Office of the Historian

740.00119 E.W./12–1645: Telegram

The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State

Paris, December 16, 1945—7 p.m.
[Received December 17—9:05 a.m.]

7213. From Angell No. 157.

A.
After receipt of urtels for Angell Nos. 94,70 99,71 and 103,72 and further discussion in five power sub-committee, I shall make following proposal to Conference:

“The Conference, therefore recommends that the Government of France, United Kingdom, United States of America, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, in consultation with the Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees should work out urgently a scheme on the following general lines:

  • “1. That a share of reparation consisting of all the non-monetary gold found in Germany and of $25,000,000 addition shall be allocated for the rehabilitation and resettlement of non-repatriable victims of German actions;
  • “2. That the share of $25,000,000 should be satisfied out of a portion of the proceeds of German assets in neutral countries which are available for reparation;
  • “3. That neutral governments shall be requested to make available for this purpose (in addition to the amount of $25,000,000) funds deposited in such neutral countries by victims of Nazi action who have since died and left no heirs;
  • “4. That the persons eligible for aid under the scheme should be restricted to true victims of Nazi persecution in the following classes:
    (a)
    Refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria who require aid and who cannot be returned to their countries within a reasonable time because of prevailing conditions;
    (b)
    German and Austrian nationals now resident in Germany and Austria who do not desire to remain in those countries and who will emigrate within a reasonable time;
    (c)
    Nationals of countries formerly occupied by the Germans who cannot be repatriated or are not in a position to be repatriated within a reasonable time. In order to concentrate aid on the most needy and deserving refugees and to exclude persons whose loyalty to the United Nations was or is doubtful, aid shall be restricted to nationals of formerly occupied countries who were victims of Nazi concentration camps;
  • “5. That the sums made available under paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be administered by the Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees or by a United Nations agency to which appropriate functions of the Inter-Governmental Committee may in the future be transferred. The sums made available under paragraph 3 shall be administered for the general purposes of the present plan under a plan of administration to be formulated by the five governments named above.”

[Page 1475] There will follow further points as in draft quoted in mytel from Angell No. 147.73 Specific provision will also be made that Inter-Governmental Committee be empowered to carry out the purposes of the fund through appropriate private and public field organizations.
B.
I expect that Czechoslovak and Yugoslav Delegates will oppose scheme because of their opposition to paragraph 4 (c). Waley may also propose to restrict scheme to paragraph 4 (a). He insists he is under instructions from Bevin now in Moscow.74 If Waley is adamant, may I accept restriction of eligibles to class 4 (a)? Only further choice would be to drop scheme.75 [Angell.]
Caffery
  1. See telegram 5876, December 14, 8 p.m., to Paris, p. 1471.↩
  2. See telegram 5860, December 14, noon, to Paris, p. 1468.↩
  3. See telegram 5885, December 15, 7 p.m., to Paris, p. 1472.↩
  4. See telegram 7138, December 12, midnight, from Paris, p. 1458.↩
  5. Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin was in Moscow to attend the Meeting of Foreign Ministers, December 16–26, 1945; for documentation, see vol. ii, pp. 560 ff.↩
  6. The Department sent the following reply in telegram 5902, December 17, 7 p.m., to Paris: “Draft proposal Dec 16 approved (From Angell 157, Paris 7213). If Waley adamant exclusion 4 c, you may restrict to classes 4 a and 4 b. Restriction to class 4 c not approved.” (740.00119 EW/12–1645)↩