740.00119 Control (Germany)/8–1145: Telegram
The Representative in Hungary (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:20 p.m.]
410. 1. I have asked Key formally to request clearance for Offie7 and Horn8 on basis Department telegram 277, August 9 repeated to Moscow as 1774.9
2. Voroshilov and Pushkin are in Moscow and senior Soviet ACC official present states that his group has authority to “clear” only those Americans coming to Hungary for attachment to our military or diplomatic missions. All other applications including those for businessmen, relief officials and Congressmen should according to Soviets here be sent from Washington to Moscow and from Moscow to Budapest. When told that such procedure was cumbersome and involved delays and duplications the local Soviet officials admitted that it would be preferable if authority for making “clearances” were delegated to them. They are unwilling however to ask their superiors in Moscow to accord such blanket authority. They are reported to have felt that some decisions reached at Potsdam impinged upon this [Page 841] matter but they were unable to reveal such new instructions as might have been received until return of Marshal Voroshilov to Budapest.
3. Unnumbered Department telegram August 7, 8 p.m. repeated Moscow10 apparently crossed with my telegram 337 [377] August 6.11 I should now like to point out that: (a) It is apparently agreed by everyone concerned except perhaps Soviet authorities in Moscow that authorization for clearing American travelers to Hungary should be vested in the ACC at Budapest, (b) Such authority will be delegated only when Embassy at Moscow on basis of specific instructions from Department makes formal request to Soviet Foreign Office, (c) Point has now been reached where no further action can be taken at Budapest on cases of Congressmen (Department telegrams 270 August 712 and circular July 20, 8 a.m.13) and businessmen. Date Voroshilov’s return unknown, but it is not believed that if he were here he would agree to initiation new procedure except on basis instructions originating in Moscow.
4. I have to date sent Key more than 30 clearance applications for the various Congressional groups as well as for businessmen and relief officials whose presence here is vital to the investigation and proper control of affairs of their organizations. I now request Department instruct Embassy Moscow to obtain blanket authority for ACC Budapest to act on all pending cases and applications which may be received in the future. Only in event such blanket authorization could not be obtained promptly, Department might wish to expedite travel of businessmen now waiting in Italy, and to complete plans for travel of Congressional parties, by securing individual clearances for present backlog of applications. If such action is necessary it does not prejudice Embassy’s contention that in “second period” clearance applications should not be submitted through Moscow.
Sent Department repeated Moscow as 50, Caserta as 80.
- Carmel Offie, Foreign Service Officer on the staff of Alexander C. Kirk, Political Adviser to the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater. Offie intended to visit Budapest in order to deal with various administrative matters between the American Mission in Hungary and the Office of the Political Adviser.↩
- A member of Offie’s party.↩
- Not printed; it gave instructions to ask Major General Key formally to request clearance for Offie and Horn and to point out that the United States Government felt that clearance for its employees having official business at the American Mission in Budapest was properly a subject for the Allied Control Commission rather than for submission to the Soviet Government by the American Embassy in Moscow (740.00119 Control (Hungary)/8–345).↩
- Presumably, reference is to telegram 276, August 7 to Budapest, in which the Department of State directed that General Key be asked to discuss with Voroshilov at the earliest opportunity the question of entry into Hungary of American citizens having bona fide interests there (740.00119 Control (Hungary)/7–3145).↩
- Not printed.↩
- Repeat to Budapest of telegram 1753, August 6 to Moscow, requesting information regarding the response of the Soviet Government to the proposed visit by Subcommittee Two of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to Bucharest, Budapest and Sofia (033.1161/8–645).↩
- Not printed; it stated that a Congressional group representing 11 committees was planning to visit a number of European countries (033.1100/7–2045).↩