800.515/10–2945: Circular airgram
The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Missions 52
Washington, October 29,
1945—11:55 a.m.
- (1)
- For some time the Department has been concerned with the problem of tracing looted or Axis-owned art objects sent out of Axis or Axis-occupied territory. It is the policy of the Department to cooperate in the restitution of loot and the discovery of Safehaven funds, objects, or personnel.
- (2)
- This Government is now considering with the French and British Governments a proposal53 to invite the Governments of Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey to issue a decree or customs regulation prohibiting the export of works of art, books, artistic or historic archives and other artistic or historic property above a declared minimum value, X, except under license.
- (3)
- It is proposed that license applications valued between X and Y and concerning which any doubt exists in the minds of the customs authorities as to enemy taint or suspicion of loot should be referred to the United States, the United Kingdom and French missions.
- (4)
- License applications for exports above a certain declared value Y should be referred automatically to the United States, the United Kingdom and French missions.
- (5)
- The decree or regulation should require the exporter to file with the license application for exports of art objects over X value, a photograph of each object accompanied by a statement containing name of the artist, full description with date of production, name of owner, date of his acquisition, and if acquired on or after September 3, 1939, full details of acquisition and names and addresses of previous owners since September 3, 1939.
- (6)
- Customs authorities would then refer cases falling under 3 or 4 above with photograph and accompanying statement to the United States, the United Kingdom and French missions for transmission to the Macmillan Committee, London, the Roberts Commission, Washington, and the Service de Récupération Artistique, Paris, respectively.
- (7)
- The Department has suggested to London and Paris that the values X and Y be set at $500.00 and $5000.00 respectively.54
- (8)
- It is assumed that the liberated countries have or will introduce adequate export controls of works of art.
- (9)
- It is also proposed that the governments of the liberated countries be approached with the suggestion that they supply lists of identifiable looted works of art to the governments of the European neutrals and Turkey, and to the three art commissions.
- (10)
- The Department would welcome any comments or suggestions which you may care to make regarding the above proposals.
Byrnes
- Sent to the Embassies in France, Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, and to the Legations in Sweden and Switzerland.↩
- Drawn up as a joint proposal by the American Embassy at London and the British Ministry of Economic Warfare, Foreign Office, the draft, designed to implement paragraph 12 of the United States “Draft Agreement on Principles Governing Restitution of Cultural Property,” p. 943, was transmitted to the Secretary of State by the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) in telegram 9692, September 19, 1945, 7 p.m., not printed (800.515/9–1945). The proposal was approved by the Secretary of State in his telegram 9205, October 17, 1945, 6 p.m., to London (800.515/9–1945).↩
- In telegram 9205, October 17, 1945, to London, repeated as telegram 4829, to Paris, not printed. The Ambassador in the United Kingdom informed the Department in telegram 11444, November 1, 1945, that while the British Government had made no official comment on the proposals, “their substantial agreement is indicated by their co-authorship of plan described in Embassy’s 9692, September 19 and French views now awaited.” However, the values suggested for X and Y were regarded as “much too low.” A control system “would break down under the mass of referrals which would result.” (800.515/11–145)↩