Office of the Historian

362.115/202: Telegram

The Ambassador in Germany (Wilson) to the Secretary of State

Berlin, June 21, 1938—7 p.m.
[Received June 22—7:45 a.m.]

319. Embassy’s 297, June 9, 6 p.m.40 Press today publishes summary of executory decree supplementing decree of April 26 on registration of Jewish property. It provides:

1.
For persons having their domicile or permanent residence abroad the registration provisions apply only to German nationals.
2.
For persons of foreign nationality the registration provisions apply only if they have domicile or permanent residence in
3.
Where persons liable to registration have their domicile abroad registration of property should be effected with the Police President of Berlin.
4.
Time limit for registration by persons domiciled outside of Germany prolonged until July 31 and for those similarly domiciled outside of Europe until October 31.

Text when available will be forwarded by mail.

To date there is no reply to our note of May 9 nor have we been able to confirm the foregoing in the Foreign Office where evasive replies are made to our questions.

To date possibly only a dozen American Jews have consulted the Embassy, Consulate General and Commercial Attaché with regard to the registration of their property. In each case the inquirer has been informed of the attitude of the American Government in the recent action but interviewing officers have been careful pending a reply to the Embassy’s note to the Foreign Office neither to advise for nor against registration. The Embassy has learned that in several cases American citizens are registering their property in accordance with the advice of a local American attorney. They are, however, attaching to their registration form a protest sworn to before an American consular officer against the application of this decree because of their American citizenship and the provisions of the German-American Treaty of Commerce.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Embassy has been unable to date to obtain a ruling as to whether the registration decree applies to corporate persons as well as natural persons.

Wilson
  1. Not printed.↩