740.0011 European War 1939/12395: Telegram
The Consul General at Beirut (Engert) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:26 p.m.]
242. I called on the High Commissioner this morning and let him read the text of the aide-mémoire the Department telegraphed to Vichy on June 1011 and which only reached me a few days ago via Cairo.
As usual, I found that he had not been informed of what Admiral Leahy had said in Vichy and he read the aide-mémoire twice very slowly and carefully underlining some of the phrases. He then looked up and said gravely, “This is pretty strong language! I wonder how Marshal Pétain took it.” He then said he hoped I did not think he was enjoying what he was doing. He went on to say with some vehemence his instructions were to fight to the last man and the last cartridge and being a soldier he would obey orders even if there had to be fighting in the streets of Beirut. I interrupted at this point and asked if he wanted me to take this literally for we had quite a large American colony and some valuable property to think of. He replied that even if there was no actual street fighting there would probably be fighting in the outskirts. At any rate he had nothing to do with policy and it was all up to Vichy.
When General Dentz had calmed down a little, I said one of the reasons why I wanted him to see the aide-mémoire was that I had heard from various sources how highly Marshal Pétain thought of him and how much he trusted his judgment in all matters pertaining to Syria. I therefore hoped very much he would do everything in his power to recommend that this senseless tragedy be not prolonged a [Page 749] day longer than absolutely necessary. He nodded and said he personally had no feelings of hatred toward the British; on the contrary he had many very good friends among them while he had no friends at all among the Germans. It was therefore absurd to believe that he was about to turn Syria over to Hitler when the British attacked although he admitted that the use of Syrian air bases would be a great help to the Germans. However, he assured me he had steadfastly refused all offers of German help in the present conflict.
I was about to leave when he asked me to sit down again and said he wished he could share the confidence I had expressed to him on so many occasions that a victorious Britain seconded by the United States would be able to recreate a world in which France could revive and Frenchmen could live their individual lives without becoming mere units in the community of termites envisaged by Nazis and Communists alike. I reiterated my conviction that such a future was possible provided only we all pulled together and the time to pull together was now.
The interview lasted an hour and we went over some of the ground reported in my earlier telegrams especially my 144, May 14, and 161, May 22.12 General Dentz tried hard to make light of the military situation in Syria but it was evident from his somewhat forced humor that he did hot really believe he could go on much longer. He also went out of his way to say he was doing all he could for his British prisoners and made no reference whatever to alleged cruelties, firing on ambulances to which they had played up so much. As I took leave he laughed and said, “Anyhow, one thing certain, I shan’t get a K. C. B. for all this!” I laughed, too, and replied as I was in charge of British interests, there was still a chance that he might.
Repeated to Vichy. Please inform British authorities.