CURZON LINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160022-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 5, 2012
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: March 21, 1945
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/1 0/05 : CIA-RDP08001297R000500160022-8
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Mr. Boggs, GE
A. R. Hall, GE
CURZON LINE
oh 21, 1945
At the time of th4 Versailles Peace Conference in 1919
Russia was in the midst of civil war and had no. stable government
litthVlich the Allies could or would deal. On the other hand,
the Palish government, recognized by the Allies was under the
necessity of having a well-defined area within Allies,
it could
organize an administration. These factors had to be taken into
account by the Conference in attempting to delimit the boundary.
between the two countries. The task of laying down this line
was assigned to a Sub-Commission of the Commission 'on Polish
Affairs consisting of General LeRond of France, Dr. Lord of the
United States, Mr. Paton of Great Britain, and Marquess della
Torretta of Italy. The final Declaration of the Supreme Council
to the Polish government, December 8, 1919, was very largely the
result of the discussions in this Sub omission. This declarat-
ion stated that:
The Principal Allied and Associated Powers...without pre-
judging the provisions which must in the future define the
eastern:frontiers of Poland, hereby declare that they
recognizedtbe right of the Polish Government to proceed,
...to organize a regular administration of the territories
of the former Russian pire situated to the West of the
line described below.
The described line wasithat from the intersection of the
Bug River with the former northern boundary of kiins
Hungary (the northern boundary of Eastern Galicia)? down the
Bug to the vicinity of Mielnik, thence northeastward to the
vicinity of Grodno, thence to the frontier of East Prussia._
(The red line north from Krylow to the German frontier as shown
on the accompanying map, "Eastern Frontiers of Poland, 1912-
19230, GE, April 290 1944). The declaration further stated
that:
The rights which Poland may be able to prove over the
territory situated to the east of the said line are
expressly reserved.
The problem of a Polish boundary in Eastern Galicia was
considered separately from that in the area to the north, since
Galicia had formerly been Austro-Hungarian rather than Russian.
Western Galicia was to be given to Poland. In November, 1919
the Supreme Council accepted a draft statute allowing Poland
to take Eastern Galicia under mandate from the League of Nations
for a period of 25 years. The western boundary of Eastern
K2cieg n A ,3
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08001297R000500160022-8
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-2.
Galicia was fixed as running to the north and west of Rawa
Ruska, and to the east of Przemsyl. (The southern end of the
red line as shown on the accompanying map.) This mandate
project was later abandoned. However, on the map accompanying
the text of the Declaration of December 8 the proposed western
boundary of Eastern Galicia was indicated, although, this line
was net mentioned in the Declaration. It was represented on
the map as a southern extension of the line described in the
text.
In July, 1920, 'during the hoetiliti s between Poland and
Russia, the British government secured Polish consent to an axm
armistice providing that the Polleh army retire to the line
fixed by the Supreme Council, December 80 1919, and that in
Eastern Galicia the Polish and 'Soviet armies each retire ten
kilometers from the line which they had reached at the time
of the armistice. Lord Curzon, British, Foreign. Secretary,
communicated these terms to the Soviet government on July 11,
1920. In addition to reciting the terms, Lord Curzon described
in very general words, the line of December 8 as well as the
proposed 'western boundary of Eastern Galicia. The Curzon note
was accordingly ambiguous so far as Eastern, Galicia was concerned
for it mentioned both the military line at the time of the
armistice and the western boundary as proposed by the Peace
Conference. Probably because the two lines were represented
as one on the Peace Conference map and were described an one
by Lord Curzon, the western boundary of Eaten Galicia and
the line of the Declaration of December 8 have often been
lumped together as the "Curzon Line%
The PoliSh government did net recognize the Curzon Line
at any time, even as a provisional boundary. The Soviet govern-
ment took the same position, and in the summer of 1920 after -
the British proposal, made some proposals of its. own. The
Polish-Soviet war continued until the Poles Were able to
force Soviet recognition of the boundary over ?100 miles east
of the Curzon Line, embodied in, the final draft of the Treaty
of Riga, march 18, 1921.
Useful referencee for this subject are:
Territorial Studies Document T-462, March 6, 1944, The
Origins of the Curzon Line.
Witeld,Sworakowski, An Error Regarding Eastern Gal
in Curzon's Note to the Soviet Government of July
1920. Jour. Central European Affairs, vol. 4, N.
(April, 1944) p.1113. .
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08001297R000500160022-8