If you remember Ambassador Carlton Hayes, the history professor turned wartime US ambassador to Spain, you’ll remember that he was not a fan at all of the War Refugee Board. It’s the end of May, and he had successfully resisted adding a representative of the Board to his staff in Madrid.
As a compromise, the WRB asked if James G. McDonald, formerly the League of Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (and later the first US ambassador to the State of Israel) could come to Spain temporarily, hoping that Hayes would see the value in a WRB representative and agree to let them appoint McDonald (or anyone).
Hayes agreed to the visit (which never happened) but took the occasion to reiterate how unnecessary it would be. The Madrid embassy was doing just fine, thank you.
