852.2221/1009
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 8.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s instruction No. 891 of June 9, 1938,76 and to the subsequent exchange of telegrams relating to the care and repatriation of American citizens returning after service with the armed forces in Spain, and to report several conversations during the past week with Mr. David Amariglio, bearer of Departmental passport No. 544.810 issued June 2, 1938, who has come to France in behalf of The Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 125 West 43rd Street, New York.
Mr. Amariglio has evinced every desire to cooperate with the Embassy in the repatriation of American volunteers who have been regularly discharged from the military forces of the Spanish loyalist government. He explained that his organization, which—in this respect—is in the same situation as the kindred North American Friends of Spanish Democracy, is embarrassed by the complaints of many men to whom the organization is responsible for the predicament in which they find themselves after their evacuation from Spain.
It is quite obvious from our several talks that the desire on the part of these organizations to cooperate with the Government in caring for these destitute Americans and effecting their repatriation results from the fear of losing caste in the circles from which these volunteers have been drawn, coupled with the belief that the morale of the volunteers now fighting in the international brigades is adversely affected. There is also evident, of course, a sense of responsibility for having brought these men to Spain.
In addition to the American citizens involved, Amariglio estimates that there are volunteers of foreign nationality amounting to approximately [Page 305] five percent of the total number of volunteers recruited by the organizations in the United States. The foreigners, recruited in the United States, were there either legally or illegally.
Amariglio voiced the opinion of the organizations that the volunteers who had been recruited in the United States should be treated with as much consideration as the Americans and entertained at first the notion that the immigration law and regulations might be treated somewhat lightly in this respect. He now understands, as a result of our conversations, that the law is mandatory and that while the Embassy will go as far as it can in treating the cases sympathetically, we have no power to waive the rules.
He has been concerned especially with the cases of twenty men, all of them apparently foreigners, or whose nationality status has not been determined, recently arrested by the Paris police, of whom fifteen are still under detention. He was informed that our immigration board here has just completed a review of most of these cases and that Ave believe that the technical difficulties have now been overcome in all except one case, which is still under consideration. This has relieved Mr. Amariglio’s mind to a great extent, as he had decided that it would be best to avoid the evacuation of any additional American volunteers from Spain until the settlement of the cases of individuals now in Paris.
Amariglio is said to have left Paris Sunday morning for Barcelona and this office has assisted him in obtaining the necessary French visa. The Consulate General at Barcelona was informed of the object of his visit. The Barcelona office stated that the American passports, which are apparently somewhere in the custody of the Spanish government, have not as yet been turned over to that Consulate General, but it is hoped that this action may be taken soon. Amariglio believes that nothing will be done about these passports until he has had opportunity to discuss the matter after his arrival at Barcelona.
Amariglio had received a report, through his organization, that the French would not allow the departure from Spain of any further American volunteers unless each individual was in possession of a valid travel document approved by our Consulate General in Barcelona and visaed in turn by the French Embassy at that place. He understood that in such cases a visa valid only for twenty-four hours would be granted. The Foreign Office, however, advised that the regulation in respect of the travel document was correct as stated, but that in such cases the customary transit visa valid for fifteen days would be granted.
Amariglio also said that he had been informed that the French had decided to discontinue paying the rail fare of these destitute American volunteers, although they were continuing to pay the rail fare from Spain to Paris of the destitute volunteers of other nationalities. He [Page 306] believed that this might be a result of the statement made by Louis Fischer, correspondent of “The Nation”, to the effect that he disposed of ample funds which were available for American volunteers; that this statement might have been conveyed to the French authorities and given them the erroneous impression that they need do nothing for our nationals. Amariglio believed that if this were true, it was most unfortunate and would constitute an unnecessary burden for his organization. There seems to be no foundation to the story and, according to the Consulate General at Barcelona, no distinction—up to the present—has been made in such cases.
Amariglio said that he had talked with Louis Fischer, who is stopping at the Hotel Lutetia and who is said to be in town at the moment. He said Fischer operates quite independently of The Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, but that he seems to be in the confidence of Negrín, who is an old and intimate friend. Amariglio believes that Fischer speaks freely of funds, on the theory that he enjoys Negrín’s full confidence and that he can persuade Negrín to allocate official funds of the Spanish Government. Amariglio believes, also, that Fischer is primarily interested only in the prosecution of hostilities and is not actively interesting himself in the repatriation and rehabilitation of volunteers.
He said also that he hoped the Embassy would continue to support the Emergency Committee for American Wounded from Spain and that he intended to subsidize that Committee. He said, however, there was one condition, i. e. that the Committee would refrain from extending any aid whatsoever to deserters from the Spanish forces, whether wounded or not. He said he had no authority to advance his organization’s funds for that purpose and, if the Committee insisted on extending relief to deserters, he would be obliged to discontinue all contributions to the Committee. Amariglio intimated that he welcomes the opportunity to operate through the Committee, rather than receive any publicity for himself or his organization.
Amariglio voluntarily turned over to the Embassy twelve American passports obtained through his organization’s channels. A list of the names of the bearers of these passports is attached.77 He was not pressed to explain where he had found the passports, as it was not desired to deter him from obtaining more, according to his promise. He expressed himself as very appreciative of the Department’s helpful attitude in connection with the repatriation of these men.
Amariglio’s Paris address is the Hotel Anglo-American and the Hotel Majestic in Barcelona. He plans to remain in Barcelona for [Page 307] a week or ten days, returning to Paris. He has designated Miss Ethel Samuels to act for him in Paris during the period of his absence.
Respectfully yours,
First Secretary of Embassy