851.4016/42: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 20—10:20 a.m.]
719. Embassy’s telegram No. 708, June 16, 8 p.m. The Embassy and Consulates in unoccupied France are receiving inquiries from American Jews as to whether or not they should register as Jews before July 14 under the recent anti-Semitic laws.
Article 2 of the Enabling Act carries penalties of fines up to 10,000 francs and imprisonment in Leipzig as much as 1 year or both for those who fail to comply, adding significantly “these provisions not to affect the right of the prefect to order internment in a special camp, even if the delinquent is French.”
The Embassy would much appreciate an early expression of the Department’s views in order to give appropriate advice to American residents of Jewish extraction.