800.515/9–2844: Circular airgram
The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic and Consular Officers 37
Flight of Axis Capital
Reference is made to the Department’s circular airgram of August 23, 1944, entitled “Mission re Flight of Axis Capital”.
Your attention is called to the request in paragraph 2 for evidence on transfers of securities to or through your territory. It is probable that the enemy, and particularly persons important in the Nazi regime, will attempt to secrete capital in the form of bearer securities issued by neutral governments which may be difficult to trace. You should be on the alert for investments in securities not only of industrials but also of the neutral governments.
No mention was made in the circular of cooperation with representatives of other Allied Governments. You should, of course, arrange with your British colleagues for a prompt and complete exchange of views on this subject. It is suggested that they be given a copy of the directives issued thus far. You should also approach informally any other Allied missions, especially the French, Dutch and Belgian, and discuss with them in an informal manner the information which is being collected and is already available, particularly with regard to looted property which is of interest to the respective governments. It should be pointed out to the missions of those countries now or formerly occupied by the enemy that while this Government recognizes their special interest in identifiable looted assets we, too, are interested in such assets with a view toward preventing the Germans from realizing any benefit therefrom and assuring that the United States will not inadvertently provide haven for such properties.
The Department is informed that the Ministry of Economic Warfare is issuing comparable instructions to the British missions.38 The British instructions, however, broaden the scope of the project to include a catalogue of all German assets abroad. Specific instructions will be sent you in the near future concerning the extent to which you should collect a register of similar information. Meanwhile, you should preserve all intelligence of this general nature which comes [Page 235] into your possession since information on looted and flight capital will tend to merge with information relating to German assets generally.
In order to expedite prompt distribution, all cables, airgrams, and despatches on this subject should contain the code word “Safehaven”.
- The diplomatic representatives in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom; the consular officers at Istanbul and Naples; and the United States representative on the Advisory Council for Italy.↩
- British circulars to Missions on flight of Axis capital were transmitted to the Department in despatches 18138 and 18256 of September 21 and 28, respectively, not printed.↩