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Coll 6/93(2) 'SYRIA: Situation in – after capitulation of France, 1940. Incl. Proclamation of Independence.' [296v] (592/626)
The record is made up of 1 file (311 folios). It was created in 3 Jul 1941-12 Dec 1944. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
'
-2
robamie-s of^.a *mnor anti*-^on-political nature and it would
not be sur-orising if there was a further rise in the number
of-thebe' p’etEy'aots ofvvivoleric'e* The harvest is nearly
over and shortly there will be a consequent increase of
idle Arab handso Moreover a number of Arabs of the town
class have evacuated Haifa- bn account of air raids, and
are scattered parasitically 4 among outlying villages,-
(See (e) below) o * ,!f «•
Tn connection with the increase in ille^ad.yarms
traffic iff the form of •'loot” from Syria (vide* paragraph
9 of Summary 540)^ an unconfirmed report suggests that
one Jewish organisation bought £P o 300 worth and another
and richer organisation spent several thousand pounds
on such arms© (Comment© Although this is probably an
exaggeration, it is "more than likely that there is an
element of truth in the report) * The arms are said t® ■
have been purchased from Arabs, and to include modern
machine guns©
(c} Jewish Affairs,
Efforts to reach an approchement betv/een the Revisionists
and the "Left* 1 -have continued without success ? and the
former have now raised the old cry of discrimination by
the
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
against the Revisionists,• • A member of the
Revisionist Youth Movement in a recent private conversation
supccrted this point by stating that no Revisionist had^
yet managed to obtain a commission in the Army, whilst in
the labour field the Histadruth intrigues continued to
bring 'bout a stream of dismissals from employment on
The Communists, who have been very active lately
in scattering pamphlets, have been placed in rather an
embarrassing position oy the Russo—German hostilities,
and toe propaganda organisers appear uncertain whao line
to tain,o It is understood, however, that meetings are
being held to define a policy. During the last month _
there has been a great increase in the amount of communist
propaganda in circulation© Leaflets and pamphlets have
been found in camps and military establishments*
REACTIC TS TO ENEMY AIR RAIDS .
* " The recent air raids on Haifa and Tel Aviv have
caused a. fairly substantial exodus of both Arabs ^ and Jews
from hiese tpwrisg Gj-reat excitement was caused in
Nablus when about twenty— seven lorries and a number of
buses and taxis arrived loaded with Arabs and all their
world! ' possessions• The exaggerated stories they told
of the rai^ aroused exv'ressions of great indignation agai
the Txls , although the aircraft concerned were probably
Frencl.c Jev;ish^ evacuees for the most part v/ent to
Jerusalem^
ilit rv works, bhertok, at a press eonfcren.ee, was
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
-
The Comm:inists©
The sty”
much hi
contained in them is of a much more subtle natuietbonis usual*
sty” o in which these pamphlets is written is^of a very
hi -tier standard than hitherto and the material
About this item
- Content
Following on from an earlier file (IOR/L/PS/12/2166), this file concerns British policy relating to Syria, following the success of the British-Free French military campaign in Syria [Operation Exporter]. (The abbreviation 'Incl.' in the title stands for 'Including').
The date range of this file is 1941-44; however, most of the material dates from 1941.
Notable correspondents include the following: His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); Minister of State, Cairo (Oliver Lyttelton); His Majesty's Ambassador in Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis); His Majesty's Ambassador in Washington (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, referred to in the correspondence as Viscount Halifax); the Secretary of State for India (Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence); General Charles de Gaulle; General Georges Catroux; officials of the Foreign Office, the War Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.
The file includes discussion of the following:
- The British Government's relationship with Free France in Syria (particularly with General Charles de Gaulle) and the possibility that the Free French authorities are suspicious of Britain's interest in Syria.
- Concerns expressed by the Government of India (and to a lesser degree, by the War Office) that the Free French authorities intend to take the place of the Vichy administration in Syria and renege on promises of imminent independence.
- Arrangements for the repatriation of Vichy French officers and the return of British prisoners of war.
- The wording of a Free French declaration (a translated draft of which is included) announcing Syria's independence and the formation of a Syrian Government, with Sheikh Taj ed Din el Hassani [Taj al-Din al-Hasani] as President, issued on 27 September 1941.
- Britain's formal recognition of Syrian independence on 28 October 1941.
- Reports of unrest in the Deir es Zor [Deir ez-Zor] region during October 1941.
- The wording of a Free French declaration announcing Lebanon's independence (particularly the wording of paragraph 16, which makes reference to Lebanon as 'an indivisible unit'), issued on 26 November 1941 (a translated draft of the declaration is included).
- Whether the proclamations of Syrian and Lebanese independence constitute the termination of the French Mandate.
- Whether treaty negotiations should be initiated following the declarations of independence, or delayed until the end of the war.
- The appointment of Major General Sir Edward Spears as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary A diplomatic representative who ranks below an ambassador. The term can be shortened to 'envoy'. to the Governments of Syria and Lebanon.
Also included are copies of daily summaries produced by the Middle East Intelligence Centre (MEIC) in Cairo, covering early July 1941.
There is a small amount of French language material, consisting of extracts from drafts of both of the aforementioned declarations, as well as a copy of the full text of the declaration of Lebanese independence.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2-3).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (311 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 312; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/93(2) 'SYRIA: Situation in – after capitulation of France, 1940. Incl. Proclamation of Independence.' [296v] (592/626), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2168, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100043060293.0x0000c3> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2168
- Title
- Coll 6/93(2) 'SYRIA: Situation in – after capitulation of France, 1940. Incl. Proclamation of Independence.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:15v, 17r:56v, 59r:59v, 60v:82v, 84r:91v, 94r:137v, 140r:161v, 162v:184v, 187r:215v, 218r:256r, 257r:312v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence