862.002 Hitler, Adolf/18: Telegram
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 6—9:05 a.m.]
48. The Minister for Foreign Affairs handed me yesterday evening a very informal memorandum appealing, on the strength of the perilous world economic situation, for cooperation on the part of our Government towards limiting the abuse of that free speech (so highly treasured as he realizes in the United States) constituted by the continuous American publicity campaign against the new German regime. My audience was preceded by a conference of leading officials of the Foreign Office and the particular inspiration of the memorandum is apparently the “mock trial” to be held in New York tomorrow, which has made an extraordinary impression upon them.
I reminded the Minister that many things still occur here shocking to foreign public opinion and said that I did not myself see how our Government could prevent the “mock trial”. If I am correct in this respect and should the Secretary feel disposed to soothe injured susceptibilities a press interview deprecating irresponsible expressions of opinions in regard to problems outside our frontiers as tending to stimulate international ill will would probably be appreciated.