752.61/46
The American Ambassador in Spain (Hayes) to the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs (Jordana)39
My Dear Mr. Minister and Friend: In my conversation with the Caudillo on July 28,40 I said that my Government was not interested in internal Spanish politics but that it was very much interested in Spain’s foreign policy, and especially in its attitude toward the countries [Page 623] at war. I recommended that Spain, in its own interest and in the interest of improved relations between our two countries, should openly declare its neutrality. I am very pleased that General Franco has done this and I am convinced that in doing it he has acted very intelligently in Spain’s interest.
At the same time, I am seriously troubled by the continuing attacks on Russia by Spanish leaders and by the Spanish press. I do not refer to Spain’s general opposition to communism, but rather to specific statements and actions which confuse communism with Russia, one of the principal allies of the United States in the war.
I fear lest the Spanish Government may have the impression that the Government of the United States is quite complacent over this anti-Russian attitude of the Spanish Government and its officially-controlled press. This is not the case, and I should like to set forth my Government’s viewpoint in the matter a little more explicitly than I have had the opportunity of setting it forth in the past.
Russia is an important member of the United Nations. Any attack on Russia, therefore, is an attack on an important ally of the United States. Complacency toward Nazi Germany, on the other hand, is complacency toward an enemy of the United States. By systematically attacking Russia, while showing excessive complacency toward Nazi Germany, Spain is evidencing partiality toward Germany, and unfriendliness toward one of the United Nations.
There is no country in the world, with the exception of Russia, which welcomes communism within its borders. Spain’s attitude in this respect does not differ from the attitude of most other countries. However, all free countries in the world are also opposed to Naziism, and I believe it is fair to estimate that a majority of Germans now are opposed to it. In failing to take an official stand against Naziism, Spain is practically alone among the free countries of the world. Even the Vatican, to whose attitude the Spanish Government appears in general to attach due importance, has denounced Naziism in stronger terms than it has denounced Communism. Some of the strongest denunciations of Naziism have come from the Catholic bishops of Germany.
Communism is, in the last analysis, an essentially internal problem. If conditions for the development of communism do not exist within a country, that country need not become communist. It is thoroughly unrealistic to believe that any country can help to overcome a possible communist menace within its borders by publicly attacking Russia. Such a menace can be overcome, in the long run, only by creating living standards which make the growth of communism impossible.
The United States and Great Britain, by maintaining trade with Spain, are cooperating effectively in helping to overcome conditions [Page 624] in Spain which might encourage the growth of communism, and my Government is not content that Spain, on its part, should reciprocate by systematically attacking Russia, an important ally of the United States and Great Britain, while making it appear that it is attacking communism.
From the point of view of Spanish security, present and future, Spain is subjecting itself needlessly to possible future retaliation by Russia. The Spanish Government should bear in mind that Russia entered the war because it was attacked by Germany, and that Russia is engaged in a war in defense of its own soil.
When final victory for the United Nations comes, Russia will have earned the right to participate in the peace arrangements. It will have an important voice at the peace table and in the many readjustments that will inevitably have to be made in international matters after the war. This is a right which cannot and should not be denied to Russia, because it has been fairly earned. By systematically attacking Russia, Spain is making it more difficult for the democracies to continue to follow that helpful attitude toward Spain which they would like to follow.
My Government does not subscribe to the theory, frequently expressed by Spanish officials, that the present war must end in a war against communism. My Government looks forward to continued cooperation by the other United Nations with Russia during and after the war, and it is doing everything possible to help lay the basis for such cooperation. It considers that Spain, in its own interest, and in the interest of its relations with the rest of the world, should also be helping to lay the basis for peaceful cooperation with the United Nations, including Russia, in the future.
The Spanish Government, while it was officially “non-belligerent”, declined to permit the publication of Russian war communiqués. All the news carried in the Spanish press concerning the war on the eastern front came from German sources. The Spanish Government must be quite aware by this time that such reports are undependable and have given such a distorted version of the war that the Spanish public no longer takes them seriously. Furthermore, news of Russian military victories reaches the Spanish public from many sources and the Spanish people are too intelligent to be fooled by German communiqués.
The Spanish Government’s refusal to permit the publication of Russian communiqués has not, therefore, prevented the truth of Russian military successes from becoming known in Spain. It has, however, given the public the impression that those military successes of Russia, one of the United Nations, are displeasing to the Spanish Government. Consequently, every Russian victory is regarded as a defeat for the Spanish Government.
[Page 625]Now that General Franco has made it clear that Spain is neutral there would appear to be every reason why the Spanish Government should presently take steps to ensure that Russian communiqués are published in the same manner that communiqués of the other belligerents are published. Russian communiqués are published in Germany, and I can conceive of no reason why they should not be published in Spain as they are in all other neutral countries.
In summary, my Government is not in any sense complacent about Spain’s attitude toward Russia. This attitude is a strong deterrent to the improvement of relations between Spain and the United States. It is doing great harm to Spain’s international position, and detracting gravely from the benefits which Spain could otherwise expect to receive as a result of other aspects of its foreign policy.
It is my Government’s view that, in its own interest, Spain should take the following steps without delay:
- 1.
- Announce the withdrawal of the Blue Division.
- 2.
- Publish Russian communiqués in the same manner as it publishes the communiqués of other belligerent countries.
- 3.
- Cease attacking Russia, through public addresses of Spanish officials, and in the Spanish press, over the Spanish radio, et cetera.
- 4.
- Stop pretending that Germany’s aggression against Russia is a “crusade”, when the German Government, itself, has admitted on numerous occasions that it is a war of conquest.
I believe Spain should bear in mind that it is the only free country in the world whose government systematically attacks Russia while refraining from attacking Germany. This is a dubious and a dangerous distinction, and one that Spain might well abandon in its own interest.
I write Your Excellency in this frank and personal manner, not only as a representative of the United States but also as a sincere admirer and friend of Spain.
I avail myself [etc.]