326

POLICY COMMITTEE.
Thursday , November 21st, 1940.

Sec Reg

PRESENT :

Minister

D.G.

D.D.G.

Secretary

P.S.

Sir Maurice Peterson

Lord Davidson

Sir Kenneth Clark

Mr. Banford

Mr. Fraser

Mr. Wellington

Mr. Peake

Mr. Tree

Mr. Gates

Mr. Ogilvie

Mr. Valentine Williams

Mr. Waddell (Secretary)

1. ORGANISATION OF THE MINISTRY.

The D.G. explained that the memorandum which had been circulated had been agreed in discussion at Meetings of the Principal Officers Committee. It was now submitted to the Policy Committee for consideration. He hoped later to put forward a further memorandum on the Regional Organisation.

The Minister said that having regard to his experience in other departments (the Foreign Office, the Treasury, the Admiralty and the War Office) he had on examining the scheme of organisation questioned whether there might not be too much work coming directly under the Director General. He mentioned that the idea of a Board as in the Admiralty and the War Office organisation had occurred to him and he thought it might be more suitable for a Department of the size of the Ministry. The D.G. said he could hardly be a satisfactory judge on whether he could himself deal with the work but he had taken up his appointment with the intention of being effectively in charge of the Ministry and he felt himself obliged to have a general knowledge of all the work the Ministry was engaged upon. He felt that anything in the nature of a bottle neck would be very undesirable and would not wish to stand in the way of Controllers and Principal Assistant Secretaries consulting the Minister or being consulted by him, though he would expect to be informed of any decisions that were reached.

[Extracted to A/529]

Lord Davidson said that he doubted whether in fact all the detail the Director General would need to keep under his control could be dealt with by 327 L.C.C. for the Ministry's assistance in arranging military ba[illegible] programmes in parks. It was agreed that this would be a matter for the War Office.

4. CANADIAN TRANSMITTER

The Deputy Secretary reported that a reply had been received from Sir Gerald Campbell which indicated that we ought to wait until the return of Sir Campbell Stuart, who had some views to express about the proposal. It was noted that the Canadian Broadcasting authorities were proceeding independently with a scheme for a 50,000 watt transmitter under their own control.

5. B.B.C. RECORDINGS

The Deputy Secretary reported that the objections previously raised by Mr. Bevin had now been met, and that a paper had been prepared for the Home Policy Committee to-morrow.

6. OTHER BUSINESS

(a) Famine in Europe

Mr. Valentine Williams reported on the success of the campaign Electra House had been conducting in broadcasting to Europe items about the bad harvest prospects, slaughtering of livestock in occupied territories etc. The German Government had reacted strongly in their broadcast and press propaganda in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Germany and, more especially, in Holland and Norway, We had been suggesting again and again that the people in these territories should buy up everything they possibly could in view of the approaching scarcity. He hoped the Ministry would be able to give Electra House's propaganda in this respect all possible support in neutral countries.

Mr. Nicolson said that the Ministry of Economic Warfare wanted as little as possible said in the home press about famine in Europe, and the Minister reported a discussion at the War Cabinet during the previous week when it had been decided to damp down references and to take the line that if any shortage arises it could only be due to the German policy of “guns before butter”: there had been hunger in Germany before the war. It was desired that nothing in the nature of cartoons on famine should be allowed to appear in the press.

The Director General suggested that the Ministry of Economic Warfare should provide us with a statement of facts regarding scarcity in Europe which we could consider using as news and possibly later working up into propaganda material, and he asked that the doubtful reference in Hitler's speech to “Europe” or “Germany” should be cleared up. Agreed with the line which the Minister said he had seen taken in a Foreign Office paper that any famine which would arise in Germany would be due to inefficiency and difficulties in transport rather than to actual shortage of commodities.

(b) French trials

Mr. Valentine Williams referred to the Riom trials and the probable German intention of pinning war guilt on France and this country. He was anxious that a strong line should be taken before the trials got under way, in order to ensure that neutral opinion should not be affected by this German propaganda. The Director General suggested that the proper course might be to treat the trials with ridicule rather than treat them too seriously. There did not appear to be any danger of neutral opinion, particularly in America, being under any misapprehension as to war guilt.