740.00114 European War 1939/11–2744: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:35 p.m.]
4526. ReEmbs 3298, September 4, midnight. At the request of General Deane I sent a letter to Molotov on November 6 on the question of reciprocal arrangements for treatment of prisoners of war. I referred to Mr. Harriman’s letter of August 30 to which no answer had been received, and stated that since the advance of the Soviet armies had already enveloped the location of one prisoner of war camp known to have formerly held American war prisoners and since Soviet forces were apparently approaching another such camp in the Budapest area it was desirable that we should not delay any longer in arriving at an understanding along the lines proposed by the Ambassador.
I have now received a reply from Molotov dated November 25, the pertinent sections of which read in paraphrase translation as follows:
“The immediate rendering of assistance and return to their homes of Soviet prisoners and also Soviet citizens forcibly deported by the Germans to Germany and German occupied countries who have been liberated as a result of Allied military operations in the west is of interest to the Soviet Government. The Soviet Government is prepared to accept in principle the proposals which Mr. Harriman set forth in his letter of August 30 concerning measures regarding the return of American and Soviet war prisoners to their homeland.
The Soviet Government is prepared to designate representatives to study plans with American representatives concerning the reciprocal repatriation of war prisoners and interned nations [nationals] of both countries and also concerning the evacuation to the Soviet Union of Soviet citizens who have been forcibly deported by the Germans.
[Page 1266]In this respect the Soviet Government has in mind that the above mention[ed] should also cover fully all those Soviet war prisoners and other Soviet nations [nationals] who have been previously set free, some of whom were sent to the United States and are there at the present time.
The Soviet Government in this respect desires to bring to the attention of the American Government the inadmissibility, in relations between Allied countries, of a situation in which the above mentioned Soviet citizens are held in American prisoner of war camps together with German war prisoners—our common enemies—and subordinated to administrations of these camps which are appointed from German prisoners.
The American Government is requested by the Soviet Government to see that this situation is immediately corrected and that the Soviet Ambassador in Washington is furnished by the appropriate American authorities full information regarding these Soviet nationals, such information to contain data on the number of such prisoners, their whereabouts and living conditions. In this respect, the Soviet Government considers that these citizens should be regarded not as war prisoners but as free nationals of an Allied power and that they should consequently be placed in barracks separate from enemy war prisoners and that they should be accorded normal living conditions in the United States until they are repatriated. The hope is expressed, furthermore, that all questions connected with the appointment of the administrations at the residences of the Soviet nationals and with their movements on American territory until they are returned to their homeland be reached in agreement with the Soviet Embassy.
Until these Soviet nationals are repatriated to the Soviet Union, the Soviet Government hopes that the American authorities will furnish them sufficient food, medical—sanitary services and clothing in agreement with Soviet representatives. The Soviet Government will reimburse the American Government for expenses undergone in this respect.
It goes without saying that those special questions regarding American prisoners in the Budapest and Rumanian areas, brought up in the Ambassador’s and Mr. Kennan’s letters, may be discussed at the meeting of our representatives authorized to study the question of repatriation of American-Soviet nationals.
It would be appreciated if you would transmit the contents of this letter to the American Government and inform me of the reply to the questions raised in it.”
Deane has requested that this information be made available to the War Department.
Deane is already authorized by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss these matters, and I feel I would be justified in replying to Molotov that he has been designated by my Government to conduct these discussions. In view, however, of Molotov’s specific request that I transmit the contents of his letter to “the American Government” and his evident desire to keep the matter on a government to government [Page 1267] plane, I have thought it appropriate to consult the Department first, and I will await an indication of the Department’s approval before taking this step.