740.00116 E.W./10–944: Telegram
The Minister in Ireland (Gray) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:40 p.m.]
164. At 12 noon today I called on Mr. De Valera at his request. He at once handed me the aide-mémoire which follows as separate telegram.63 He said he had put his reply to our request regarding Axis war criminals in this form to correspond to the form of our approach. He invited me to read it. After reading it, I said that I had no comment to make having been merely the agency for transmitting the request.
Maffey lunched with me and I gave him a copy of the memorandum. Our reaction is that the significant part of the reply is the last paragraph. Eire considers Germany and Japan as friendly states and has not denied entrance subsequent to the beginning of the war to [Page 1438] Japanese representatives whose presence is injurious to the interests of United Nations. Furthermore two known German parachutists have landed here since 1940 and have not been returned to Germany.
Mr. De Valera’s reply gives us no assurances that the Axis powers would not be considered friendly powers if and when the question of returning Axis aliens landing without permission should arise. Also suppose Germany collapses as an organized nation to whom would a German national be returned? There is no suggestion of a promise to give him up to us. Taken as a whole, the reply seems to leave us much as we were.
We think the reply is intended to make us believe that it embodies acquiescence to our request while maintaining unimpaired position of neutrality for domestic political consumption. The Prime Minister was very bland and charming during interview.
Repeated to London as No. 54; 164 to Department.
- No. 165, infra. ↩