I’ve explained how the WRB kept trying to get Central and South American countries to agree to various things publicly–to take child refugees, to take adult refugees, to keep protective papers valid, etc. There’s a layer of bureaucratic complication that I’m not sure I’ve explained, though. Each country–if they agree to the WRB requests–then has to communicate that agreement to their protecting power. In wartime, since countries break off ties with each other, each designates a neutral country as a go-between. The neutral will pass messages between the belligerents, but also is in charge of representing the interests of the nationals under her protection. The US mainly used Switzerland, but had to formally request Switzerland act as protecting power for each belligerent country–for Germany, for Hungary, for Slovakia, etc.
In this cable, the Bern legation explains that Switzerland cannot protect Ecuadoran nationals because she is not the protecting power for Ecuador in Hungary. (It’s even further complicated because some Central and South American countries did not have protecting powers for every country. If a country did not believe they had nationals in that country, there theoretically would be no need for a protecting power since the request is generally made so the nationals have a designated embassy to turn to in case of emergency.)
