Office of the Historian

864.404/12–3148: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Legation in Hungary

secret
Washington, December 31, 1948—7 p. m.

1231. From Hickerson. Concur your evaluation motivation arrest Mindszenty (urtel 1933 Dec 30)1 and implications case in regard to effect peoples curtain area and elsewhere. You will have seen statement made press conference Dec 29.2

At same time, impossible disregard realities Cardinal’s situation and consequent minimum likelihood effective intervention his behalf. Mobilization spiritual condemnation seems well advanced.

General line our thinking set forth separate tel to London rptd Budapest.3 Believe maximum initiative on part Vatican desirable tending center focus religious aspect which particularly distinctive feature this further manifestation general Communist denial fundamental rights. [Hickerson.]

Lovett
  1. Presumably this is an erroneous reference to telegram 1982, December 29, from Budapest, supra. ↩
  2. At his press conference on December 29, Acting Secretary Lovett said that the arrest of Cardinal Mindszenty was the culmination of a long series of oppressive acts taken by the Hungarian Government against personal freedoms, human freedoms and most recently religious freedoms. Lovett declared that it was a rather sickening sham to have the arrest made on the basis of charges which were patently false, and he added that it must affect the attitude of other countries to know that this sort of thing was going on. Lovett further stated that the Mindszenty arrest was all that was needed to complete the unhappy chain of events in Hungary and to indicate what the attitude of the Hungarian Government was toward the liberties which the rest of the world attached the greatest importance to.↩

  3. Telegram 4838, December 31, to London, repeated as 1230 to Budapest, set forth Department policy as follows:

    “US taking line that arrest Mindszenty culmination Communist attacks aimed destruction religious freedom Hung and that this action also phase systematic campaign deny exercise by Hung people fundamental human rights and liberties. This and other repressive measures taken by Communists in Hung are, in turn, typical general situation throughout Sov orbit and form part general pattern extinction all freedom and opposition, whether religious, political or other.” (864.404/12–3148)

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