Office of the Historian

764.71/5–746: Telegram

The Minister in Hungary (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State, at Paris64

secret
urgent
Budapest, May 7, 1946—11 a.m.

For Secretary. Hungarian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister65 called jointly today and informed me that according to report from Hungarian representative London66 British Foreign Office intimated it would be embarrassing for British Government to raise Hungarian proposal for solution of territorial controversy with Rumania along lines set forth in Hungarian memo April 25 transmitted to Department, Paris, London, Moscow and Bucharest under cover of my despatch 1428, April 29.67 This memo was delivered by Hungarian Government to representatives Budapest of USSR, Britain and USA. A copy of it is in possession of Hungarian Minister Auer at Paris in event my despatch mentioned has not yet reached Paris.

Prime Minister said that in view of British position and apprehension of Hungarian Government that Soviet Government may likewise be embarrassed by its special relations with Rumania in submitting Hungarian memo to peace conference. Hungarian Government would appreciate our readiness as relatively disinterested great power to initiate consideration of Hungarian proposal set forth in memo mentioned.

[Page 286]

The memo outlines in greater detail the proposal reported in mytel 742, April 20 repeated to London as 194, Paris as 89 and Moscow as 172 and mytel 737, April 19 repeated to London as 193, Paris as 88, Moscow 171.69 See also my 806, April 30 repeated London as 208, Paris as 111 and Bucharest as 37.70

I told Prime Minister and Foreign Minister I would submit suggestion to you and advise them of result.

Sent Paris for Secretary, repeated Department as 850, Moscow as 195, London as 213, Bucharest as 41.

Schoenfeld
  1. Sent on the same date to the Department as telegram 850: received May 9, 8:34 a.m.↩
  2. Janos Gyöngyösi.↩
  3. Adam Bede.↩
  4. The despatch under reference is not printed. The Hungarian Aide-Mémoire, which as sent to the Department was dated April 25, 1946, is printed under the date of April 27, 1946, in La Hongrie et la Conférence de Paris, vol. i, Les Rapports Internationaux de la Hongrie avant la Conférence de Paris, p. 108. The Hungarian Government subsequently addressed a note of June 11, 1946 to the Council of Foreign Ministers on the subject of the treatment of minorities as well as communications of May 20 and July 15, 1946, to the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Governments regarding the treatment of the Hungarian minority in Rumania; for the texts, see ibid., pp. 135, 112, and 127, respectively.↩
  5. Telegram 742, April 20, from Budapest, is printed in vol. vi, p. 280. Telegram 737, April 19, from Budapest, is not printed, but see footnotes 75, 77, and 78, ibid., pp. 280 and 282.↩
  6. Not printed.↩