711.62115/8–1145: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in El Salvador ( Simmons )
142. Walter Deininger is considered by Dept and other interested agencies of the Govt as one of the most influential and dangerous Germans in this Hemisphere.18 Dept strongly feels that he should be deported to Germany at this time. The Embassy is fully familiar with his activities and the activities of certain unscrupulous and mercenary individuals during past year to bring about his return to Salvador.
You are requested to approach immediately FonMin in following manner: Carefully review Deininger’s activities prior to his deportation and the efforts made to restore his Salvadoran citizenship. Refer to Resolution VII of Mexico Conference providing for expulsion from this Hemisphere of dangerous persons and Resolution XVII of the third meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Rio de Janeiro in January 1942,19 providing for the cancellation of the citizenship of [Page 276] such persons. Refer to the Safehaven project covered by Dept’s circular instruction June 14, 1945 in which the Brit, Soviet, French and Belgian Govts have associated themselves and emphasize determination of these Govts to bring about the return to Germany of all exponents of Pan-Germanism (economic or political) now residing in the United Nations and in neutral states. You may say in strict confidence that such neutrals as Spain and Sweden have already agreed to the deportation from those countries of such Germans regardless of family connections. You may inform the FonMin that this Govt intends to return to Germany German residents of the US whose activities prior to and including the war constituted symbols of Pan-Germanism regardless of mitigating circumstances such as family ties. Since Deininger is seeking a divorce the presence of his wife in Salvador does not arise. You may say that great majority of the other American republics have given their full concurrence in the deportation to Germany of all German internees from those countries now interned in the US and express our definite hope that the Salvadoran Govt will agree to the deportation of Deininger.
You may point out that the Dept feels that full publicity must be given to all cases of influential and dangerous Germans including their activities prior to the war, who are endeavoring through one means or another to return to the other American republics to form a nucleus of a new Pan-German movement in the Western Hemisphere, as well as to the cooperation or lack thereof by the Govt concerned to the program under Resolution VII of Mexico for their removal from this Hemisphere.
- On the morning of August 18 the Ambassador from El Salvador, Dr. Hector David Castro, and the First Secretary, Mr. Carlos Siri, called at the Department of State and spoke to Messrs. Cochran and Newbegin of the Division of Caribbean and Central American Affairs about the question of German internees from El Salvador, and in particular about Walter Deininger, whom Mr. Cochran described as “the spearhead of the Pan German movement”. In a memorandum of conversation Mr. Cochran recorded that “the Ambassador’s attitude was still that there was no proof of direct subversive activity on Deininger’s part and no evidence that in applying for Salvadoran naturalization he had gone on record with the German authorities that this was done under duress and that he intended to remain a loyal German” (711.62115 AR/8–1845).↩
- For text of Resolution XVII, concerning subversive activities, see Department of State Bulletin, February 7, 1942, p. 128. For documentation regarding the third meeting of Foreign Ministers of the American Republics, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. v, pp. 6 ff.↩