Office of the Historian

740.00116 EW/9–2645: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

Washington, October 4, 1945—8 p.m.

8791. You are requested to inform FonOff Deptel 7841 Sep 11 and Urtel 10002 Sep 26 that Dept considers US position with regard to release of prominent members of former Slovak state without requiring prima facie evidence consistent with US views as transmitted Brit Embassy’s telegram 6385 Sep 21 to FonOff on release of Yugo Quislings.59 Dept does not agree that a regional approach should be adopted to distinguish between Eastern and Western states as suggested in oral reply of Brit FonOff to questions raised in Deptel 7841 but that decisions should be made in terms of US and Brit policy as stated in directives on United Nations Renegades and Quislings.

Dept does not consider that Zecho request for release of prominent Slovaks is contrary to provisions in these directives giving military authorities authority to postpone action on specific cases pending consultation with their Govts.

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You are further requested to inform FonOff that since Dept considers US position consistent with policy towards Yugos and thus coordinated with Brit policy, instructions have been sent to USPolAd, Berlin, to request military authorities to release Slovaks designated in Deptel 7541 [7841] to Zecho authorities in accordance with procedure in JCS directive 1349 “Renegades and Quislings.”60

Acheson
  1. For United States policy regarding the release of Yugoslav Quislings, see telegram 888, October 11, 1945 to Caserta, vol. v, p. 1265.↩

  2. In a note to Vlado Clementis, Czechoslovak Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, dated November 2, 1945, the Ambassador in Czechoslovakia wrote as follows:

    “It seems that just a few hours before we talked about the delivery to your Government of the members of the former Slovak Government they were brought to Prague by the American military authorities and turned over to the Czechoslovak military authorities at Ruzyne airfield. Luckily I was able to cancel my telegram to Washington complaining bitterly of the failure of our military authorities to keep the assurance made about three weeks ago that they would be promptly delivered.” (Praha Embassy File)

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