Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "48861845",
    "label": "Telegram from President Harry S. Truman to Prime Minister Winston Churchill",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48861845"
}

{
    "id": "48861845",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48861845",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Telegram from President Harry S. Truman to Prime Minister Winston Churchill",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48861845",
    "collections": [
        "Map Room File (Truman Administration)",
        "Outgoing Messages"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "World War, 1939-1945"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/8618/48861845/content/presidential-libraries/truman/559525/4502925-16-01.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/8618/48861845/content/presidential-libraries/truman/559525/4502925-16-01.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/8618/48861845/content/presidential-libraries/truman/559525/4502925-16-01.jpg",
    "imageCount": 3,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48861845",
    "naId": 48861845,
    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 5,
            "logicalDate": "1945-06-05",
            "month": 6,
            "year": 1945
        }
    ],
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 3,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/8618/48861845/content/presidential-libraries/truman/559525/4502925-16.pdf",
    "mediaId": "532c0ce5daf0813f",
    "ocrText": "SOVAY\nTOP SECRET\nNLT-334\nDECLASSIFIED by authority of\nC326\n5 JUNE 1945\n1945 JUN 5 17\nTOP SECRET\nHARRY U.S. ARCHIVES S. \"NATIONAL SERVICE RECORDS TRUMAN AND LIBRARY\nPRIORITY\nGOVERNMEN\nInitials. Datef 7.23\nFROM: OPNAV\n99%6\nTO : ALUSNA, LONDON\n0516312 NCR\nNUMBER 59, TOP SECRET AND PERSONAL, FROM THE PRESIDENT FOR\nPRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL.\nThe following is the message to Hopkins referred to in my No. 58.\nQUOTE: I am very pleased with your continued and strenuous efforts\nreported in your messages of June 3 to induce Stalin to release at least some\nof the detained Polish political leaders before consultations begin. I feel\nthat you should continue in the same vein in the hope that Stalin will agree\nto the release of the majority of these men. I fear that if Stalin does not\nmake some concession to us on this point the otherwise favorable reaction,\nwhich will come when it is known that consultations are to begin, will be\njeopardized in the eyes of a large part of American public opinion. I also\nfear that if the majority. of these men are not released this question is\nliable to be one of the principal points of discussion during at least the\ninitial stages of the consultations rather than the real point at issue--\nthe creation of a new Polish Government of National Unity. If you feel it\nis advisable, I suggest that you also endeavor to meet Mikolajczyk's sug-\ngestion that Stalin release some of the held Polish political leaders rather\nthan grant them amnesty as he first suggested. As you know the Prime Minister\nhas also suggested that an effort be made to meet Mikolajczyk's suggestion on\nthis point.\nIf, however, you feel that the possibility OF initiating consultations\nmay be jeopardized by insisting on the release of some of the political\nTOP-SECRET\n1 -\nTOP. SEORET\nis\nTRUMAN\nAMNVU\n\"NATIONAL\nARCHIVES AND\nRECORDS\nLIENARY\nU.S.\nSERVICE\"\nGOVERNMENT\nleaders, you may separate the question of the release of the prisoners from\nthe question of the list of names of persons to be invited for the consulta-\ntions. If your further efforts to obtain Stalin's agreement to the release\nof these men are not immediately successful I hope you will continue to impress\nupon him the adverse effect this will have in the United States.\nI also feel that it would be very helpful if you could obtain the\ninclusion of Popiel in the group from London. The inclusion of Popiel with\nMikolajczyk and Stanczyk would mean that the most important Polish political\nparties would be represented and this would help to create favorable reaction\namong Polish circles abroad. I feel it would be advisable to eliminate\nKolodzei if you can arrange it, but if it is necessary to include him in the\ngroup from London in order to get Popiel I do not believe we should object.\nUNQUOTE.\nTRUMAN\nReleased from the White House Map Room\nat 0516312 June 1945:\nHenry m. Putuan\nIKIN ZVGFL LFI\nHENRY W. PUTNAM,\nMajor, A. C.\nTOP. SECRET\n- 2 -"
}