Office of the Historian

740.00116 E.W./10–1344

The British Ambassador (Halifax) to the Secretary of State

No. 628
Ref: 150/27/44

His Majesty’s Ambassador presents his compliments to the Secretary of State and has the honour to refer to His Majesty’s Embassy’s Aide-Mémoire of October 3rd, 1944, No. 152/154/44, in regard to the suggested extension of the terms of reference of the United Nations War Crimes Commission to include the investigation of war crimes committed by Germans against Italian nationals.

2.
In that Aide-Mémoire His Majesty’s Embassy had the honour to state that Mr. Eden was of the opinion that this matter might usefully be discussed in the first instance before the Advisory Council for Italy, and that His Majesty’s Ambassador at Rome had been instructed to concert with his United States colleague in this connexion.
3.
The Earl of Halifax is informed by His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs that Sir Noel Charles consulted Mr. Kirk who was without instructions from his Government but agreed to the problem being presented to the Advisory Council, at its meeting on October 6th, by Sir Noel Charles who would himself be presiding. Sir Noel Charles accordingly laid the problem before the Council on the lines agreed upon between His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the United States Government (Department of State note of June 3rd, 1944, 740.00116 European War 1939/1419), and proposed that the Allied Commission should act on behalf of the Italian Government in transmitting to the War Crimes Commission, through the Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, information relating to German crimes against Italian nationals. Sir Noel Charles reports that none of his colleagues on the Advisory Council made any comment on this proposal but all agreed to consult their Governments in order to be able to discuss the problem at a subsequent meeting of the Council.
Washington , October 13, 1944.