811.91262/245a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Germany (Morris)
1182. Please address a note of the following substance to the Foreign Office:
The American Government has been advised of the arrest on March 13 of Mr. Jay Allen, an American journalist, who clandestinely crossed the demarcation line between occupied and unoccupied France and who at present is detained in prison in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The American Government, which has received numerous inquiries respecting the welfare of Mr. Allen, instructed its representatives in Paris to investigate this case and to intercede with the German authorities on his behalf.
The American Embassy in Paris, accordingly, addressed two communications under date of March 25 and April 16, 1941 to the Diplomatic Liaison Officer at the German Embassy in Paris, which (1) requested that the German Embassy intervene with the military authorities with a view to effecting the prompt release of Mr. Allen, (2) requested that permission be granted for a member of the staff to visit Mr. Allen in prison, and (3) indicated there was reason to believe that Mr. Allen is being subjected to unusual treatment because he is an American citizen.
A note has now been received by the American Embassy in Paris from the German Embassy in Paris reading in translation as follows:
“With reference to your two letters of March 25th and April 16th, 1941, concerning the arrest of the American journalist Mr. Jay Allen, I have the honor to state that your complaint is unfounded.
“If the American Government intends to express to the Government of the Reich a special desire concerning the case of Mr. Allen, may I suggest that it make application direct to the Foreign Office through the American Embassy at Berlin.”
From information available to the American Government it appears that, in general, the German military authorities impose only minor penalties on those persons who clandestinely cross the demarcation line. [Page 608] It is further understood that of the 60 or more persons arrested in the vicinity of Chalon on the day that Mr. Allen was arrested nearly all have been released upon the payment of a relatively small fine or after a short period of detention. In these circumstances, the continued detention of Mr. Allen would clearly indicate that he is being subjected to more severe treatment than that accorded other persons similarly situated.
The American Government must therefore request the German Government to give immediate consideration (1) to granting permission for a visit to Mr. Allen by an American official and (2) to the release of Mr. Allen at the earliest possible moment.