FDR - Jean Edward Smith [369]
Nevertheless, Roosevelt did not know quite what to expect. Churchill told him that Stalin was remarkably astute, with a startling capacity for “swift and complete mastery of a problem hitherto novel to him.”65 Averell Harriman, FDR’s ambassador in Moscow, considered the Soviet dictator “the most inscrutable and contradictory character I have ever known—a baffling man of high intelligence and fantastic grasp of detail.” Later Harriman wrote that Stalin was “better informed than Roosevelt, more realistic than Churchill, and in some ways the most effective of the war leaders. At the same time he was, of course, a murderous tyrant.”66 Hopkins warned Stalin was strictly business. “He does not repeat himself. There is no waste of word, gesture, or mannerism.… He’s built close to the ground, like a football coach’s dream of a tackle. His hands are huge, as hard as his mind. His voice is harsh [Stalin, like Roosevelt, was a chain-smoker], but ever under control. What he says is all the accent and inflection his words need.”67
Roosevelt was not burdened at Teheran by briefing books and position papers. The issues he wanted to discuss with Stalin were political, and the president steered his own course. “He did not like any rules or regulations to bind him,” remembered Charles Bohlen, who as a young foreign service officer served as FDR’s interpreter.* “He preferred to act by improvisation rather than by plan.”68
Scarcely had the president settled into his quarters in the Soviet compound than Marshal Stalin walked over to meet him. “Stalin sort of ambled across the room toward Roosevelt grinning,” Mike Reilly of the Secret Service recalled.69 He wore a simple khaki tunic with the star of the Order of Lenin on his chest. As Roosevelt and Stalin shook hands, the president said, “I am glad to see you. I have tried for a long time to bring this about.” Stalin, after expressing his pleasure, accepted blame for the delay because he had been “very occupied with military matters.”70 The two chatted informally for almost an hour—half an hour, actually, because of the translation required. When Roosevelt spoke, Bohlen translated; when Stalin spoke, the duty fell to Vladimir Pavlov. To ease translation, each spoke for short periods, allowing the interpreter to intervene before continuing. According to Bohlen, Roosevelt and Stalin were very good at this. “Churchill was much too carried away by his own eloquence to pay much attention.”71 Each of the Big Three spoke through his own interpreter. Presumably that person would better understand what his leader was trying to say and would be more familiar with the country’s idiom.
The first formal conference of the Big Three convened at 4 P.M. Sunday in the conference room of the Soviet Embassy, which had been especially fitted with a large round table to preempt any question of who would sit at the head. Each country had four seats. Ambassador Harriman sat to FDR’s right, Bohlen at his left, and Hopkins next to Bohlen. With Stalin were Molotov, Pavlov, and Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, an old sidekick of Stalin’s from the Revolution. Churchill brought Anthony Eden, Lord Ismay, and his interpreter, Major Arthur Birse. Soviet secret police stood guard. As the only head of state, Roosevelt was asked to preside at the first session, and at FDR’s insistence there was no formal agenda. In fact, there was no agenda for any of the plenary sessions.72
Informality prevailed. “Everything was so relaxed it did not seem possible that the three most powerful men in the world were about to make decisions involving the lives and fortunes of millions of people,” said Bohlen.73 Roosevelt opened on a light note: as the youngest member present, he wished to welcome his elders. Churchill pointed out that they held the future of mankind in their hands. Stalin, as host, welcomed his guests. “History,” he said, “has given us a great opportunity. Now let us get down to business.”74
After a tour d’horizon the discussion