Introduction

Introduction

Scope of Coverage

This volume presents documentation relating to the ninth conference participated in by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill after the United States became a belligerent in World War II—the Second Quebec Conference of September 11–16, 1944, also known by its code name. Octagon—together with papers on the Roosevelt–Churchill conversations which took place at Hyde Park, Few York, immediately following the Quebec Conference.

Advisers, both civilian and military, assisted Roosevelt and Church ill at Quebec. The conferees were concerned with planning for the final stages of the war both in Europe and in the Far East, so that documentation on military subjects bulks large. But Prime Minister Mackenzie King, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, Lord Cherwell, and Sir Alexander Cadogan participated in the top-level political discussions at Quebec, in preparation for which the State, War, and Treasury Departments prepared a considerable amount of background documentation. Additional and extensive background information on the subjects discussed at Quebec has previously been published in the annual volumes of Foreign Relations of the United States and in the series United States Army in World War II, published by the Department of the Army.

Organization of the Volume

The volume opens with a chapter on agenda and arrangements for the Second Quebec Conference, followed by a chapter containing substantive preparatory papers, divided among eight subjects. This chapter includes pre-conference papers later circulated or discussed at Quebec as well as official background memoranda and recommendations prepared specifically for possible use at Quebec. These back ground chapters are followed in turn by a log of the President’s visit to Canada.

The chapter on proceedings of the Octagon Conference is organized chronologically by meetings. Every meeting known to have been attended by a senior American official is accounted for. All minutes and memoranda of conversation at the international level [Page XII] are included; where none was found, the editor has supplied an editorial note embodying what information was available on that particular meeting. There were no general meetings of the United States delegation, but information on President Roosevelt’s consultations with his advisers has been included. The chapter on proceedings is followed by the conference documents and related papers, arranged by subject, concluding with the final documents of the Octagon Conference.

At the end of the Second Quebec Conference, Prime Minister Churchill visited the President at the latter’s home at Hyde Park on September 18–19, 1944. The final chapter of the present volume includes all the documentation that has been found relating to their conversations there.

Unpublished Sources

Since the Second Quebec Conference dealt to a very large extent with questions outside the jurisdiction of the Department of State, the editor sought and obtained the assistance of several other Government departments and agencies in gathering much of the source material for this publication. Of particular importance were the Presidential papers in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park; the papers of Presidential Assistant Harry L. Hopkins and of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., also located in the Roosevelt Library; military papers in the files of the Department of Defense (principally in the files of the Joint Chiefs of Staff); papers on financial questions and on the postwar treatment of Germany in the files of the Treasury Department; and documents on cooperation with the United Kingdom in the field of atomic energy research in the files of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. The Roosevelt Library provided photocopies of all Roosevelt, Hopkins, and Morgenthau papers that could be found relating to the Quebec Conference. The Department of Defense provided all papers that could be found documenting the official position or advice of the War Department on politico-military subjects discussed at the international level, as presented by the civilian leaders of that department and by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, as well as excerpts from the minutes of a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Quebec which were needed for an understanding of the international discussions.

The papers printed in this volume which are in the Central Files of the Department of State are indicated by means of a file number in the headnote, in the usual style of Foreign Relations. The provenance of papers obtained from other sources is also shown in headnotes, as indicated on the following list:

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a. inside the department of state

1.: Lot 55 D 375.—An unindexed collection of files of the United States Delegation to the European Advisory Commission.
2.: Notter File—A collection of materials assembled in the office of the late Harley A. Notter containing information on wartime planning for an international security organization to be formed at the end of the war. This collection has been used for memoranda by Under Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., on the Dumbarton Oaks conversations as they related to preparations for the Second Quebec Conference.

b. outside the department of state

1.: A.E.C. Files—The files of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
2.: Cherwell Papers—The papers of Lord Cherwell, deposited in the Library of Nuffield College, Oxford.
3.: Department of the Army Files—Files for 1944 of the War Department, now under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army.
4.: Habsburg Papers—The papers of Dr. Otto von Habsburg.
5.: Hopkins Papers—The papers of Harry L. Hopkins, deposited in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park.
6.: J.C.S. Files—The files of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. These files provided documentation of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and of the American-British Combined Chiefs of Staff. The approval of the British Chiefs of Staff, along with that of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was obtained for declassification of the Combined Chiefs of Staff documentation published in this volume.
7.: Leahy Papers—The diary of Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, deposited in the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress.
8.: Morgenthau Papers—The papers of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., deposited in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park. The phrases “Morgenthau Diary” and “Morgenthau Presidential Diary” have been used to identify more closely the location of some of the materials used from the Morgenthau Papers.
9.: Roosevelt Papers—The papers of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, deposited in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park.
10.: Stimson Papers—The papers of Henry L. Stimson, deposited in the Yale University Library.
11.: Treasury Files—The files of the Treasury Department.

Published Sources

a. official

In addition to Foreign Relations of the United States, the Department of State Bulletin, and the various series of international treaties [Page XIV] and agreements published by the Department of State, the official publications listed below were found to be of particular value in the preparation of this volume. Other official publications consulted by the editor are identified in editorial notes and footnotes.

Sources Published by the United States Government

Robert W. Coakley and Richard M. Leighton, Global Logistics and Strategy, 1943–1945 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968), in the series United States Army in World War II: The War Department.

Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Gate, editors, The Army Air Forces in World War II, prepared by the U.S. Air Force Historical Division, volume III, Europe: Argument to V–E Day, January 1944 to May 1945 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). Hereafter cited as “Craven and Gate”.

Maurice Matloff, Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare, 1943–1944 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959), in the series United States Army in World War II: The War Department. Hereafter cited as “Matloff”.

Morgenthau Diary (Germany), prepared by the Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration or the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 90th Congress, 1st Session, committee print (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967), 2 volumes. Hereafter cited as Morgenthau Diary (Germany).

Charles F. Romanus and Riley Sunderland, Stilwell’s Mission to China (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1953), in the series United States Army in World War II: China-Burma-India Theater. Hereafter cited as “Romanus and Sunderland”.

Sources Published by the British Government

John Ehrman, Grand Strategy, volume V, August 1943–September 1944 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1956), in the series History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series. Hereafter cited as “Ehrman”.

H. Duncan Hall, North American Supply (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and Longmans, Green and Co., 1955), in the series History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Civil Series. Hereafter cited as “Hall”.

W. K. Hancock and M. M. Gowing, British War Economy (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1949), in the series History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Civil Series. Hereafter cited as “Hancock and Gowing”.

Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany, 1939–1945, volume III, Victory (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1961), in the series History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series. Hereafter cited as “Webster and Frankland”.

Sir Llewellyn Woodward, British Foreign Policy in the Second World War (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1962), in the series History of the Second World War. Hereafter cited as “Woodward”.

Source Published by the Soviet Government

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commission for the Publication of Diplomatic Documents, Correspondence Between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the U. S. S. R. and the Presidents of the U. S. A. and the Prime Ministers of Great Britain During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 (Moscow, [Page XV] Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1957). This two-volume work has been republished in the United States, with the original title pages and the original pagination but bound in one volume with a new preliminary title page bearing the title Stalin’s Correspondence With Churchill, Attlee, Roosevelt and Truman, 1941–45 (New York, E. P. Dutton and Company, 1958). Hereafter cited as Stalin’s Correspondence. For the Russian-language edition of the same work, see Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commission for the Publication of Diplomatic Documents, Переписĸа Председателя Совета Министров СССР с Президентами СIIIА и Премьер-Министрами Велиĸобритании во Время Отечественной Войньɪ, 1941–1945 гг. (Moscow, State Publishing House for Political Literature, 1957).

b. unofficial

Much authoritative information is to be found in unofficial publications written by those who participated in the Second Quebec Conference or by authors who have used the papers of conference participants. In view of the incompleteness of the official record in many respects, the editor has cited such unofficial publications frequently for factual information not found in official files. The Department of State assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of fact or interpretation in these unofficial publications. The principal publications of this type which have been consulted in the preparation of this volume are listed below. Other works consulted on particular points are identified in editorial notes and footnotes at the appropriate places.

H. H. Arnold, Global Mission (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1949). Here after cited as “Arnold”.

John Morton Blum, From the Morgenthau Diaries: Years of War, 1941–1945 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967). Hereafter cited as “Blum”.

Arthur Bryant, Triumph in the West: A History of the War Years Based on the Diaries of Field-Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (Garden City: Doubleday and Company, 1959). Hereafter cited as “Alanbrooke”.

Alexander Cadogan, The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, O.M., 1938–1945, ed. by David Dilks (London: Cassell and Company, 1971). Hereafter cited as “Cadogan”.

Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948–1953), 6 volumes.

Volume V, Closing the Ring. Hereafter cited as “Churchill, Closing the Ring”.
Volume VI, Triumph and Tragedy. Hereafter cited as “Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy”.

Viscount Cunningham, A Sailor’s Odyssey: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope (London: Hutchinson and Company, 1951). Hereafter cited as “Cunningham”.

John R. Deane, The Strange Alliance: The Story of Our Efforts at Wartime Co-operation With Russia (New York: The Viking Press, 1947). Hereafter cited as “Deane”.

Anthony Eden, The Memoirs of Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon: The Reckoning (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965). Hereafter cited as “Eden”.

William D. Hassett, Off the Record With F.D.R., 1942–1945 (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1958). Hereafter cited as “Hassett”.

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Cordell Hull, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, volume II (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1948). Hereafter cited as “Hull”.

Ernest J. King and Walter Muir Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King: A Naval Record (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1952). Hereafter cited as “King”.

William D. Leahy, I Was There: The Personal Story of the Chief of Staff to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Based on His Notes and Diaries Made at the Time (New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1950). Hereafter cited as “Leahy”.

Lord Moran, Churchill, Taken From the Diaries of Lord Moran: The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966). Here after cited as “Moran”.

Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Germany Is Our Problem (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1945).

Gerald Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden: Based on the Recollections of Commander C. R. Thompson, Personal Assistant to the Prime Minister, 1940–1945 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963). Hereafter cited as “Pawle”.

J. W. Pickersgill and D. F. Forster, The Mackenzie King Record, volume 2, 1944–1945 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968). Hereafter cited as “Pickersgill and Forster”.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–45 volume, Victory and the Threshold of Peace, compiled by Samuel I. Rosenman (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950). Hereafter cited as “Rosenman”.

Robert E. Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History, revised edition (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950). Hereafter cited as “Sherwood”.

General Sikorski Historical Institute, Documents on Polish-Soviet Relations, volume II, 1943–1945 (London: Heinemann, 1967). Hereafter cited as Documents on Polish-Soviet Relations.

Joseph W. Stilwell, The Stilwell Papers (New York: William Sloane Associates, 1948). Hereafter cited as “Stilwell”.

Henry L. Stimson and McGeorge Bundy, On Active Service in Peace and War (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1947). Hereafter cited as “Stimson and Bundy”.

Editorial Treatment

In the preparation of this volume the editor has been guided by the regulations of the Department applicable to the Foreign Relations series, viz.:

1350 Documentary Record of American Diplomacy

1351 Scope of Documentation

The publication Foreign Relations of the United States constitutes the official record of the foreign policy of the United States. These volumes include, subject to necessary security considerations, all documents needed to give a comprehensive record of the major foreign policy decisions within the range of the Department of State’s responsibilities, together with appropriate materials concerning the facts which contributed to the formulation of policies. When further material is needed to supplement the documentation in the Department’s files for a proper understanding of the relevant policies of the United States, such papers should be obtained from other Government agencies.

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1352 Editorial Preparation

The basic documentary record to be printed in Foreign Relations of the United States shall be edited by the Historical Office, Bureau of Public Affairs of the Department of State. The editing of the record shall be guided by the principles of historical objectivity. There shall be no alteration of the text, no deletions without indicating where in the text the deletion is made, and no omission of facts which were of major importance in reaching a decision. Nothing shall be omitted for the purpose of concealing or glossing over what might be regarded by some as a defect of policy. However, certain omissions of documents are permissible for the following reasons:

a.: To avoid publication of matters which would tend to impede current diplomatic negotiations or other business.
b.: To condense the record and avoid repetition of needless details.
c.: To preserve the confidence reposed in the Department by individuals and by foreign governments.
d.: To avoid giving needless offense to other nationalities or individuals.
e.: To eliminate personal opinions presented in despatches and not acted upon by the Department. To this consideration there is one qualification—in connection with major decisions it is desirable, where possible, to show the alternatives presented to the Department before the decision was made.

1353 Clearance

To obtain appropriate clearance of material to be published in Foreign Relations of the United States, the Historical Office:

a.: Refers to the appropriate policy offices of the Department and of other agencies of the Government such papers as appear to require policy clearance.
b.: Refers to the appropriate foreign governments requests for permission to print as part of the diplomatic correspondence of the United States those previously unpublished documents which were originated by the foreign governments.

Foreign Relations of the United States, Conference at Quebec, 1944

Introduction