852.01/161: Telegram
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received November 23—2 p.m.]
346. Following telegram was received Saturday evening from American Embassy at Madrid signed Wendelin:
[Here follow the first two paragraphs of telegram No. X–331, November 20, 5 p.m., from the Third Secretary of Embassy in Spain, printed on page 767.]
Message was immediately delivered to State Secretary Dieckhoff. This morning Weizsaecker, political director of the Foreign Office, called Mayer over to have what he termed a purely personal and informal conversation with regard to the above.
Weizsaecker explained at length the German position to the effect that they recognized Franco as the only Spanish government and did not recognize the existence of any other authorities. In the circumstances it was not possible for Germany to ask any other country to take over representation of their interests since in the German view there was nothing to represent in “red Spain.” Weizsaecker then said that despite all their efforts before the departure of the German [Page 774] Chargé from Madrid and Alicante and the withdrawal of German consular representatives in “red Spain” a certain number of Germans had refused to leave. Some of Germans remaining in Madrid are living in the old German Embassy. Likewise during the early days of the conflict some 50 odd Spaniards had taken refuge in the German Embassy unbeknown to the Chargé but could not be evicted because to do so would have been inhumane in all the circumstances. They are still there. The situation in Madrid and Barcelona therefore is that there is no German representation or recognition of even the existence of the so-called Madrid Government but there are certain Germans and certain Spanish refugees who are without any protection and in extreme danger.
Weizsaecker did not wish to make any request official or otherwise of the American Government and repeated his preliminary observation that this conversation was entirely informal and based on a friendship covering a period of years. Wishes this clearly understood and having in mind the plight of those Germans still remaining in Spain he hoped that the American Government might be able to instruct its diplomatic and consular representatives in Spain to do whatever they might consider feasible, proper and safe for themselves with a view to extending what aid was possible, on a purely humanitarian basis, to Germans in Spain if and as requested by them so to do.
Weizsaecker added that they had received through the Chilean Embassy Friday the same message sent through Wendelin and that he had informed the Chilean Embassy here in accord with the above that the German Government would hope that the Chilean representatives in Spain would do everything they could on humanitarian grounds to help Germans still remaining in Spain.