Office of the Historian

840.48 Refugees/5337: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Portugal (Norweb)

Washington, April 12, 1944—2 p.m.

1013. From War Refugee Board. With reference to your telegram no. 779 March 11.75 Reports are carried by the Swedish press that Nazi pressure has been intensified on Hungary to strengthen the anti-Jewish [Page 1028] policy and in the cases of Polish and other Jews who have escaped to Hungary to deport them.

Because of the reported operations in Hungary by the German military, it is requested that you again approach the channels to the Hungarian Government that are available to you and reiterate this Government’s position and make it clearly understood that, the current Nazi pressure notwithstanding, any action to inflict new and further persecutions on the part of the Hungarian Government, or to continue existing persecutions designed against foreign or native Jews or the deportation of foreign or native Jews to any territory controlled by Germany or to Germany itself, will be considered with the greatest disfavor by this Government and will be taken into account when the war has ended. Through the channels that are available to you, you should also again approach the Rumanian Government and inform them concerning the foregoing message to the Government of Hungary explaining the circumstances that are the basis of it. Clearly intimate that the same applies to the Government of Rumania notwithstanding any actions taken by the Nazis, to intensify the deportation or other persecution of foreign or native Jews, which may result from military defeats of the Nazis or from other causes.76 [War Refugee Board.]

Hull
  1. Not printed; it indicated that, in accordance with Department’s instruction (see telegram 770, March 7, to Bern, p. 1001), the substance of this warning had been conveyed to the Bulgarian and Hungarian Governments and would be later conveyed to the Rumanian Government (840.48 Refugees/5337).↩
  2. Telegram 1150, April 18, from Lisbon, reported that the warning had been placed in proper channels for transmission to Hungarian and Rumanian authorities (840.48 Refugees/5645).↩