Office of the Historian

800.4016 DP/5–2145: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the American Representative in Hungary (Schoenfeld)37

Washington, June 14, 1945—7 p.m.

96. Your A–7, May 21.38 Re proposed expulsion from Hungary of German-speaking minority Brit Embassy here reports Hungarian PriMin39 as telling Gascoigne40 that “in accordance with wishes of Russians approximately 340,000 out of total of 540,000 would be expelled to Germany as soon as possible”, alleging these 340,000 had been traitors to Hungary.

Brit Govt has instructed Gascoigne to inform Hungarian Fonoff that any application to make arrangements for receiving these people in Germany must eventually be made to Control Council there, and that latter will no doubt have other tasks of greater urgency, execution of which would be prejudiced by any early attempt to carry out Hungarian Govt’s proposal.

Dept has no desire to be solicitous on behalf of a group probably largely made up of Nazis. We believe however that considerations set forth in Deptel 70 June 441 apply to proposed mass expulsion of Germans and you may inform Hungarian Govt accordingly. You may add that we would naturally be concerned over possible added burden which such population transfers would impose on relief, transportation and other activities for which Allied Govts share responsibility; also that such action could presumably be taken only with consent of ACC in Hungary and of Allied Control Council in Germany.

Grew
  1. H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld on January 20, 1945, was appointed United States Representative in Hungary with the personal rank of Minister.↩
  2. Not printed; it gave a resume of an editorial in the Budapest newspaper Szabad Nep of May 17, 1945, regarding the deportation of the German minority from Hungary (800.4016 D.P./5–2145).↩
  3. Gen. Bela Miklos.↩
  4. Alvary Douglas Frederick Gascoigne, British Political Representative in Hungary, with the rank of Minister.↩
  5. Vol. iv, p. 928.↩