# Foreign Diplomats During War **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442 "2011-03-29T23:48:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/1 "2011-03-29T23:48:11Z")
What happened to the American Diplomats in Berlin and Tokyo at the outbreak of WWII? Were they withdrawn as soon as war broke out? And what about Japanese and German diplomats in Washington DC? Were they allowed to stay in the US or were they immediately escorted to the airport and out of the country? And I couldn’t help but notice there are US reporters in Tripoli. Why would the Libyan government tolerate the “enemy” reporting freely with all that’s happening there? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/2 "2011-03-30T00:18:00Z")
Why would the diplomats leave in 1939 ? ( Or earlier if one dates the war from the start of the Chinese conflict, as some do — mainly Chinese ) America was not at war then. When, though Hitler declared war upon the USA, the correct protocol would have been for the diplomatic staff in each nation to pay their respects to the foreign ministry of the host, arrange for some other neutral country’s diplomats to handle their own nation’s nationals and minor business, and leave the country peaceably with escort and full respect paid on each side. In the case of the Japanese having declared war with a sneak attack, this would have made the meeting stiff and reproachful, but again diplomats would have conducted themselves with dignity. However, although I don’t feel like looking this up, I thought the Japanese observed some protocol by informing the American Legation of the declaration of war almost simultaneously with the attack. Perhaps by slipping a note under the door of an empty office. As for Gaddhafi it is not in his interests to bar ‘enemy’ reporters from hearing his version of the truth or what is happening in plain view, particularly not from the largest media organisations ever known to man. Both sides in a war will lie like troopers, but you can’t persuade people of anything with a strict censorship. Since otherwise they just use their imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/3 "2011-03-30T00:22:34Z")
I believe they are allowed to leave the country right away, there is no reason for them to stay. In the case of Vietnam the US did not recognize them until 1995 and the first ambassador went there in 1997 - even though the country was reunified in 76 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/4 "2011-03-30T00:37:15Z")
The [US ambassador in Berlin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Ambassador_to_Germany#Heads_of_the_U.S._Embassy_at_Berlin_.281921.E2.80.931941.29) packed his bags on November 16 1938, in protest for [Kristallnacht](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht). He was replaced by a Charge d’Affaires. He (actually there were two) left Berlin on December 11 1941. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/5 "2011-03-30T00:39:18Z")
Traditionally, a declaration of war entails the recall of all diplomats from the country you’re fighting with. They are allowed to leave peaceably because your own diplomats are also being recalled. Thus, when the US ambassador is leaving Germany, the German ambassador is leaving the US. Japan had planned to hand a declaration of war to the State Department as the attack was being made (or just before). However, their ambassadors were delayed until after Pearl Harbor was under attack. Not that the last-minute declaration would have changed the perception of this being a sneak attack. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/6 "2011-03-30T00:43:28Z")
And for Japan, diplomatic relations were severed at the obvious date, but the ambassador and his staff weren’t [repatriated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Grew#Ambassador_to_Japan) until July 31 1942. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/7 "2011-03-30T01:50:27Z")
In late 1941, Axis diplomats were sent off to Greenbrier, the resort in rural West Virginia. The US diplomats in Europe were packed off to Scandinavia. IIRC, the two groups were moved across the Atlantic in a well-lit Spanish ship. (In 1939, the German ambassador in London asked the Foreign Office to make arrangements for the German embassy’s dog. They did.) (I recall some German bigwig wanted to take over the British embassy in Paris for some reason. The caretaker told him “Over my dead body, excellency.” The Germans had to leave the building alone.) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/8 "2011-03-30T03:00:50Z")
A good chunk of “Tora Tora Tora” is about how the US got so good at decoding Japanese diplomatic messages, they found out about the impending declaration before the Japanese ambassador’s staff was able to type it out themselves. They then showed how a message was sent from the decoders to the command staff, but failed to note the urgency of it and so it didn’t get delivered until after the attack. I got the impression that the Japanese ambassador was unable to finish decoding and retyping the declaration in time because there was no one on staff with clearance to read the code that could type fast enough. They had received the code ordering them to deliver the message before the attack was actually going to happen, but ended up at least an hour behind. Nevertheless, the message that was being sent wasn’t actually a declaration of war, but a final ultimatum. In that they were planning on executing an attack within an hour of issuing an ultimatum in a time where sending a message to recall the attackers would not be possible if the US for some reason finally relented, the Japanese clearly showed that they had no intention of doing anything but conducting a sneak attack. The official declaration of war did not come until the next day, so it would have been something of a sneak attack even if the final ultimatum had been delivered in time. If it had been, they could at least claim they gave ample time for letting the US know they would not tolerate any further the current relation status, but by the diplomatic message being as late as it was the attack was completely unjustified by traditional diplomatic practices. I’ve noticed this before, but I have this tendency to not answer very many questions, but often have collateral information that relates to the answers people give. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/9 "2011-03-30T08:16:39Z")
Here is a site which among other things describes American internees’ experiences in Europe 1941-42: [American Internees](http://www.traces.org/americaninternees.html) Some snips: > [@](#): > > On December 14 approximately 115 Americans gathered at the American embassy. George Kennan took charge amid total chaos and confusion, and organized their departure. Train accommodations were not what the Americans had expected. It was only when Kennan saw the luncheon menu, headed Berlin – Bad Nauheim, that their final destination became obvious. The largest portion of this historical account describes the accommodations in Bad Nauheim, as well as the life of the party of Americans. The hotel, Jeschke’s Grand Hotel, became their residence while the group was to remain in Bad Nauheim for some five months. The hotel had been closed with the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939 and its staff had dispersed. The hotel director, Gustav Zorn, had remained in residence since its closing, but without staff, this summer hotel had burst water pipes, no heat or electricity… > > At the time, meals served to the Americans were generally the equivalent to what Germany’s citizens were getting. The situation worsened, though, so Kennan and Morris met with representative groups—military attaches, journalists and diplomats, including representatives from Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen—for consultation, the exchange of opinions and recommendations. Kennan and Morris drafted a strong protest, then submitted it for confirmation by members of this council. They directed these notes to the State Department, through the Swiss representatives. Before they could get a response, the Germans doubled the Americans’ rations to 200 percent of the normal civilian allotment. Food preparation improved to the point that it at least was edible, and Patzak (the Gestapo commandant) made greater efforts to find eggs, fruit, fish and fresh vegetables… > > The hotel lacked the plant and the coal for proper heating. The temperatures in January 1942 dropped to below zero…Patzak used his position to commandeer (fuel) supplies supposedly meant for a neighboring town… > > The most successful collective endeavor was education. Through the efforts of Perry Laukhuf and Phillip Whitcomb, Bad Nauheim University was formed. There were 14 instructors and the most popular course was George Kennan’s Russian history course… > > Then on April 23rd a notice appeared on the bulletin board that the _Drottningholm_ (a Swdish ship) had sailed to New York and would return to Lisbon with German intee rnees on May 5th and arrive in Lisbon on May 14th, then leave for New York with the Americans in Bad Nauheim ten days later. > > The group left Bad Nauheim on the 12th of May 1942 after much celebration and arrived in Lisbon on May 14th. They boarded the Drottningholm on May 22nd with numerous other Americans and arrived in New York City on May 30th… So the American internees lost their freedom for nearly six months. They were not badly mistreated, although that may be assumed due to the reciprocal captrivity of German nationals in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/10 "2011-03-30T12:22:56Z")
Not WWII, but in one of the BBC _Eyewitness_ programmes they had an interview with the chap at the Foreign Office (UK) whose job it was in 1914 to go to the German Ambassador in London with a telegram and their passports and tell them that War had been declared, so here were their passports and if they’d kindly like to leave the country more or less nowish- certainly within 24 hours- that’d be great, thanksverymuchnohardfeelingsoldchapbuyyouadrinkwhenit’sallover etc. It was all very civilised, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/11 "2011-03-30T14:53:31Z")
What happened to Allied diplomats in the occupied countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/12 "2011-03-30T17:12:28Z")
Did the Iraqi diplomat have to eat lunch alone at the UN headquarters before the Iraq war? ---
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-diplomats-during-war/576442/13 "2011-03-30T20:03:26Z")
When I was in college, I worked at the Hotel Hershey. One day, while noshing on some of the exquisite day-old desserts offered to employees in our lunch room, I read with astonishment a short item in the employee newsletter—an article was about [the hotel’s role during WWII as a place of internment for the embassy staff of Vichy France](http://www.hersheyarchives.org/essay/details.aspx?EssayId=22&Rurl=%2Fresources%2Fsearch-results.aspx%3FType%3DBrowseEssay).