Words matter. These are the best W. Averell Harriman Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I think Stalin was afraid of Roosevelt. Whenever Roosevelt spoke, he sort of watched him with a certain awe. He was afraid of Roosevelt’s influence in the world.
Much of the aid we first gave to Russia we took away from what we promised Britain. So in a sense, Britain participated in a very real way in the recovery of Russia.
Poland, of course, was the key country. I remember Stalin telling me that the plains of Poland were the invasion route of Europe to Russia and always had been, and therefore he had to control Poland.
The Russians often took advantage of Lend-Lease.
I was quite ready to accept certain restrictions on the United States. After all, there was a great dollar shortage. It was quite clear that the more prosperous Europe became, the more business there would be in the United States.
Roosevelt was determined to stop Stalin from taking over Eastern Europe. He thought they finally had an agreement on Poland. Before Roosevelt died, he realized that Stalin had broken his agreement.
Actually I’d had a certain amount of experience in Europe in the inter-war period, as a banker, and I was also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Chamber of Commerce.
As far as the Russians were concerned, I felt the reverse; they had adequate gold, if they wanted to buy, and they weren’t dependent upon international trade. I felt they were more self-sufficient.
Conferences at the top level are always courteous. Name-calling is left to the foreign ministers.
We both agreed that Stalin was determined to hold out against the Germans. He told us he’d never let them get to Moscow. But if he was wrong, they’d go back to the Urals and fight. They’d never surrender.
It was fear. He didn’t want to see a united Germany. Stalin made it clear to me – I spoke with him many times – that they couldn’t afford to let Germany build up again. They’d been invaded twice, and he wasn’t willing to have it happen again.
Americans wanted to settle all our difficulties with Russia and then go to the movies and drink Coke.
This was the period when I used all the influence I had to get the British to abandon their export trade, and as much as possible convert all of their manufacturing facilities to the immediate needs of the war, including civilian, as well as military requirements.
We were talking about really getting Europe on its feet. It was our hope that there would be a breakdown of trade barriers in Europe first, and then eventually a breakdown internationally, which would help increase trade with Europe.
I think there are telegrams that may or may not be available, which indicated that I very much had in mind the need to give Europe substantial aid after the war, after Lend-Lease was over.
