Office of the Historian

740.00119 Potsdam/8–2845

Memorandum of Conversation, by Miss Flora D. Wovschin and Mr. John S. Carlile of the International Information Division

[Washington,] August 28, 1945.
Participants: Mr. John Campbell, SE75
Mr. Horace J. Nickels, SE
Mr. Kurt London, OWI76
Miss Flora D. Wovschin, INI77
Mr. John S. Carlile, INI

This conversation took place in Mr. Campbell’s office, this date, to consider facilities for radio coverage of Rumania and to determine content of broadcasts to inform Rumanian public of facts concerning Potsdam declaration specifically affecting Rumania and ex-satellites and report of request of King Michael to invoke the Yalta declaration and Department’s statement with reference thereto.78 These considerations [Page 599] made urgent by telegrams 604 and 606 from Bucharest, dated August 25, 1945.79

Mr. London reported Algiers relay available for only 15 minutes daily. He stated that news content for this period could be reduced to 5 minutes, allowing approximately 8 minutes daily to be used for an indefinite period to supply Rumanians with facts withheld from them by censorship. Mr. Campbell suggested, in view of despatch 465 from Bucharest dated August 16,80 which reported censorship of the Potsdam declaration and President Truman’s report to the nation, the 8–minute period each day be used to report fully upon the declaration and the President’s address,81 the Department’s statement on King and Cabinet crisis and any other pertinent matters that may come up in the meantime.

Miss Wovschin and Mr. Carlile deferred to Mr. Campbell and Mr. Nickels regarding the policy directive, but made sure that the OWI broadcasts would continue for as long as it appeared advisable and at least until reaction from Bucharest seemed to indicate otherwise.

  1. Acting Assistant Chief of the Division of Southern European Affairs.↩
  2. Office of War Information.↩
  3. International Information Division.↩
  4. For the Secretary of State’s statement to the press on August 22 regarding the situation in Rumania and the request of King Michael to invoke the Yalta Declaration, see Department of State Bulletin, August 26, 1945, p. 280.↩
  5. Neither printed; telegram 604 reported that the Secretary’s statement of August 22 had had a fine effect, but in view of the strict press and radio censorship prevailing, the entire contents had been suppressed by the Government. It was recommended that the Office of War information channels be employed to inform the Rumanian public during the current political crisis (871.00/8–2545). Telegram 606 reported that President Truman’s radio address of August 9 on the Berlin Conference had been suppressed for 24 hours by Rumanian authorities and had only been released after excision of all references to Rumania (103.9166).↩
  6. Not printed.↩
  7. For text of President Truman’s report to the nation on the Berlin Conference, delivered by radio from the White House at 10 p.m., August 9, see Department of State Bulletin, August 12, 1945, p. 208.↩