Memorandum from Under Secretary of State Robert Lovett to President Harry S. Truman

ARCHIVES 'MATIONAL AND DEPARTMENT OF STATE RECORDS . - SERVICE" WASHINGTON April 6, 1948 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Background in connection with the visit of the Prince Regent of Belgium. American relations with Belgium are untroubled by any present controversy and have in fact been par- ticularly close ever since the first World War and the days of American Relief in Belgium. During the last war the Belgian people had a heroic resistance record and the Government-in-exile in London and the Belgian authorities in the Congo were outstandingly cooperative in making the resources of the Congo avail- able for the Allied war effort. Communism attained a certain strength in Belgium during and immediately after the war but has steadily waned during the last two years and is now nearly neg- ligible. The Communists have been excluded from the Government for the past year. The "royal question" has not been settled, King Leopold still being in more or less voluntary exile pending its solution. Although we believe that there is in fact very little chance that the King will ever resume the throne, we have been careful to avoid taking sides in an internal Belgian matter. The fact that the Prince Regent is accompanied by the Prime Minister and another Member of the Cabinet is clear evidence that he is here as the at least temporary Chief of State of Belgium. The Belgian Government and people were greatly pleased at the statements in your March 17 message to Congress expressing approval and support for the Five-Power Treaty signed that day in Brussels. They DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, Aug. 9, 1973 By NLT- HC , NARS Date 9-9-76