362.1121 Hirsch, Helmut/29
Memorandum by the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State ( Dunn )
Acting under the Secretary’s instructions, I called upon the German Ambassador yesterday (Sunday) morning at 10 a.m., with regard to the case of Helmut Hirsch, who is now under sentence of death in Germany as a result of conviction on a charge of treason and the use of high explosives in an attempt against the lives of high German officials. The Counselor of the Embassy, Dr. Hans Thomsen, was also present with the Ambassador, Dr. Luther explaining to me that as he was leaving Washington within a few days he had Dr. Thomsen present in order to provide for any future discussions of the case which might arise.
I stated to Dr. Luther that the Secretary had asked me to come to see him in order that the German Embassy here might be informed of the Secretary’s views regarding the Hirsch case. I said that we had been in communication with our Embassy in Berlin which in turn had taken the matter up with the German authorities but that the Secretary also desired Dr. Luther and the Embassy here to be kept currently informed.
I explained to the Ambassador that although Helmut Hirsch’s grandfather, Salomon Hirsch, and his father, Siegfried Hirsch, and he himself had continuously claimed American citizenship, there had been complications arising from various phases of their claims for nationality which had required a very thorough and painstaking investigation both here and abroad in order to determine whether Helmut Hirsch, the young man now under sentence to death, was entitled [Page 396] to American citizenship and the protection and assistance of this Government as such a citizen. I said that unfortunately it had not been possible to arrive at the definitive conclusion with regard to his nationality until a few days ago when the Department had decided definitely that Helmut Hirsch was entitled to American citizenship. This decision was reached after Hirsch’s trial and after sentence upon him had been passed; that immediately upon reaching this determination of his citizenship, the Department had taken steps to inquire through our Embassy in Berlin as to the nature of the charges which had been brought against Hirsch and had sought and obtained an interview with him. I stated to the Ambassador that the objective of my visit was to explain the nature of the delay in our Government’s entering the case and to ask him, in the event of his feeling disposed to do so, to convey these explanations to the German Government and to ask that any final action or disposition of the case be postponed for sufficient time to permit the Secretary to inform himself of all of the facts connected with the case and to communicate with the German Government in the premises. I further said that we had been informed that Hirsch’s legal counsel had presented a plea for clemency which we understood could only be acted upon by the Reichschancellor and that our Embassy in Berlin already had instructions to support the German counsel in his plea for clemency. I stated that if the Ambassador also felt so disposed, we would be glad to have him transmit to his Government our hope that Hirsch’s plea for clemency be granted, thus paving the way for a commutation of the sentence.
The Ambassador treated me with every consideration in receiving me thus on Sunday morning and in listening to the statements and explanations I made to him. Upon my having delivered this message from the Secretary to him, he stated that in his opinion this case, although he was without any information on it directly from his Foreign Office, was one related to the commission of a crime for which the punishment provided by German law was extremely severe. He said that the law providing for such punishment was not new but had existed for many years in Germany; he said that, according to his information, the punishment for a similar crime in this country would be equally drastic and severe just as it would in many countries. He also referred to the Hauptmann case and recalled that although the German Embassy and authorities had followed closely every phase of the arrest, trial and conviction of Bruno Hauptmann, the man who was convicted of implication in the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby and executed therefor, they had after due deliberation decided not to make any representations whatever as they considered the matter to be one of due process of law following the commission of a crime against the laws of this country.
[Page 397]The Ambassador stated that he would be very glad to transmit immediately to Berlin the Secretary’s representations as conveyed by me.