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The Potocki Documents
May 30, 2005
by Brian Harring
After the collapse of the Polish
government and the occupation of the capital of Warsaw in September
and October of 1939, the Germans located the secret archives of the
Polish Foreign Ministery hidden in a bunker. A number of the
documents were hastily translated and published by the German
government as a “White Book” in 1940.
The Polish Ambassador to the
United States, Count Jerzy Potocki, scion of a famous Polish family,
wrote a number of important reports to the Polish Foreign Minister
that gave a very clear picture of an educated European’s view of
American politics and the forces that shaped US foreign policy.
Count
Jerzy Potocki was a man of strong opinions, but was also very
observant and very well connected in the Washington diplomatic
circles. He wrote many reports to the Foreign Minister in Warsaw and
four of them are reproduced here because they show a European
diplomat’s view of Roosevelt’s foreign policy, or rather his
lack of a rational and coherent one. These reports are not in
chronological order, but are set forth in a more narrative sense.
The first report here is under date of January 12, 1939 and is a
discussion of Potocki’s view of Jewish influence on Roosevelt and
its impact on his policies.
To
The Foreign Minister in Warsaw:
Public opinion in America nowadays expresses itself in an increasing
hatred of Fascism, Chancellor Hitler and everything connected with
National Socialism. Above all, propaganda here is entirely in the
hands of the Jews who control almost 100 percent of the radio, the
films and the daily and periodical press. Although this propaganda
is extremely coarse and is designed to present Germany as blackly as
possible, when bearing American public ignorance in mind, their
propaganda is so effective that people here have no real knowledge
of the true state of affairs in Europe.
At the present time, most Americans are taught to believe that
Chancellor Hitler and National Socialism are the greatest evil and
the greatest peril threatening the world. The situation here
provides an excellent program for public speakers of all kinds,
among whom are many refugees from Germany and Czechoslovakia who
with much effort and many patently false accounts, incite the
American public. These speakers praise American liberty which they
repeatedly contrast with totalitarian states.
It is interesting to observe that in this carefully thought-out
campaign, which is primarily conducted against National Socialism,
no reference at all is made to Soviet Russia. If that country is
mentioned, it is referred to in a friendly manner and people are
given the impression that Soviet Russia is part of the democratic
group of nations. Thanks to astute propaganda, public sympathy in
the United States is entirely on the side of Communist Spain. Side
by side with this pro-Communist propaganda, an artificial war panic
is created, The American people are told that peace in Europe is
hanging only by a slim thread and that war is inevitable. No effort
is spared to impress upon the American mind that in the event of a
world war, the United States must take an active part in a struggle
for “freedom and democracy.” President Roosevelt was the first
in the field to give expression to this hatred of Fascism. He had a
two-fold purpose in mind: firstly, he wanted to divert American
public opinion from difficult and complicated domestic problems,
especially the problem of the struggle between capital and labor.
Secondly, by creating a war-panic and inventing rumors about threats
to Europe, he wanted to induce Americans to endorse his huge program
of armaments, a program which far exceeds the United States defense
requirements.
Regarding the first point, it must be said that the internal situation
here on the labor front is growing steadily worse. The unemployed
today already number twelve million. Federal and state expenditures
are increasing daily. Only these huge sums, running into billions,
which the US treasury expends for emergency labor projects, are
keeping a certain amount of peace in the country. Thus far only the
usual strikes and local unrest have taken place. As to how long this
artificial governmental aid can be kept up is difficult to predict
at present. The unhappiness and growing indignation of public
opinion coupled with the serious conflict between private enterprise
and the enormous trusts on one hand and with a radicalized labor
movement on the other, have made many enemies for Roosevelt and are
no doubt causing him many sleepless nights.
As to the second point, I can only say that President Roosevelt is a
skillful expert in domestic politics and a connoisseur of the
American mentality and he has effectively turned public attention
away from internal domestic problems and focused it on foreign
policy. His means of achieving this effective distraction was
simple. He needed, on the one hand, to highlight a fictional war
menace threatening the world because of Chancellor Hitler, and on
the other hand, to create a specter of war and invasion by speaking
ominously about an attack of the totalitarian states on the United
States. The Munich pact came to President Roosevelt as a godsend. He
described it as the capitulation of France and England to growing
and aggressive German militarism. As was said here: Hitler compelled
Chamberlain at pistol point. Hence, France and England had no
choice, but to back down and were compelled to conclude a shameful
peace.
Furthermore, the brutal treatment meted out to the Jews in Germany, as
well as the problem of the large number of Jewish and anti-German
refugees flooding this country are both factors which intensify the
existing hatred of everything connected with German National
Socialism. In this campaign of hatred, individual Jewish
intellectuals such as Bernard Baruch, Lehman, the Governor of New
York State, Felix Frankfurter, the newly appointed Supreme Court
Judge, Morgenthau, the Secretary of the Treasury and other
well-known personal friends have taken a prominent part in this
campaign of hatred. All of them want the President to become the
protagonist of human liberty, religious freedom and the right of
free speech and be the man who, in the future, will punish
trouble-mongers, especially those who are not liked by Jews. This
particular group of people, who are all in highly placed official
American positions and who are desirous of being representatives of
“true Americanism” and seen as “Champions of Democracy” are,
in point of fact, linked with international Jewry by ties incapable
of being torn asunder. For this Jewish international, so intimately
concerned with the interests of its own race, President
Roosevelt’s “ideal” role as a champion of human rights was
indeed a godsend, In this way they are not only able to establish a
dangerous center of hatred and enmity in this hemisphere, but name
also succeeded in dividing the world into two warlike camps. The
whole problem is being worked out in a most mysterious manner.
Roosevelt has been given the power to enable him to energize
American foreign policy and at the same time create huge reserves in
armaments for a future war which the Jews are deliberately heading
for. With regards to domestic policy, it is extremely convenient to
divert public attention from anti-Semitism which is on the increase
in the United States, by talking about the necessity of defending
religious faith and individual liberty against the assault of
Fascism.
/s/
Jerzy Potocki,
Ambassador of the Republic of Poland
The
next report is under the date of April 30, 1939, which Potocki wrote
immediately following a private meeting in his residence with
General Edwin M. “Pa” Watson, an aide and confidant of the
American President. Two days earlier, on April 28, Adolf Hitler had
delivered a scathing and sarcastic address to the German Reichstag
in answer to an April 14 public appeal by Roosevelt to Hitler to
guarantee the integrity of a number of countries, including Ireland,
Syria and Palestine (which was then occupied by the British). This
approach to Hitler was designed solely to appeal to the public in
America because it contained so many factual and political blunders
that Hitler was able to very effectively heap scorn and sarcasm on
both its contents and author.
It
was after this speech that General Watson came, at Roosevelt’s
request, to have a private discussion with the Polish Ambassador.
To
the Foreign Minister in Warsaw:
This evening I received in my private residence, General Watson, a close
confidant of the American President. The General stated he was
acting on the instructions of the President and wished me to convey
the content of his information to the Polish Government in Warsaw.
It appears that Chancellor Hitler’s speech in Berlin of April 28 has
infuriated the President, who the General assures me, believes that
Chancellor Hitler has held him up to public ridicule and contempt.
These were the exact words used by General Watson.
It was also stated that because the President’s family, on both his
mother’s and father’s sides has Jewish blood, the President has
additional reasons for hating Chancellor Hitler and the Germans.
The President was apparently surprised and most disturbed by the visit
of the German Foreign Minister (von) Ribbentrop to Warsaw in January
of this year. The President is aware that the Germans were, and are
still, seeking to persuade Poland to join the Anti-Comintern Pact
and I assured the General that Poland, while not well-disposed to
the French, refused to ally themselves with Chancellor Hitler.
The General went on to state that President Roosevelt felt that
Chancellor Hitler must be stopped before he began another war and
before he mistreated and expelled all the Jews in Germany. The
General especially mentioned Polish Jews in this light. There are
very strong sentiments in the United States against becoming
involved in another European war and the American President must
find another way to fan the flames of war in Europe. It appears from
my questions to General Watson that President Roosevelt has very
little actual knowledge of conditions in Europe and is acting out of
a spirit of vengeance alone.
President Roosevelt, his aide asserted, wishes the Polish Government to
firmly resist any attempts on the part of Chancellor Hitler to
arrive at a negotiated settlement over the question of Danzig and to
stand firm. I was able to assure the General that the Polish
Government has no intentions of bowing to pressure from Chancellor
Hitler in this matter and would not yield an inch concerning Polish
control over former German territories.
The General stated that the President was aware of our attitudes, but
made a very strong suggestion that the Polish Government fight fire
with fire, to quote directly, and openly defy Chancellor Hitler. The
President has knowledge of groups of prominent Germans, many in high
military and governmental offices, who are completely opposed to
Chancellor Hitler and National Socialism and who would rise up
against their regime at outbreak of a war.
General Watson furthermore has shown me a copy of a draft treaty with
the Soviet Union in which it is set forth that the Soviet Army will
join with the Polish Army in attacking the Germans at the slightest
provocation. The President has further suggested that such a
provocation could easily be supplied by the Polish Government and
the ensuing aggression by the German forces would be countered by
the bravery of the Polish forces and the might of the Soviet Union.
I attempted to explain to the General that the Polish Government was
certainly not friendly with that of the Soviet Union, and in fact,
viewed them as dangerous potential enemies, not allies. I also
pointed out that the Soviets had invaded Polish territory in 1920
with a view to totally resubjugate the newly-formed Polish state.
The General had no knowledge of the Battle for Warsaw in 1920, a
battle in which this author certainly played a serious part. The
General spoke warmly about the Soviet Union, assuring me that Stalin
would have no territorial demands on the Polish state after a
military defeat of the Germans and would immediately retire back
behind his borders.
The President seems to be woefully lacking in any knowledge of the
situation in Poland and one should note further that the Polish
Embassy here has received no information about any such potential
treaty between the Soviets and Americans. Although the General had
with him a transcribed copy of this treaty, it was a draft only and
had no identifying signatures of any kind.
This appears to this writer as a mere bluff on the part of the American
President and as it was completely impossible to have an informed
discussion with his communicant, the General was advised that his
message would be passed to the Minister at once.
It does appear that the spite of the American President coupled with his
ambition to remain in office is a very dangerous business and his
devious meddling in matters he does not understand could lead to
very serious consequences, not for the United States which would
profit from a European war, but for all of Europe.
/s/
Jerzy Potocki,
Ambassador
of the Republic of Poland
There
are two other Potocki documents, one dealing with US foreign policy,
and another that was an important paper penned just before the
outbreak of the war in Poland and that contains material of some
historical interest covering the coming Hitler-Stalin pact.
This
report is dated March 7, 1939.
To
the Foreign Minister in Warsaw:
The
current foreign policy of the United States, which also concerns the
American people as well, is to be found in the public speeches of
President Roosevelt. In nearly all of these speeches, he makes a
clear reference to the necessary importance of inaugurating a
foreign policy that will counter the current chaotic conditions,
political and ideological, that he now believes is to be found in
Europe.
These
references are immediately taken by the press and presented to their
public in a manner designed to reinforce the ideas about Europe
already planted there by Roosevelt and his cooperative press before.
The basic theme of Roosevelt’s doctrine is that there is now a
great danger of another European war and that this will cause the
destruction of the democracies at the hands of fascism. In all of
these speeches is to be found a central theme: the critical danger
from Nazi Germany and Nazism to global peace.
The
result of this propaganda is that the American public is now urged
to fully support a vast rearmament and to approve of the spending of
enormous sums of money for their Navy and Air Force. The
unquestioned idea behind this is that in case of the outbreak of a
war, the United States cannot remain neutral, but must take an
active part in the conflict. As a direct result of a combination of
the very effective speeches of Roosevelt and their almost complete
support by the press, the American public is now being thoroughly
manipulated to hate everything that appears to be totataliaristic
and fascist. However, it is interesting to note that the USSR is not
included in this at all. The American public now considers Russia to
be on the side of the democratic states. This was also the situation
during the civil war in Spain when the communist Loyalists were
viewed here as the true defenders of democracy.
The
American Department of State conducts its operations without any
public notice, but it is known here that the Secretary of State,
Hull, and President Roosevelt both are in agreement on these
matters. Unlike Roosevelt, Hull displays more reserve and caution
and is careful to make a distinction between Nazism, Chancellor
Hitler, and the rest of the German people. In his view, Hitler’s
form of dictatorship is a transitory, but necessary evil. On the
other hand, the American Department of State is deeply concerned
with the conditions in the USSR and most especially worries about
its recent weaknesses and a possible decline. The most important
reason for the American’s interest in the Soviets is the current
situation in the Far East. The Roosevelt government would be most
pleased to see the Red Army emerge as a victor in a war with Japan.
This also explains why the American government is clearly in support
of China and has only recently donated the sum of 25 million dollars
to their aid.
Special
attention is paid here to all information received from American
diplomatic personnel and most especially to the personal emissaries
of Roosevelt whom he appoints as his Ambassadors. President
Roosevelt keeps in close contact with these emissaries and has them
come very often to Washington to consult with him and receive a
flood of notes and instructions from him. Very little is known here
about this traffic of the diplomats and the press is careful to make
no mention of the journeys. The American Department of State is also
most cautious about releasing any information about the
conversations with the President and his diplomats. This most
practical method of dealing on the part of President is very
effective because he is able to give direct and personal messages to
his diplomats, most of whom are his personal friends. By this
method, he is now leading the United States down the sinister path
in world politics and with the obvious intention of abandoning the
current American policy of isolationism.
The
President considers the foreign policy of his country as a clean
means of achieving his own personal political ambitions. He is now
pleased to note the responses his policies are having in the
capitals of the world. The only thing that blocks the American
President and his people from immediately executing his policies is
the American Congress which, under the one hundred and fifty year
old Constitution, has the power to block the President as well as to
be fully responsible for the enactment of laws.
President
Roosevelt’s foreign policy has very recently been the subject here
of strong debate in the lower house as well as in the Senate and
this has caused turmoil. The Isolationists, well represented in both
houses of the legislature, have emerged as strong opponents of the
President, taking exception to his published statement that the
borders of the United States are on the Rhine. However, President
Roosevelt is a highly skilled political player and is fully aware of
the power of his legislature. He has his partisans in that body and
is aware of when he must retreat and when he can advance.
Acting
with great political intelligence and even cunning, he links the
question of his foreign policy with the issue of American
rearmament, and in this he stresses in specific the vital necessity
of spending enormous sums in order to maintain a strong defense. It
is his specific view that the United States is not rearming to
either intervene or assist either England or France if they should
become involved in a war, but because he wishes to show the world
that America is well-armed and prepared in case of an armed conflict
breaking out in Europe. It is his repeated view that the danger of
this war is now becoming more and more acute, and as he says it,
unavoidable.
By
presenting these views in this manner, he has managed to lull the
suspicions of both houses of his Congress who do not object. They
have received and approved his rearmament programs and given him one
billion dollars for this. The normal budget for the armament is 500
million dollars and his new emergency budget is also 500 million.
Using this rearmament program as a cover, President Roosevelt even
pushes forward his foreign policy which is unofficially believed
throughout the world that in the event of a war, his United States
will at once join the democratic states with all the financial and
military power of that country.
We
may say in concluding that all of the technical and psychological
preparation of the American people for their participation in a war,
in the event one should happen in Europe, is making swift progress.
It now is evident that the United States would come to the aid of
both France and Great Britain immediately if there is a war. On the
other hand, I have knowledge of the attitudes of the American public
as well as personal connections with the representatives and
senators who have the final word in this matter, and I personally
believe that the possibility of their permitting America to enter a
new war as they did in 1917 is not foreseen. This is due to the
resistance by the majority of the rural West and mid-West where
avoidance of another war is strongly predominate. They clearly
remember the Versailles Treaty and its famous phrase about saving
the world for democracy and they know that this was only idle talk.
Instead of remembering these hollow words, they remember the unpaid
billions of dollars which the states of Europe still owe to America.
(s)
Jerzy Potocki
Ambassador
of the Republic of Poland
The
final report from this Ambassador in Washington, was written on
August 13, 1939, only weeks before the war in Poland broke out. Although
most historians believe that the Hitler-Stalin Pact was a great
surprise to everyone concerned and happened almost without warning,
there are other views that were current at the time and this report
expresses them very clearly.
To
the Foreign Minister in Warsaw:
This
is being sent most urgently to Your Excellency because of the
extreme importance of the information I have received.
We
have heard recently, even this day, that some kind of a treaty is to
be arrived at between Chancellor Hitler and Stalin. I have
personally heard this information from my colleague, the British
Ambassador who has heard it directly from his Foreign Office in
London.
It
appears that while we, the British and French have been negotiating
with Moscow for some kind of a support pact, the Germans have been
equally busy. Chancellor Hitler, it is said, fears a two-front war
and is making every effort to prevent this, even if it means making
peace with Stalin, his greatest enemy.
We
know that Russia has, at our talks, wanted permission to cross
Polish territory and we also know that this is impossible. Stalin
obviously wishes to reconquer Poland and now wishes to do it without
bloodshed and with permission of the British and the French!
We
are told that the secret news of these German-Russian negotiations
has come to the attention of President Roosevelt and he is now in a
state of fury. The President is also beset with problems, which he
feels might be very bad for his political organizations. If Hitler,
who is Roosevelt’s biggest enemy and one whom he has constantly
attacked in the press, makes a pact with Stalin, then the American
President has a terrible problem. He, on the one hand, will have to
criticize Stalin, who is the hero of the American communists and
most especially of the many radical Jews who actively support
Roosevelt and are powerful members of his government.
If
this pact comes about, he will have to struggle about which course
to take to keep his power in America. Because of his great support
of both the communists and the Jews, he will have to make an attack
on Stalin which would cause him to lose the only really effective
support he has.
And
might I not comment that if this pact is enforced, will not Poland
be caught between the jaws of the nutcracker with Russia on the East
and Hitler on the West? It is felt here, and also by the British,
that such a pact would spell the doom of Poland as a state because,
in spite of all their pious talking, neither England nor France
could be of any assistance to us unless they at once attacked
Germany in the West. No one here feels that either country could do
this in time and because of the situation with the American
legislature, it is not possible for Roosevelt to come to Poland’s
assistance either.
I
shall certainly keep you current with my knowledge in these very
perilous days and you all have the prayers of myself and all my
staff.
(s)
Jerzy Potocki
Ambassador
of the Republic of Poland
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