Document:
White House Meeting of President Harry S Truman with Soviet Foreign Secretary V. Molotov April, 1945
Source [link within this page]:
1945 Year of Decisions: Memoirs by Harry S. Truman Volume I (New York, Signet Books, 1955), pp. 98-99.
1945 Year of Decisions: Memoirs by Harry S. Truman Volume I (New York, Signet Books, 1955), pp 356-357
Comments:
Tensions between the new President and the Soviets can be found in this often quoted recollection from Truman of the second meeting between himself and Molotov. The President took the Russian to task for not apparently following the Yalta agreement over the government of Poland.
However less quoted is a second extract from the same memoirs of Truman about events a few months later. In that case he was willing to accept and recognize the new Polish government that was clearly dominated by the pro-Russian communists. Why?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXTRACT 1:
Molotov said that…he could not understand why, if the three governments (the Allies) could reach an agreement on the question of the composition of the Yugoslav government, the same formula could not be applied in the case of Poland.
Replying sharply, again I said that an agreement had been reached on Poland and that it only required to be carried out by the Soviet government.
Mr. Molotov repeated that his government supported the Crimea decisions… He added that surely the Polish question, involving as it did a neighbouring country, was of great interest to the Soviet government.
Since Molotov insisted on avoiding the main issue, I said what I had said before-that the United States Government was prepared to carry out loyally all agreements reached at Yalta and asked that the Soviet government to do the same.
“I have never been talked to like that in my life” Molotov said.
I told him, “Carry out your agreements and you won’t get talked to like that.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXTRACT TWO
The Moscow meetings (of Polish groups) were held and the delegates succeeded in reaching satisfactory agreements amongst themselves. The agreements provided for the broadening of the provisional government (to include non-communists). Harriman (US ambassador) reported to me that the settlement was reached because of the concern which all non-Lublin Poles (the non communists) felt over the current situation in Poland, a concern which made them readily accept any compromise providing some hope for Polish independence and freedom for the individual……….
Ambassador Harriman reported that in his opinion the new government had in fact been formed in conformity with the Crimea decision and we should therefore carry out our obligation and recognize it. I decided that no useful purpose would be served by further delay… (The United Stated and Great Britain finally recognized the new government on 5th July 1945)