740.00116 European War 1939/492
The Yugoslav Minister ( Fotitch ) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary: I am instructed by the Royal Yugoslav Government to invite your attention to an order issued by the authorities of German-occupied Belgrade on April 2, 1942 demanding that General Draža Mihajlović6 and the officers of his staff commanding the Yugoslav armed forces fighting in Serbia surrender at the nearest police station within five days and warning that non-compliance with; this order will result in the apprehension of members of their families who will be held as hostages and responsible for any activity of the persons mentioned in the order.
This warning applies also to all other persons having any contact with, or assisting the campaign of General Mihajlović. The families of such persons are to be held in reprisal and their property is to be confiscated.
[Page 803]The Yugoslav Government in London is aware of the cruel fate which awaits the families and friends of the gallant men who are courageously fighting for the liberation of their country and for the victory of the Allied cause. In these already devastated and blood-drenched regions of Europe Germany is trying once more to perpetrate cruel crimes against a freedom-loving people and to break their spirit by ruthless terror. Our people are thus to suffer another tragic blow which cannot be justified by any law known to civilized humanity or excused by the bitterness of war.
My Government respectfully asks that these inhuman methods so ruthlessly applied by our common enemy and the invader of our homeland be publicly condemned by the Government and people of the United States.
In protesting with the strongest indignation against this new outburst of German brutality, the Yugoslav Government would welcome it if the allied Government of the United States, fighting together for the cause of freedom, were to declare, in response to these orders by German and German-controlled authorities, that any persons issuing or executing such orders will be considered as outlaws and judged and condemned as such after the successful conclusion of the war.
I am enclosing the list,7 so far published, of the officers who have been asked to surrender.
Please accept [etc.]