852.79662/11–344
The American Embassy in Spain to the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs 82
Note Verbale
The Embassy of the United States of America presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has the honor to acknowledge, with appreciation, the receipt (on October 24, 1944) of the latter’s Note No. 784 of September 27, 1944, stating that instructions had been given to the appropriate authorities to exercise exacting care in the examination of baggage accompanying German nationals departing from Spain for Germany by airplane and to restrict the amount of such baggage to a regulation minimum.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reminded of the repeated occasions when the Ambassador has emphasized the objections of the Government of the United States to the continued operation of the German air services between Spain, Germany and Portugal.
In setting forth the attitude of the Spanish Government toward these services, the Foreign Minister stated to the Ambassador on September 2283 that it had been resolved to stop all air traffic in [Page 450] merchandise and in financial assets between Spain and Germany, as well as to forbid the future entry into Spain of German agents arriving by air. Respecting “diplomatic mail”, the Minister said that instructions were being given severely to restrict the amount of such mail. When the general subject of the German air services was next discussed between the Foreign Minister and the Ambassador on September 28,84 the former again stated that neither His Excellency the Chief of State nor he himself had any thought whatsoever of permitting the Lufthansa to serve German interests. To this end, the Ambassador was assured that the Spanish Government was taking the utmost precautions to prevent the departure for Germany by air of such merchandise and baggage. The Ambassador then mentioned information in the possession of the Embassy to the effect that substantial quantities of merchandise, including food concentrates and vitamins, of character clearly serving German war interests were, in fact, actually being freely removed from Spain to Germany by Lufthansa airplanes, presumably with knowledge of the Spanish Government.
The Embassy regrets the necessity for bringing to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that, despite the mentioned reiterations of the policy of the Spanish Government to prohibit movements of merchandise to Germany by air, very substantial shipments of the character covered by the September 22 and 28 conversations were permitted to be removed from Spain by the airplane which departed from Barcelona for Germany on October 23. In addition, a preposterously large quantity of “diplomatic mail” and excessive amounts of personal baggage are reported to have been taken on the said flight.
Equally disturbing information has been received concerning the cargo of the Lufthansa airplane which left Barcelona for Germany early this morning. The report of this latest violation of the stated air-export prohibition mentions further tonnage of food products of vital service to the German war effort and again a preposterous volume of so-called “diplomatic mail”.
While the principal concern of the present Note has been to protest against extension of the facilities to an enemy of the United States and of its Allies whereby that enemy is permitted to receive vital materials from Spain by airplane, the Embassy considers it to be appropriate to impress upon the Ministry in respect to the larger question of the complete and prompt suppression of the objectionable German air services that the Government of the United States continues to [Page 451] hold firmly to the position already made known to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to His Excellency the Chief of State.