Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1938, General, Volume I

840.48 Refugees/1199: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Italy (Phillips)

Washington, December 30, 1938—7 p.m.

133. Taylor and Rublee have suggested⁹⁸ that the approach that you are to make to Mussolini⁹⁹ should be somewhat modified as a result of the forthcoming visit of Rublee to Berlin. We have approved their suggestion that you should omit from the memorandum¹ references to a possible financial contribution to be made by the United States, and that you should refrain in conversation with the Duce from mentioning any numbers of refugees, or specific amounts required for financing their emigration.

On the other hand, we have rejected a recommendation of Taylor and Rublee that you also delete a reference to the President’s suggestion that emigrants be permitted to purchase the necessary supplies in Germany for colonization; we feel that it might be useful for Mussolini to have a tangible thought on which to open the question with the Germans, and a thought on which his influence might usefully be brought to bear.

The memorandum should accordingly be changed to read as follows: Omit paragraph 2; rewrite paragraphs 4 and 5² to read as follows:

“Of great importance is the German attitude on this question. The Chief of the Government has undoubtedly heard that Dr. Schacht, during his recent visit to London, established a formal contact with the Director of the Intergovernmental Committee and put forward certain proposals of a specific character relating to the organization of emigration from Germany over a specific period of years and to the financing of this emigration. At the invitation of the German Government, the Director now plans to visit Berlin early in the New Year for the purpose of continuing the discussions. An essential point of the financial discussions will be the difficulty of procuring foreign exchange in sufficient quantities to allow the emigrants to have cash in hand. The President has suggested that this difficulty might be met, at least in part, by permitting refugee emigrants to spend their German marks within Germany to a sufficient extent to provide themselves with supplies indispensable for their resettlement, as, for instance, farm implements, clothing, and other requisites. If the German Government would permit emigrants from Germany to take from that country such articles for their use, up to a sufficient per capita value, the exchange difficulty would, of course, be greatly lessened.

“It is the earnest hope of the President of the United States that he may count upon the friendly interest of the Chief of the Italian Government in a general and satisfactory solution of this international problem.”

Welles

98. In telegrams Nos. 1472 and 1473, December 28, 11 p.m., and December 29, 6 p.m., respectively, from the Chargé in the United Kingdom; not printed.
99. See draft letter of December 7, from President Roosevelt to the Chief of the Italian Government, p. 858.
1. Ante, p. 859.
2. i. e., the last two paragraphs, formerly the 5th and 6th before the omission of former paragraph 2.