Telegram from Seán Murphy to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(No. 353)

Your telegram 840.¹ Have learnt unofficially from Foreign Office that possession of visa does not afford protection. It appears at the beginning of year German authorities informed Government of Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland that they must repatriate Jewish nationals from France within a delay of 3 months. This time limit was extended until end of October: since then German authorities regard Jews of these nationalities still in France as having no further protection from their respective Governments. I understand only Swiss Government made any effort to repatriate their Jewish nationals. The Foreign Office considers that it is possible that German authorities might agree to allow us to take a certain number of Jews of a defined nationality but were quite sure that in the absence of agreement nothing could prevent Foreign Jews from being deported.

I have confirmed that Switzerland repatriated 350 Swiss Jews in 2 convoys and with collective visa.