Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, General: Economic and Social Matters, Volume II

800.515/8–1444: Circular airgram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic and Consular Officers ¹⁵

Washington, August 23, 1944—9:05 a.m.

Mission re Flight of Axis Capital

The following airgram, sent to our missions in the neutral European capitals,¹⁶ is repeated to you for your information:

Reference is made to Bretton Woods Resolution VI, and to the interest of this Government in the problem of looted assets and similar questions. This Department, Treasury, and FEA¹⁷ are studying and desire to be kept currently informed concerning enemy investments, and enemy plans, as well as operations under such plans, to seek safe haven in neutral and other countries for assets and military and industrial potential in frustration of anticipated Allied controls following the cessation of hostilities. A mission consisting of representatives of the Department, Treasury, and FEA, familiar with the details of the proposed project, will visit you shortly. Herbert J. Cummings of the Department and Samuel Klaus of FEA have been, respectively, designated to visit your missions in the course of this project to consult with the Chief of Mission or such officer as may be designated. The project to be discussed will, of course, be developed under the supervision of the Chief of Mission, the contacts to be arranged through the Mission. Treasury has not as yet designated its representative. Pending designation of such representative, the Treasury personnel in your mission, if any, will act as such representative. It is anticipated that the Treasury representative may meet the other members of the mission en route. The itinerary is planned to include London, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, and Ankara and such other places as may be feasibly and profitably visited.

In the meantime, and without attempting to be all-inclusive, you should proceed to gather together new data on this subject, having due regard to the secret nature of this project. For your guidance the following are suggested items which you may wish to consider in making this study:

1. Have there been established in your area any new enterprises which may in some way represent either enemy or looted assets? This item should be broadly interpreted to include new enemy investments of every kind, open and cloaked, new holding companies, business firms, majority or minority interests in enterprises, patent agreements, licensing or commission agreements, and similar devices through which control may be exercised over business enterprises.

2. What evidence can you obtain on capital transfers to or through your territory, including bank balances, gold transfers, whether between Central Banks or otherwise, in which there may be an enemy interest; new deposits of wealth in all forms, including gold, gems, currency, and the like; securities, stock piles of merchandise or raw materials in warehouses, mortgages, annuities, art objects, claims of various kinds, the creation of new credits by the delivery of merchandise, and performance of services, real or fictitious, by which the enemy is paid by book entry or otherwise?

3. What information are you able to obtain on retransfers from other neutrals to your area for enemy accounts?

4. Has there been any evidence that enterprises in your area, irrespective of the nationality of their ownership or control, have been utilizing German technicians or managerial help? This could constitute one medium through which the enemy could attempt to maintain its industrial or military skill or experimental or shadow-plant activity.

5. Are there not some industries and individuals in your area which have been so allied with the enemy economic or military organization in the past that it is likely that they are being or may be used to provide safe haven whether by partnership relations, employment relations, or the provision of opportunities for technical experience or research, and so forth?

6. Is there any evidence that the Governments in your area are considering plans for inviting enemy technical or managerial help to build up the industrial and military potential of their countries? (In view of recent developments in Turkey, this item will probably be irrelevant so far as that country is concerned.)

7. Are there any refugees (real or questionable)—pro- or anti-Nazi—who are engaged in planning projects of the types described above, or who may be intermediaries in communications on this or related subjects?

Pending arrangements made in conference with the mission mentioned above, you are requested to submit to Washington, for the attention of State, Treasury, and FEA, repeating to London for the information of the Embassy, any presently available basic material on this subject, and all material gathered in pursuance of these instructions as rapidly as it is obtained.

Hull

15. The diplomatic representatives in Algeria, Egypt, the United Kingdom, and Rome (Office of the U. S. representative on the Advisory Council for Italy), and the consular officers at Istanbul and Naples.
16. Circular airgram, August 23, 9:10 a.m., to the diplomatic representatives in Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
17. Foreign Economic Administration.