138 Spain/1059: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in Spain (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 20—3:58 p.m.]
1010. Since sending my 990 of June 28, 4 p.m.,84 I have held several further conversations with the Minister of State and the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense regarding the delivery of the passports of American volunteers. As a result of my last talk [Page 313] (yesterday) with Del Vayo he sent the Secretary General of the Ministry of State to see Zugazagoitia in order to obtain a definitive statement on the subject. The Secretary General of the Ministry of State sent to me last night a personal note reading as follows:
“I take pleasure in advising you of the interview I had this morning with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense concerning the passports of American citizens serving as volunteers with our international brigades.
In the first place, I must say that as far as the Spanish authorities are concerned there is no difficulty whatsoever with respect to the delivery to your Embassy of the passports in question, the only obstacle being that the holders of those documents do not wish to deliver them for fear of possible persecution by the American authorities.
The Secretary General of Defense has stated to me that this obstacle may be overcome by making them see that your Government does not intend to take any action that might prejudice them and he hopes to convince them so that the passports may be delivered at once.
He has furthermore indicated to me that the greater part of these passports are in the possession of anti-Fascist organizations in France and that, if you perceive no objection thereto, it would be best, in order to settle the matter, that those passports in the neighboring republic together with the few now in Spain be delivered to the Embassy of your country in Paris.”
In view of the foregoing, I believe that it would now be well for you to take up the matter with the organizations in the United States alluded to in your 447, June 13, 7 p.m.; their influence, however, should be exerted not upon the Spanish authorities but their confreres in France and Spain.
In the meanwhile, I shall address an informal note to Del Vayo requesting that at least the passports of deceased volunteers be delivered if they are here and stating that, of course, it will be entirely agreeable to us to have the other (or all) passports delivered to the Embassy in Paris.
With respect to the fear of prosecution or “persecution” now adduced, I have on several occasions orally stated that our efforts to recover these passports are not to be ascribed to any ulterior motive.
Repeated to Paris.
- Not printed; it reported that further conversations with Spanish officials encouraged belief that passports would be delivered in near future (138 Spain/1016).↩