701.0011/384a
The Department of State to the British Embassy
Memorandum
The Department of State acknowledges the receipt of the British Embassy’s Aide-Mémoire of February 2, 1942 regarding the negotiations between the United States Government and the Governments of Germany, Italy, Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria for the exchange at Lisbon of the official personnel of this Government and of the other American Republics which have broken relations with or declared war on the Axis powers in Europe against the official personnel of the European Axis powers formerly accredited to the United States and to the other American Republics which are not maintaining diplomatic relations with the Axis powers.
These negotiations are already so far advanced that only certain technical details remain to be settled.
In respect to paragraph 2 of the Embassy’s Aide-Mémoire the Department notes with appreciation the desire of the British Government to facilitate the execution of the arrangements which have been negotiated by the United States Government, and in particular that the British Government will not grant safe conduct for the expelled officials of the Axis powers unless they are traveling in pursuance of those arrangements. It is hoped that the British Government will [Page 317] likewise be disposed to facilitate any exchange agreement which may arise from the reported desire of the Brazilian Government to effect similar arrangements.
This Government having within its borders a larger number of enemy nationals than there are American nationals in enemy territory abroad is not in approaching negotiations for exchange of official and unofficial persons motivated by considerations of numbers involved. It has on the contrary been motivated by the desire to remove from this hemisphere as promptly as possible and in the interest of national security as many as possible of the German agents who have been placed here at great trouble and expense by the German Government for the purpose of facilitating subversive actions in this continent. For reasons of policy and because of the laws of the other Governments in the Americas, it has been found desirable and necessary in including the other American Governments in the exchange arrangements to interpret the definition of official character as broadly as possible so as to include in the exchange and remove from South America agents of the Axis powers whose continuing presence in the Americas is dangerous to the security of the countries in which they respectively are and to that of the United States. It has likewise been found necessary to give assurances to those other American Governments that these persons will be repatriated under safe conduct with the official group from each of the other American Republics as a part of the official exchange between each such country and the Axis countries concerned. This Government has in following this policy been able to remove from their present spheres of activity certain very dangerous agents and has done so under the terms indicated. Should this Government be unable to carry out the terms of its agreement with these other American Republics that these persons may return to their homelands it would be obliged to return them to the countries from which they had been removed at such great pains, an alternative which would be clearly dangerous to the common interest and to the security of the western hemisphere. This Government has further received for repatriation to their homelands under similar conditions a number of other Axis nationals, suspected of being engaged in subversive activities, whose expulsion from other American countries is particularly desirable and whose continued presence in the United States is not desired for reasons of national security.
In view of the foregoing it is expected that the British authorities will interpose no obstacle to the carrying out of the steps which this Government finds essential for its national security, for the security of the western hemisphere and for the common interest. It is the feeling of the United States Government that none of the persons or categories of persons whose removal from this hemisphere is found necessary will constitute as effective threats against the common interest [Page 318] in their home countries as they would in their chosen fields of activity.
The agreements made by this Government for the repatriation of official personnel include the provision that neither the persons nor the baggage of those considered officials shall be searched. The question of the search, if any, to be made of the persons or effects of unofficial persons is not yet subject to any agreement, and this Government will in this respect therefore follow the careful course already contemplated to secure the best interests of this Government and of the governments with which it is associated.