840.50. UNRRA/9–1045: Telegram
The Ambassador in Czechoslovakia (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 11—7:10 a.m.]
330. Department may wish to invite personal attention of Director General Lehman of UNRRA to fact that Soviets continue to capitalize UNRRA deliveries to Zecho as though they were gifts from Soviet Union. This they are enabled to do partly because physical deliveries have been arriving from east via Constanza, partly because UNRRA’s chief representative in Zecho is Soviet citizen who is in charge of deliveries,4 and partly because Zecho Minister [Ministry?] of Information which controls press, radio and all other means publicity is more or less controlled by Communists. As result this most unfortunate combination of circumstances Zecho public has never been informed that UNRRA is 72% American and that Soviet is not even a contributing member. At no time insofar as I have been able to ascertain has any reference been made either by Alexejev or Czech press or radio to fact that UNRRA is primarily dependent on U.S. and [apparent omission] Soviet method of capitalizing UNRRA deliveries to Zecho is a public ceremony to be held in Praha today on occasion of delivery of 1250 trucks and at which Alexejev will speak. If he pursues his customary course by failing to make any reference to participation of U.S. or other countries in UNRRA and is surrounded on occasion of presentation in public by numerous Russian generals and other high Russian officials, impression will continue to prevail among uninformed public that people of Zecho are beholden to Soviet Union for what UNRRA does. On a previous occasion a train arriving from east with UNRRA deliveries was covered with Soviet flags and banners. At public demonstration to greet the train numerous speeches were made thanking Soviet Union for its bounty.
- Peter I. Alekseev, Chief of the UNRRA Mission in Czechoslovakia.↩