740. 00116 EW/9–2545
The Ambassador in Portugal (Baruch) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 8.]
Sir: In continuation of my despatch no. 427, of September 19, 1945,40 with which was transmitted a copy in translation of the Portuguese Government’s note of September 14, 1945, concerning the repatriation of German officials and agents from Portugal, I have the honor to report that on September 22, an officer of this Mission presented to Dr. Marcello Mathias an Aide-Mémoire on behalf of the [Page 810] British and French Missions, as well as this Embassy. A copy of the Aide-Mémoire is enclosed.
In brief, in the Aide-Mémoire the three Missions welcomed the decision of the Portuguese Government to lend its good offices for the repatriation and requested the appointment of a Portuguese official to assist in this task; the right was reserved to renew our representations for the repatriation of all the Germans on the list which had been presented to the Portuguese; the official text of the Allied Control Council’s resolution recalling German officials and agents was also communicated in the Aide-Mémoire. The Embassy was obliged to paraphrase the resolution of the Allied Control Council by reason of the fact that the Department’s telegram41 communicating the resolution to this Mission arrived in secret code.
There is enclosed a memorandum of the conversation which took place between Dr. Mathias and the officer of this Embassy who presented the Aide-Mémoire to him.42 It will be observed that Dr. Mathias brought up the question of the support of dependents who might be left temporarily in Portugal, in the event that passenger regulations of the Air Transport Command prevented us from repatriating them at the same time as the principals on our list. For the reason that this question may well come up again, an expression of opinion from the Department would be appreciated.
The Embassy has now received a memorandum from the Foreign Office, dated September 24, 1945,43 designating a captain in the Portuguese Police for Vigilance and Defense of State (P.V.D.E.) to represent the Portuguese authorities in the repatriation program and to work out the details with the representative of the three Missions, the British Passport Control Officer in Lisbon. Each German on the list will receive an individual recall order, drawn up in accordance with the form which is enclosed.43 There is also enclosed a copy in translation of the Foreign Office memorandum to which reference has been made. The three Missions are thus prepared to proceed with the repatriation program in Portugal and, as the Department has been informed, air transport has been arranged from Lisbon to Orly, near Paris. Unfortunately, no arrangements have, as yet, been made for forwarding the Germans concerned from Orly to a collection center in Germany. The Counselor of this Embassy,44 on a recent brief business trip to Paris, took the matter up with the Embassy in Paris, and the Allied Missions in Lisbon are still awaiting word from Paris that transport to Germany has been arranged, before sending any of the repatriates to Orly. Any assistance which the Department [Page 811] is able to give in this matter will be greatly appreciated and will facilitate our program.
It will be understood that having made all of the arrangements which it is possible to make locally, it would be embarrassing for the American, British and French Missions here to be obliged to delay the program, after long drawn out negotiations with the Portuguese, because of failure to secure transportation through to Germany.
Respectfully yours,
First Secretary of Embassy