Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, The British Commonwealth and Europe, Volume III

864.01/500: Telegram

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

Lisbon, April 6, 1944—4 p.m.
[Received 10:18 p.m.]

1031. [To Buenos Aires:] Please transmit following message from Hungarian Minister, Lisbon, Wodianer, to Semsey, Hungarian Minister to Argentina,³⁸ who we are informed has refused to recognize present Hungarian Government.

Message begins. I and my colleagues in Madrid, Bern and Stockholm, and Ujvary in Istanbul, refuse to recognize or obey the present government which we consider illegal and having come into being under pressure of a foreign power. We continue to represent last legal government and have requested recognition of this status from the governments to which we are accredited. We are endeavoring in consultation with United States and British Missions to form the core of a Hungarian resistance movement to the leadership of which we believe Eckhardt to be the best man in cooperation with Pelenyi and with the support of Otto. All of these are now in United States. I hope you will join us in order that we alone, free to speak and act for the Hungarian people, can present a united front and by concerted action can inspire and guide effective resistance. We plan to authorize Ullein to record our joint appeal for resistance to Hungarian people to be broadcast from Allied stations. We should like your consent to our requesting Eckhardt to assume direction with consent and in cooperation with Allied authorities of resistance movement together with Pelenyi and with Otto’s support until Hungary liberated and people free to choose its government. Madrid and Bern already agreed with this step and we suspect Stockholm’s approval. Barcza in Switzerland agreed to join our group and Minister to Finland who resigned and went to Sweden is also expected to join. We have not yet been able to contact Apor at the Vatican although we have no doubt as to where he stands. Signed Wodianer. Message ends.

Sent to Buenos Aires as No. 3, April 6, 4 p.m.³⁹ Repeated to Department.

Norweb

38. Count Andor Semsey was the Hungarian Chargé in Argentina at this time.
39. The Ambassador in Argentina (Armour) in his telegram 948, April 10, 7 p.m. expressed reluctance to deliver this message to Count Semsey; the Minister in Portugal was so informed (864.01/514). Similarly, a subsequent message, sent to the Ambassador in Argentina in Department’s telegram 790, May 15, 7 p.m., also was not communicated to Count Semsey (864.01/514, 584).