740.00119 European War 1939/1327: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Turkey (Steinhardt)1a

The Department has received an increasing number of reports indicating the desire of various of the so-called “satellite states” to establish contact with official or unofficial representatives of the United States. All of these reports have one common element: the individuals desire assurance that their territories will be maintained at the end of the war.

There is an official mission from Hungary at present in Ankara. Semi-official attempts have been made in Stockholm and in Lisbon. Unofficial individuals claiming to represent various parties in Rumania, notably Maniu and Mihai Antonescu, have appeared both in Switzerland and in Turkey. Though the Department has no direct reports, it is clear that a number of Bulgarians are endeavoring to do the same thing in Turkey.

Since contact with the missions of the United States is obviously impossible, these emissaries frequently endeavor to make contact through representatives of the Office of War Information, or of the various Intelligence services. The Department has uniformly declined to permit discussion, though it has not interfered with the gathering of information from these, and other enemy nationals, by the Intelligence services. The Department has pointed out to the representatives of the Intelligence services and the Office of War Information that this Government was associated with British and the Soviet Union in the present war, and that care must be taken that no action or utterance should occur which might be misconstrued as being contrary to the spirit of our common effort.

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All services having representatives in the country to which you are accredited have been instructed to report to you any contact purporting to be on behalf of an enemy government or group, and thereafter to follow your guidance.

Hull
  1. The same to the American diplomatic missions in Stockholm, Madrid, and Lisbon.