RG 84: Great Britain
State Department and Foreign Affairs Records
Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State (RG 84)
Great Britain
Great Britain, led by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. In May 1940, Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill. During the next five years Great Britain extended considerable resources to defeat the Axis. In 1939 the British held half the foreign investments in the world. By the time the war concluded the British were in debt. (Note 69)
The British government agreed before the war that the conduct of all operations of economic warfare should be in the hands of a single, independent Ministry, the Ministry of Economic Warfare (MEW), which was accordingly established on September 3, 1939. This was unlike the American economic warfare activities which were placed in the hands of numerous Federal agencies.
The first step in the operations of the MEW was to establish the blockade of Germany. Besides the blockade the British took measures to restrict the flow of good into Germany by means of control at the source. Exports from the Commonwealth and Empire were subject to licensing control from early in the war and in January 1940 the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation was established to make pre-emptive purchases of strategic goods to prevent them from falling into enemy hands and this practice was greatly extended from the summer of 1940. The United States government would take similar measure once it entered the war.
The United Kingdom Commercial Corporation handled the purchase and sale of goods from neutral countries, particularly Turkey, Spain, and Portugal. In the case of some neutral countries the British negotiated a War Trade Agreement by which the neutral would undertake to limit the sale of specified goods to Germany in exchange for an undertaking by the United Kingdom to facilitate its imports. In other cases to prevent re-export to Germany by neutral countries their imports were subjected to a compulsory rationing scheme introduced at the same time as the other stricter controls. These blockade measures led to pressures arising from allegations of deprivation of the inhabitants of enemy-occupied territories as a result of which the Ministry eventually became concerned in relief shipments by the Red Cross.
Enemy exports were placed under an embargo in November 1939. Cargoes from neutral or allied countries could be provided by British Missions abroad with passes or certificates of origin.
The Intelligence Division was at first responsible for the collation and interpretation of all kinds of economically important information. A section of the Division was responsible for collecting evidence about firms and individuals suspected to have dealings with the enemy with a view to their being placed on the Statutory List of Black List. British firms were prohibited by the Trading with the Enemy Act operated by the Board of Trade and the Treasury from dealing with such firms and the lists were also used as evidence by the Contraband and Enemy Exports Committee. The placing of names on the lists was under the control of the Black List Committee which included representatives of the Admiralty, the Ministry of Shipping and, later on, of the United States. These aspects of æblockade intelligence" later became the responsibility of Records and Statistics Department in the General Branch of the Ministry while the Enemy branch concentrated on "economic warfare intelligence," including the financial side of economic warfare.
The development of contacts between the Enemy branch and the Armed Services, first in the Joint Intelligence Committee and then with the Services individually, was but one example of the close relations of the MEW with other departments. The Foreign Office, which was one of its parents, was always closely concerned with economic warfare questions and particularly with their political aspects. It was the recipient of frequent complaints from neutral countries about the application of economic controls and advised on the limits to which such controls could prudently be extended. Its missions abroad carried out economic warfare functions.
Pre-emptive purchases when also required for supply were carried out by the Board of Trade, the Ministry of Food or the Ministry of Supply as appropriate. The Economic Warfare Division of the Admiralty operated the Contraband Control Service, while the Treasury and the Board of Trade were jointly responsible for the Trading with the Enemy Branch. These two departments concerned themselves with the financial and commercial repercussions of economic warfare activities.
MEW played a leading part in the Economic and Industrial Planning Staff, an interdepartmental body set up early in 1944 to study the economic plans for liberated or occupied territories in Europe. In October 1945 work in respect to Germany and Austria was passed to the newly- established Control Office for those countries.
The Ministry was represented in a number of foreign countries by Co-ordinating Centers whose function it was to accumulate information about suspect firms and individuals in those countries but its representation in the United States by the War Trade Department in the embassy was by far the most important part of its overseas organization both before and after the United States entered the war.
The Ministry was active in Safehaven-related activities and produced many reports on enemy assets, as well as participated in Safehaven negotiations with neutrals countries. (Note 70) Indeed, the United States and British governments worked very closely regarding economic warfare and Safehaven matters. And the London Embassy was a key location for Safehaven-related activity.
As the Safehaven program developed, especially as its instrumentation came to depend upon the negotiation of treaties between the Government of the United States and individual neutrals, or between the British and American Governments and the neutrals, the American Embassy in London became the chief center of the program's activities in Europe.
The Economic Warfare Division of the Embassy was organized in March 1942, "to establish a more intimate liaison between the manifold economic warfare activities centered in the Ministry of Economic Warfare (BEW) and comparable activities in the United States Government." (Note 71) The division developed as an operating agency, taking active part in programs, after the termination of the war, became of special significance in the Safehaven program. For example, the division assisted in the formulation of the Blockade program, its personnel being represented on the Blockade Committee on equal terms with the British. This committee dealt with the concrete job of handling permits and of defining contraband. The work of its membership based on data furnished by other agencies of government resulted in the Proclaimed Lists--important themselves for Safehaven program purposes.
The division worked with MEW in planning new war trade agreements. As early as 1942 the British and Americans started conversations with Sweden and Switzerland relative to re- negotiating purchase-supply contracts on the basis of Allied war needs and war aims.
The division also had a Pre-Emptive Committee, (Note 72) its chief concern being to watch matters pertaining to the preclusive purchase program undertaken by the United States Commercial Company, and the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and the Near East. (Note 73)
The Division's Enemy Objectives Unit, staffed with Office of Economic Warfare and Office of Strategic Services personnel (Note 74), was responsible for procuring, analyzing, and distributing economic intelligence procurable in Great Britain and in Europe and desired by processing and operating agencies in Washington, DC.
When the Safehaven program began to operate in a practical way--intelligence gathering in neutral Europe and trade negotiations with neutrals for Safehaven objectives, the American Embassy in London became the clearing house between the United States and its operators in Europe. Cables for agents in the neutral countries and from them, clearing through the Embassy. The staff there acted in both directive and advisory capacities. With the end of the war, the Embassy became the focal point for negotiations between civilian operating agencies of the United States and the American Military Government of Germany and Italy. (Note 75)
Records of the U.S. Embassy, London, England
General Records 1936-1945, 1948-1954; 1955 (Entry 2599A)
Boxes 1-491
Box 324A (labeled as Entry 2599B)
1942
Box # File #
File Title or Subject
219 711.2 Economic Warfare General
711.2 Diamond Committee
711.2 Jewelry Control
711.3 Economic Warfare
711.3 Private Property of United States Citizens
711.3 Trading With Enemy
220 711.6 General
711.6 Jewish Atrocities
220-221 800
Political Reports
233 850 Economic Matters (9 folders) location:
350/58/22/03
235 850.6 Insurance
238 851.51 Portuguese Exchange
851.6 Bank for International Settlements
851.7 Bearer Securities
1943
Box # File # File Title or Subject
257 711 UNRRA
258 711 Sweden
711.1 Neutrality, Neutrals
711.2 Neutral Commerce (2 folders)
711.3 General
262-265 800
Political Reports
268 840.3 Fine Arts
269 848 Relief, Refugees
270 850 Economic Matters
271 850.31 American-Owned Property, Census
of in Foreign Countries
272 850.6 Insurance
851 Financial Conditions
274 851.6 Banking
1944
Box # File # File Title or Subject
278 121.8 Mission concerning Flight of Axis Capital
281 690 Industrial Diamonds and Diamond Committee
700 General
284 711 Political Intelligence Summary (Foreign
Office)
711.1 Neutrality
711.1 Ireland (Erie)
711.2 General File
285 711.3 Trading With Enemy
286 711.6 War Crimes (2 folders)
286-290 800
Political Reports
294 840.3 Preservation of Works of Art
295-296 848
Relief, Refugees
296-297 850
Economic Matters
297 850 Germany-Economic Policy Towards
850.31 Census of American-Owned Property
299 851.5 Bretton Woods Monetary Agreement
851.5 Gold Purchases
304 891 Censorship
1945
Box # File # File Title or Subject
312-313 690
Industrial Diamonds
313 710 Arab-Jewish Relations
319 711.3 Custodian of Enemy Property location:
350/58/24/01
319-321 711.3
Safehaven
325-330 800
Political Reports
337 824 Argentina
840.3 Fine Arts
339 848 Relief Measures
848 Refugees
340 848 UNRRA
340-343 850
Economic Matters
343 850 Currie Mission
345-347 851
Financial Conditions
348 851.5 Exchange (Financial)
851.6 Bank for International Settlements
851.6 Portugal
854 Patents-Copyrights
349 860.2 Cartels
353 871 Mail Censorship
873 Censorship
1948
Box # File # File Title or Subject
381 840.3 Looted Art, et al
848 Displaced Persons (2 folders)
382 848 UNRRA
387 850 Reparations (5 folders) location:
350/58/25/04
Classified General Records (Confidential File) 1937-1954 (Entry 2600A)
Boxes 1-351
1941
Box# File # File Title or Subject
6 820.2 Nazi Activities in Latin
America
820.2 Nazi Activities in Uruguay
820.2 Czech Refugees
1942
Box# File # File Title or Subject
7 631 Britain-Turkey
701 Spanish Diplomats and Axis Powers
711 French North Africa (3 folders)
8 711 Political Warfare Directives
800 Germany
800 France (Vichy)
10 871 Censorship [including intercepts] (3 folders)
1943
Box# File # File Title or Subject
12 121.8 OSS (General)
711 Political Intelligence (OSS)
711 Stockholm, Sweden Cables
711 Joint Intelligence Committee
820.2 American Intelligence Committee location:
350/58/28/05
14 820.2 Anglo-American Emergency Committee
16 871 Postal Intercepts
1944
Box# File # File Title or Subject
17 703 American Interests
710 Arab-Jewish Relations
710 Portugal
19 711 Political Warfare Directives
711 Stockholm, Sweden Cables
711.1 Eire [Ireland]
711.2 Switzerland
711.2 Swedish War Trade Agreement
20-21 800 Political Reports
21 811.1 Safe Conduct: German Embassy
to Holy See loc: 350/58/28/06
22 824 Strategic Materials (Switzerland)
840.1 Jewry
840.3 Preservation of Works of Art
23 848 Refugees
850 Economic Activities of International Cartels
850 Executive Committee on Economic Foreign Policy
850 Economic Mission (Mitchell-Jackson)
850 Economic Mission
850 Germany-Economic Policy Towards
24 850 Support Purchase Program for Turkey
850.1 Economic Surveys
879.6 Lufthansa
879.6 Portuguese
1945
Box# File # File Title or Subject
26 710 Allied Control Commission for Germany location:
350/58/28/07
27 710 Britain-Spain
710 Britain-Germany, Hungary, Italy
28 711.1 Switzerland
711.3 Safehaven (3 folders)
30 711.6 War Crimes
800 German Documents
800 Germany
800 Hungary
30-31 800 Political Reports
31 840.3 Preservation of Works of Art
850 European Neutrals Committee
32 850 Reparations and Restitution
850 Support Purchase Program-Turkey
850 Article VII-Cartels and Monopolies
33 871 Postal Intercepts
1946
Box# File # File Title or Subject
34 124.6 War History Reports location:
350/58/29/01
38 500 UNO Refugees
44 711 Political Warfare
711 British Political Intelligence Summary (3 folders)
711 Political Directives
711.3 Safehaven (2 folders)
44-47 711.3 Safehaven location:
350/58/29/03
47-49 711.6 War Criminals
50-58 800 Political Reports
63 840.1 Jews
848 Displaced Persons
64 848 Refugees (2 folders)
848 Relief
848 UNRRA
64-67 850 Economic Matters
67 850 Reparations
850 copy of "Final Report on the Paris Conference on Reparation,
November 9, 1945-December 21, 1945, submitted to the
Secretary of State by James W. Angell, U.S.
Representative, Allied Commission on Reparation-
Germany, February 18, 1946
68 850 Reparations (4 folders)
1947
Box# File # File Title or Subject
97 711 Political Intelligence (2 folders)
711.3 Trading With Enemy-Safehaven
711.3 Safehaven [all on Henkel and CIE, GmbH] location:
350/58/30/03
98-99 711.6 War Crimes
116 840.3 Looted Art
118-120 848 Relief, Refugees
124-125 850 Reparations
125-128 850 Reparations-Safehaven
133 851.6 Exchange, banks
854 Patents (3 folders)
1948
Box# File # File Title or Subject
156-157 711 Political Intelligence
170 840.3 Looted Art
848 Relief, Refugees
174-175 850 Reparations
176 854 Patents (2 folders)
Security-Classified General
Records 1945 (Entry 2600C)
Boxes 323-324
Secret General Records 1937-1955 (Entry 2601)
Box 1A
Top Secret General Records 1948-1955 (Entry 2602)
Box 1
Top Secret Subject File 1946-1947 (Entry 2602A)
Boxes 1-2
Records Maintained by Ambassador John G. Winant 1938-1946 (Entry 2603)
John Gilbert Winant
served as the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain in 1941, and served in
that capacity until 1946.
Boxes 1-8
Box# File Title
1 Economic Matters
2 Germany
3 Jews
5 Palestine
5 Portugal
6 Refugees
8 World Jewish Congress