File No. 124.55/13½
Statement Given to the Press by the Department of State
By direction of the President, the Minister at Brussels has been instructed to withdraw from Belgium, with all diplomiatic and consular officers, and take up his official residence at Havre.
After consultation with the Commission for Relief in Belgium, Mr. Whitlock has also been instructed to arrange for the departure of the American members of the commission.
This step, the seriousness of which is fully appreciated by the Government, Was taken only after careful consideration and full consultation with all the interests involved.
When diplomatic relations with Germany were broken off the normal procedure would have been to withdraw the Minister at Brussels and the American members of the relief commission. Both this Government and the commission, however, felt a heavy moral responsibility for the millions of innocent civilians behind the German lines, and it was decided that the work of the commission must be kept going despite all difficulties until continued American participation became impossible. For over two years it has been the single-minded purpose of this Government and the commission to see that these ten millions of civilians were fed, and, with this end in view, the Americans concerned have submitted to restrictions imposed on them by the German authorities which, under ordinary conditions, would never have been tolerated.
Immediately after the break in relations the German authorities in Brussels withdrew from Mr. Whitlock the diplomatic privileges and immunities which he had until that time enjoyed. His courier service to The Hague was stopped; he was denied the privilege of communicating with the Department of State in cipher, and later even in plain language. The members of the relief commission were placed under great restrictions of movement and communication which hampered the efficient performance of their task. In spite of all these difficulties the Government and commission were determined to keep the work going till the last possible moment.
Now, however, a more serious difficulty has arisen. In the course of the past 10 days several of the commission’s ships have been attacked without warning by German submarines in flagrant violation of the solemn engagements of the German Government. Protests addressed by this Government to Berlin through the intermediary of the Spanish Government have not been answered. The German Government’s disregard of its written undertakings causes grave concern as to the future of the relief work. In any event it is felt that the American staff of the commission can no longer serve [Page 657] with advantage in Belgium. Although a verbal promise has been made that the members of the commission would be permitted to leave if they so desire, the German Government’s observance of its other undertakings has not been such that the Department would feel warranted in accepting responsibility for leaving these American citizens in German-occupied territory.
This Government has approved the proposal of the Netherland Government to send into Belgium a certain number of Netherland subjects to carry on the work thus far performed by the American staff.