840.48 Refugees/1323: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany (Gilbert) to
the Secretary of State
Berlin, January 21, 1939—11
a.m.
[Received January 21—9 a.m.]
48. Embassy’s 46, January 20, 3 p.m. After consulting Rublee, I last
evening handed to Woermann at the Foreign Office an aide mémoire dated January 20 of which the following is the
text:
- “1. The Honorable George Rublee has received from His
Excellency Dr. Hjalmar Schacht an oral expose of the German
program for the emigration of Jews.
- “2. A record of this program was to have been agreed today
as between Dr. Schacht and Mr. Rublee.
- “3. The officers of the Intergovernmental Committee were
to have considered this program together with other agenda,
in Paris, on Monday January 23, and with the full Committee
in London on Thursday January 26. As both the officers and
the Committee had made special arrangements for holding
these meetings, for which invitations were issued a month in
advance, any postponement would be almost impossible to
arrange.
- “4. Mr. Rublee this morning received a message from the
Reichsbank to the effect that Dr. Schacht would be unable to
continue the conversations.
- “5. Does the German Government intend to designate some
other person to complete the conversations initiated by Dr.
Schacht?
- “6. The matter is urgent as Mr. Rublee must leave Berlin
at the latest by Nord express on Saturday night, January
21st, with a view to preliminary conversations in Paris with
Lord Winterton, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental
Committee, on Sunday afternoon.”
I may say that I felt it to be highly desirable that a record of the
situation created be placed before the German Government in written form
with a minimum of delay.
In the conversation which ensued Woermann stated that he would take
immediate steps to ascertain what official had been empowered to
continue the conversations with Rublee. He said that in line with my
oral suggestion he would request such official to communicate with
Rublee direct as soon as possible.
