Letter, General Dwight D. Eisenhower to President Harry S. Truman

jile DDE/mgc 18 September 1945 Dear Mr. President: the During my absence from this Headquarters, receipt of your letter concerning the problem of displaced persons was acknowl edged. I was then on a trip during which I made an inspection of a number of the installations in which we have displaced persons. This letter deals primarily with my own observations and will be sup- plemented, either immediately or in the near future, by a more extensive report comprehending the findings of subordinate com- manders and staffs and of a special Jewish investigator. As to the seriousness of the problem, there is not the slightest doubt. The hopelessness of the ordinary displaced person comes about from fear of the future, which involves questions, always of international politics, and from the proctioal impossibility of participating, at this time, in any useful occupation. To speak very briefly about the psychological attitude of these people, I give you a fow impressions gained by direct conversations with them. A very large percentage of the persons from the Baltic States, as well as from Poland and Rumania, definitely do not want to return to their own countries at this time. Although such a re- turn represents the height of their ultimate ambitions, they con- stantly state, "We cannot go back until there is a change in the political situation - otherwise we will all be killed." They state that the governments of all these states will persecute them to the point of death, although they insist that they bitterly opposed German domination of their respective states just es they opposed domination by any other government. With respect to the Jews, I found that most want to go to Palestine. I note in your letter that you have already ins tituted action in the hope of making this possible. All of these matters are, of course, distinotly outside any military responsibility or authority and there is nothing whatsoever that I or my subordinates would be justified in promising or intimating in regard to them. However, the matter draws practical importance for us out of the possibility that caring for displaced persons may be a long-time job. Since I assume that most countries would be unwilling to absorb masses of these people as citizons in their respective countries, the only cc- Dem Smith - 1 - - - Sen marshall L . 989