We have no food for them, and eliminating them [killing them] would be very much the wrong thing to do politically, since this could have major consequences. . . . There are still hundreds of patriots and our leading comrades in the concentration camps of Pavelić and in others. Such an exchange to save these comrades is of great political significance. The broad masses of Croatia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, and others approve of this, not to mention our People’s Army, which sees in this our concern for people. . . . You must also know that we are responsible for the lives of several million inhabitants, who trust us and our struggle, and we must act to ensure that this trust remains unshaken. I repeat that we have not merited your criticism and that your reproaches are very painful for us. 33

33 RGASPI, f. 495, op. 277, d. 19, incoming 1943 from Yugoslavia, ll. 187–185; coded dispatch of 7 April 1943.