s statements31 to his army, there had been no change in Finnish attitude as consistently described in official statements made by President Ryti and other Government spokesmen, but that it was not possible for President to specify Finnish war aims in greater detail. He had noticed that not even the great belligerents were yet able to define their war aims. In case of Finland, principal aim remained security against Russian threat and it was being pursued in realistic manner without any attempt at grandiloquence which marked statements of some public men in larger countries. While there was close cooperation between German and Finnish military authorities in areas of interdependent operations there was still no written agreement of any kind between the two Governments.
Minister said it was very important to Finland that German distrust of Finns should not be aroused. Hence, best service which could be rendered by press and opinion in United States or in England was to desist from effort which had been made in past 3 weeks or more to raise peace issue so far as Finland was concerned. Finland remained aloof from issues of general war and could not be held accountable for statements such as those which I had brought to Minister’s attention. When I asked whether statement would be issued by Finnish Government refuting German allegations, Minister said he had confined all official statements strictly to factual accounts and he gave me to understand that no statement would be issued on German public action referred to.
Witting told me he had received report from Procopé of latter’s recent conversations with Secretary Hull and Chief of European Division32 which seemed to him to reveal lack of appreciation in United States of threat of Bolshevism to Finland and the world. He did not consider Japanese imperialism matter of direct interest to Finland. As for Nazism, Germany would continue to exist after Hitler’s disappearance. Neither were Russia and Stalin identical terms. Finland must contemplate future in which Germany and Russia would remain Finland’s principal neighbors and so far as Germany was concerned economic relations with that country in view of its control of Baltic would determine Finland’s economic life.
Minister intimated with reference to suggestions apparently made to Procopé of possible Anglo-American help to Finland that it was difficult to see how such help could be made effective in present circumstances. [Page 66] Here he returned to point that it was vitally important that German distrust of Finns should not be aroused.
It appears plain to me that Finnish Government is very conscious of possibility that if Germans lose confidence in sincerity of Finnish cooperation they could immediately take control of this country. Hence Finns are unwilling at this time to commit themselves regarding war aims. In fact Witting also said they could not do this if only for reason that they could not afford to give Soviet authorities military information which would attend definition of war aims at this time. Witting again said Finnish Government expects its military forces will have to stand on line finally reached in operations now proceeding pending general political settlement as they did from 1918 to 1921. He also confirmed statement of General Staff reported in my telegram No. 420, September 9, that Finnish troops would not participate directly in German operations against Leningrad.