Editorial Note
On December 8/9, 1948, recruits George R. Jones and Clarence R. Hill, who were absent without leave from United States Constabulary Forces stationed in the United States Zone of Occupation of Germany, crossed the frontier into Czechoslovakia in the vicinity of Česka Kubice and were taken into custody by Czechoslovak authorities. Early attempts to secure the release of Hill and Jones through the normal military channels proved fruitless. Czechoslovak authorities acknowledged that Hill and Jones were in custody and undergoing police investigation, but permission for American representatives to visit them was repeatedly denied. Ambassador Jacobs made oral and written representations to the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry on January 18, [Page 392] January 24, and February 11. On February 18, the Department of State issued a statement to the press reviewing the case of Hill and Jones and the efforts made to obtain their release; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, February 27, 1949, page 266. On March 2 Foreign Minister Clementis gave Ambassador Jacobs a note stating that the police investigation of Hill and Jones indicated that their conduct constituted a violation of Czechoslovak espionage laws and that legal action was to be taken against both men. A week later Clementis formally refused Ambassador Jacobs’ request to be allowed to visit the imprisoned soldiers. Orally on March 19 and again in a note of March 26, Ambassador Jacobs requested Foreign Minister Clementis to give special assurances that legal safeguards would be accorded to Hill and Jones including a prompt trial and the right of Embassy representatives to have access to them. On March 29 the Czechoslovak Government released to the press a statement announcing that on March 26 a Czechoslovak court had found Hill and Jones guilty of espionage and had sentenced each of the two men to terms of 10 to 12 years at hard labor. Ambassador Jacobs immediately presented a note to the Czechoslovak Foreign Minister protesting the secrecy of the Hill–Jones trial and the failure of the Czechoslovak Government to accord the soldiers normal rights and safeguards and to grant to the Embassy the right of access to the men. At his press conference on March 30, Secretary of State Acheson made a statement indicating that the United States Government viewed with grave concern the conviction of Hill and Jones and supported the action of Ambassador Jacobs in protesting the procedure of Czechoslovak authorities in the matter. (For the text of the statement, see ibid., April 10, 1949, page 459.) In a note of March 31, delivered to the Embassy in Praha on April 1, the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry insisted that the trial and conviction of Hill and Jones had been conducted in accordance with valid Czechoslovak laws and that the soldiers had enjoyed all the legal protection to which every accused person was entitled under Czechoslovak law. Following renewed demands by Ambassador Jacobs for access to Hill and Jones, Consul Carrol C. Parry of the Embassy in Praha and Assistant Military Attaché Donald G. McNamara were permitted by Czechoslovak authorities to interview Hill and Jones on April 5. The full record of the interview was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram 498, April 6, from Praha, not printed (740.00119 Control (Germany)/4–649). A statement on the Parry–McNamara interview was issued to the press by the Department of State on April 6; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, April 17, 1949, page 502.
Documentation on the exchanges described here is included in Department of State file 740.00119 Control (Germany).