125.0051/279a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)

77. Your 202, January 11.4 Please deliver following urgently to Swiss Foreign Office referring to Department’s 35 of January 5 and previous on subject of exchange of French and American officials:

“The United States Government has on various occasions indicated to the Swiss Government through the American Legation at Bern its desire to proceed promptly to an exchange of French diplomatic and consular personnel in the United States who wish to return to French territory for American diplomatic and consular personnel and assimilated categories previously stationed in France. The French personnel are in the United States and can be immediately freed for exchange. This Government, however, has learned with surprise that it is proposed to remove the entire American group at Lourdes to Germany on January 13. As this removal is undoubtedly to be undertaken by the German authorities, this Government requests that an energetic protest in its name be made by the Swiss Government to the German Government for this unjustifiable action.

This Government still stands ready and willing to proceed with the exchange now and would be grateful to the Swiss Government if it would immediately proceed to effect it.”

Please inform the Swiss Foreign Office that this Government is ready to include in the exchange all German and Italian civilian nonmilitary personnel captured by our forces in French North Africa totaling 24 Germans and 13 Italians. This Government with regard to its personnel expects that Vice Consul Orebaugh and his two clerks taken by the Italians in Monaco and Mrs. Springs, wife of the Vice Consul at Tunis, and other American civilian personnel from French North Africa who may be held by the Germans and Italians will be included with the American personnel from France in the exchange.

Hull
  1. Not printed; it transmitted a report from the Swiss Legation at Vichy that the entire American group at Lourdes was to be transported to Germany on January 13 (125.0051/269).