This is a typical report from a British Ambassador to the Foreign Office
in London. These reports were very regular, and usually very detailed.
Reports were top secret, and were written only for the eyes of the British
government back in London. They were not sent by normal mail.
This particular report is commenting on how the Soviet press reacted to
the Munich Agreement. The first half paragraph is describing what was said
in a communiqué (statement) by the state news agency TASS. The second
paragraph describes what is written in two leading Soviet papers, Pravda and
Izvestiya.
It is worth remembering that the Soviet press was closely controlled by
the Soviet government. It would not print anything Stalin disapproved of.
Bonnet and Halifax were the French and British Foreign Ministers and played
a leading role in the discussions at the Munich Conference.
Ivan Maiski was the Soviet Ambassador in London. Suritz was the Soviet Ambassador
in France.
