Cablegram D320 LONDON, 21 February 1945, 5.45 p.m.
TOP SECRET AND PERSONAL
Poland.
We are anxious that no time should be lost in giving effect to the decisions reached at the Crimea Conference for the creation of a Polish Provisional Government of National Unity organised on a broad democratic basis, and including democratic leaders from Poland itself and from the Poles abroad.
2. From the point of view of ourselves and the United States Government special points of settlement seem to us to be:-
(a) That the new Provisional Government should contain adequate representation of non-Lublin Poles.
(b) That these should be able to exercise a real influence over the decisions of the new Government, and over execution of those decisions.
(c) That the new Government should inspire the maximum confidence among all non-Lublin Poles and British, American world opinion.
(d) That the new Government should be assured of permanency, pending the holding of elections.
(e) That the position in Poland should not be prejudiced to the disadvantage of non-Lublin Poles, pending the establishment of the new Government.
3. We propose, therefore, to proceed along the following lines in concert with the United States Government, whose agreement we are seeking.
4. First, the functions and procedure of the Commission of Poland must be agreed. We expect M. Molotov to use his influence on the Commission in favour of the Lublin Poles, whose administration undoubtedly depends upon Soviet support. It will, therefore, probably fall largely upon us to ensure that other Poles inside and outside Poland get a fair hearing.
5. In our view, the Commission should not themselves select the new Government, but preside over discussions among representative Poles, acting jointly as a neutral ‘Chairman’. The Commission should at once invite representatives of Lublin and an unspecified number of representative Poles from the inside and the outside [of] Poland to discussions under the Commission’s auspices. We should hope to include such representative Poles as M. Mikolajczyk
_Democrat representatives from abroad as well as some well-known Poles from inside Poland. No-one suggested should be barred, save by the unanimous vote of all three members of the Commission. We consider it important that Chairmanship of the Commission should be held by each of the three representatives in rotation.
6. It is most desirable that measures against non-Lublin Poles, and members of the Polish Underground Movement and Army should cease. We hope that the United States Government will join with us in pressing the Soviet Government to suspend proceedings against such persons, pending the formation of a new Government, except in cases of crimes against the law or against the Red Army.
[AA:A1066, H45/453/2]
1 Polish Prime Minister July 1943 - November 1944.
2 President of the Polish National Council in London 1942-44.
3 Polish Foreign Minister 1943-44.
_
[1], M. Grabski [2], M. Romer [3] and Socialist and Christian