740.00111 A.R./1180

The Minister in Nicaragua ( Nicholson ) to the Secretary of State

No. 1104

Sir: I have the honor to refer to my telegram of May 23 No. 48 11:00 a.m.49 in which I reported to the Department that the German Chargé d’Affaires in Managua had delivered a memorandum to the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs49a protesting against Nicaragua’s adherence to the proposal made by Uruguay regarding the invasion of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by Germany.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has sent me a copy of the memorandum delivered by the German Chargé d’Affaires and I am forwarding herewith the Spanish text of the memorandum.50

The memorandum says in brief that the present action of Germany in Holland and Belgium has had two results in America. First, that Argentina proposed that the American States abandon their previous concept of neutrality and adopt a status of “non-belligerency”. Secondly, Uruguay suggested a protest by the American Republics against the German action in Holland and Belgium. The memorandum goes on to say that the German action was fully justified and in support of the German point of view the German Chargé sent with his memorandum to Nicaragua a copy of the memorandum sent by Germany to the Belgian and Netherlands Governments on May 10th.

The memorandum to Nicaragua added that Germany’s action had been to frustrate an invasion of the low countries systematically prepared by England and France and therefore protests of third Governments against this action could be considered “markedly unfriendly”. The German memorandum closes by stating that the German Reich has reason to believe that the attitude of Uruguay had been brought about by foreign influences wishing to create in the Latin American States the fear that this continent would be menaced by Germany.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs informed me that he would study the German memorandum before making a reply and that in the event that the United States Government has received a similar memorandum from Germany he would like to have information regarding our reply. In discussing the memorandum the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that he could not accept the German point of view regarding the invasion of Holland and Belgium and that he [Page 796] thought the American Republics should act in unison in replying to the German protest.

I thanked Doctor Argüello for his courtesy in giving me this information and for what I considered a friendly act on his part.

Respectfully yours,

Meredith Nicholson
  1. Not printed.
  2. Mariano Argüello Vargas.
  3. The text was similar to the memorandum presented to the Guatemalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, p. 789.