Friday, 7 May

In the morning the Deputy People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyshinski made a broadcast in Moscow. He said as follows. 1) That the Soviet Union permitted the establishment of the Polish army on the condition that they should be sent to the Soviet Front lines successively. The first batch should have been dispatched in October 1941 but when the time came, the Polish army did not want to move, and created a lot of problems. 2) Military Attachés‎, staff as well as those taking care of expatriates were all spying. 3) The Soviet Union had no intention of setting up another Polish Government. The Moscow Daily News also published Stalin’s reply to British and American reporters. The whole article stated that if the people of Poland were willing, the Soviet Union could come to an alliance with Poland with Germany as the common foe.
At noon, the Canadian Minister Wilgress invited me to have lunch at the Grand Hotel. We talked about the Soviet-Poland incident during lunch. The new British Secretary P.M. Crosthwaite tried his best to defend Poland, saying it was not the Polish army that didn’t want to fight, it was because the Soviet Union refused to give them armaments. He also said that even though Poland would like to give way, the United States would not allow it to do so. Minister Wilgress and the Swedish Ambassador condemned the Polish army for not wanting to go to the frontlines to fight. Minister Wilgress said when the Polish army retreated from the Soviet Union, it was during the most critical time for the Soviet Union, and this made it suspect that Poland did not want to fight. Moreover, Polish officers were careless with their words at the time and many of them said the Soviet Union would definitely be defeated. The Swedish Ambassador said he had exhorted the Polish army to join the fighting. Moreover, the Polish left the Soviet Union and didn’t go straight to the frontline, but only stayed in Iran and Asia Minor. Until now they still haven’t yet taken part in the fighting, no wonder there is criticism. Secretary P.M. Crosthwaite said according to British Embassy documents, the Polish Army’s movements have been closely coordinated with the Soviet Union. (Counsellor Liu afterwards told me that the Polish army definitely believed that the Soviet Union would be defeated, so they wanted to leave the Soviet Union quickly. It just happened that Britain needed an army to guard Iran and Asia Minor, therefore the British Government asked the Soviet Union to allow the Polish army to leave the Soviet Union, so the Polish Army was very pleased to leave. The British Government had a hand in this matter, so they reluctantly took up some responsibility.) At the end it was said that the thorniest issue for Sikorski to handle was the 70 to 80,000 Polish who had taken U.S. citizenship. They enjoyed their lives in the United States and were unwilling to return to Poland. They were fiercely critical. If Sikorski relinquished the territory, his government would be criticised and be unable to survive. I said, from a practical standpoint, in the future it would be the Soviet army entering Poland, because the eastern part of Poland was scrambled by a Polish force from the Soviet Union, and its inhabitants were all natives of the Soviet Union. Now the Soviet army has already regained this area. No one will be able to drive them out and return the land to Poland. Britain and the United States would be unwilling to fight with the Soviet Union for this reason. In judging this matter, if we forcefully push the natives of the Soviet Union under Polish rule, whether it is just or not, Crosthwaite also thought there was no quick solution. After the war this area must come under the Soviet Union, so the best solution is for Sikorski to make a declaration, proclaiming that Poland will only govern their own people and have no wish to govern other peoples. At this point the American Embassy Secretary L.E. Thompson said that the Soviets wanted both Eastern and Western Poland. From this one can see the deep prejudice of the American diplomatic staff towards the Soviet Union. Canadian Minister Wilgress is a very understanding person. He was critical of the British Government establishing many exile governments. This is a harmful act because sponsoring its independence is one thing, recognising its government is another. This was a good point.
Chen Weicheng (陳維城) replied to my telegram, saying he had asked the British Foreign Office about the Soviet-Poland incident. According to Britain’s reply, Britain and the United States are trying their very best to mediate between the Soviet Union and Poland. But the Soviet Union and Poland are both too extreme, so the result is unpredictable. He also said that Gu Weijun went to America and would be able to return to England this month.