Katharine, Duchess of Atholl, to Eleanor Roosevelt

14 June 1946 [London]

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt

Knowing how much your efforts contributed to the passing of that resolution in the UNO Assembly which gave freedom of choice in regard to repatriation to the Displaced Persons,⁵ I venture to send you herewith a copy of a memorandum our League has sent this week to the members of the Economic and Social Council in regard to certain findings of the Special Committee which has been sitting here, which we feel would rob the resolution of much of its value. We hope you may be able to find time to read it.

Then I also take this chance to send you the resolution of the Plenary Council of UNRRA to which I referred in a cable I sent you some weeks ago.⁶ The official at Polish Headquarters here to whom the Polish liaison officers in the camps report, was so miserable when he heard of this resolution,⁷ it seemed to me so serious an infraction of the UNO Assembly's resolution—or rather, decision—on this matter, that I felt I must ask you to do what you could. I fear the resolution of the Plenary Council must have been carried by the votes of some of the representatives of countries whose governments want to get the D.P.'s back at any cost. This attitude has been very evident on the Special Committee—hence the memorandum I enclose.

Forgive my troubling you, but this is such a big and urgent human problem.

                                    Yours sincerely,

                                    Katherine Atholl

ALS AERP, FDRL

ER replied five days later.