Office of the Historian

860F.01/4–745: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, April 7, 1945—midnight.
[Received April 8—11:20 a.m.]

1086. ReDepts 784, April 4; sent Ankara as 338 and Bucharest as 170. We have today written to the Foreign Office withdrawing the request previously made for transit through the Soviet military zone to Czechoslovakia of the persons named in the Department’s 719, March 27, 8 p.m.45 and asking that the appropriate Soviet authorities be instructed to permit the transit of Klieforth, Bruin and Parry,46 whose name was one of two submitted to us by London.

Zorin has definitely gone to Košic with Beneš and his name has appeared prominently in Soviet press despatches from that city. I am told that civil authority in Slovakia is being exercised exclusively by the Slovak National Council which, as the Department is doubtless aware, is headed by a Slovak Communist named Husak.47 While this gives Moscow effective control of civil affairs in the area, the arrangement has been accepted by the Czech Government which, I understand, has formally delegated its authority to the Slovak National Council. Thus the civil affairs agreement has been observed in form, although violated in spirit. I understand that while the new government expects to remain in Košice until the liberation of Prague, the Slovak National Council will probably move to Bratislava in the near future. Thus civil affairs for Slovakia would not be administered from seat of Czech Government.48

Sent Department as 1086; repeated to Ankara as Moscow’s No. 21 and AmRep Bucharest as Moscow’s No. 57.

Harriman
  1. Not printed; but see footnote 41, p. 435.↩
  2. Carroll C. Parry, Vice Consul.↩
  3. Gustav Husák, Deputy Chairman of the Slovak Communist Party. In his despatch 268, April 20, the Chargé to the Czechoslovak Government in London reported on the election of a new executive of the Slovak National Council on April 11. Karol Šmidke and Jozef Lettrich were elected chairmen and Daniel Ertl, Gustav Husák, Ladislav Novomeský, Jozef Styk, Toma Tvarosek and Major Pollak were elected vice chairmen. (860.01/4–2045)↩
  4. In telegrams 1105 and 1106, April 9, from Moscow, Ambassador Harriman invited the Departments attention to the program of the new Czechoslovak Government which had been published in the Moscow press on April 9; the program, inter alia, recognized the Slovak National Council as the only legal representative of the Slovak nation and the bearer of governmental power on Slovak territory (860F.01/4–945).↩