340.1115A/3055
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. George L. Brandt, Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State (Long)
Dr. Feer of the Swiss Legation came to see me this morning at his request. He said that we had perhaps heard something from our Legation at Bern recently regarding the renewal of the exchange of American and German nationals. I told him that we had had a telegram from the Legation within the past few days saying that Mr. Tait of the Legation had had a conversation with the officials of the Swiss Foreign Office during which the latter had stated that it was their guess that the Germans had resorted recently to the internment of Americans from the Paris area with the idea of reopening the exchange question. Dr. Feer said that he had received the same suggestion from his Foreign Office and had come to talk it over with me. I told him that we were replying to our Legation at Bern, quoting the language we had used in a note to the Swiss Legation here recently in response to an Italian feeler in the same direction, and requesting the Legation to undertake no conversations or action looking toward the renewal of the exchange agreement. I recalled to Dr. Feer that with respect to the Italian query, we had stated that we were not disposed to make any further commitment with respect to a mutual exchange of nationals and that we would proceed on our own initiative with regard to the future repatriation of any Italian nationals.
Dr. Feer then again referred to the Americans who had been interned recently by the Germans and asked whether we were inclined to undertake some exchange for them. I replied that they had been given many opportunities to return to the United States and that they would now have to endure their situation so far as we could not help them, in the national interests. I repeated that we were not interested at this time in any renewal of the exchange agreement. I reminded Dr. Feer that we had resorted to no mass internment here of German nationals, as he admitted.
Confidentially Dr. Feer added as he was leaving that he understood that we were quite dissatisfied with the type of person returned to us on the first two exchange voyages of the Drottningholm and that he had reported to his Government that the kind of persons the Germans had returned to us in exchange for their own nationals was disgraceful.