740.00115A PW/5–2945: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)

1919. Am[erican] Interests—Far East. Request Swiss Gov have Gorgé protest to Jap Gov along following lines:

US Gov protests again (Dept’s 1736, May 7, 1945, Dept’s 4089, Dec 4, 1944, Dept’s 1295, April 15, 194446) against grave insufficiency of food furnished to internees at Hyogo Civilian Internment Camp. Despite repeated protests by US Gov concerning treatment of civilian internees at Hyogo Camp Jap Gov has done nothing to ameliorate situation there with result that conditions have now become critical.

US Gov holds Jap Gov responsible for safeguarding lives of Am nationals from starvation and demands that Jap Gov immediately take steps to supply adequate food and to remedy existing conditions at Hyogo Civilian Internment Camp.

Grew

[In telegram 1925, May 29, 8 p.m., to Bern, the Department requested that the Swiss Government protest strongly to the Japanese Government that American prisoners of war in Japan were forced to labor for excessive hours on work directly connected with the Japanese war effort; for a paraphrase of the text, see Department of State Bulletin, September 9, 1945, page 352.]

  1. For telegrams 4089 and 1295, see Foreign Relations, 1944, vol. v, pp. 1010 and 937, respectively.