811.22/1–2945
The Spanish Embassy to the Department of State
Ex. 150.000
Memorandum
The Spanish Embassy presents its compliments to the Department of State and begs to transmit the following memorandum received from the Japanese Government through the “Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores” of Madrid in which it further complains about the treatment given by American soldiers to the Japanese Envoy to the Vatican:
Memorandum—January 27, 1945.
“The Japanese Government are in receipt of the United States Government’s reply dated the second October, 1944, to their protest against unlawful conduct of United States soldiers toward Mr. Harada, Japanese Envoy to the Vatican. In the said reply the United States Government deny the fact of Mr. Harada having been confined to his Official residence in the city of Rome by United States soldiers. But a telegraphic report from Mr. Harada confirms that the United States soldiers cut off all communications between his official residence and the outside world; that they prohibited even drinking water and provisions from being brought in, and later, when they did permit it, they subjected the supplies to a rigid examination; that on several occasions they refused permission for calling in a doctor to attend to patients, and, when they granted permission, they demanded the presence of a United States Military Officer by the sickbed, and that, when a high official of the Vatican called at the Envoy’s Official residence on official business, he was refused permission to enter it.
All these facts, the Japanese Government must point out, are well known to the Vatican Authorities. The United States Government contend in their reply that it is impossible to inquire into the circumstances under which the United States soldiers forced their way into the official residence of the Japanese Envoy and subjected the Envoy to threats and insults. But the Japanese Government stress the fact that, since those soldiers belonged to a small detachment then stationed in an elementary school building at the back of the Envoy’s [Page 1175] Official residence, the United States Government can easily conduct the investigation if they are honestly willing to do so.
The Japanese Government thereby once again present a protest to the United States Government against the unlawful conduct of the United States soldiers in question.”49
- Marginal notation: “They never stop. Either we stop this exchange or we must protest their treatment of our replies!”. The Department’s reply of February 8, 1945, stated: “The Department of State acknowledges the receipt of the Spanish Embassy’s memorandum no. 12 of January 29, 1945 in which is quoted the text of a communication from the Japanese Government concerning the treatment of the former Japanese Envoy to the Vatican, Mr. Harada.” (811.22/1–2945) No further reply has been found in Department files.↩