855.001 Leopold/5–745: Telegram
The Ambassador in Belgium (Sawyer) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 7—11:05 a.m.]
614. Following is a translation of memorandum handed me today by Acting Foreign Minister:70
“In the memorandum which it prepared concerning the terms which should be imposed on Germany following its capitulation, a memo which was handed in due time to the European Advisory Committee, the Belgian Government outlined the very great importance of obtaining without any delay the liberation of His Majesty The King as well as that of the members of his family.
At a time when the end of hostilities appears imminent the Belgian Government expressed the wish that its request that an order in this sense be given to the German authorities be given to the local military authorities as well as to the central German authorities in the event that a general capitulation of Germany should not occur”.
Copies of this memorandum were also handed to British and French Ambassadors.
In handing me the memorandum M. Vos explained that the Belgian Government wished to go on record as having done everything in its power to obtain the release of the King as soon as possible in view of the controversy concerning the King’s return. The Government is finding it hard to convince the Belgian people that it is still without knowledge of the King’s whereabouts.
- Herman Vos, Belgian Minister of Public Works.↩