British Policy towards enemy property during and after the Second World War

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represent their wishes. In consequenc an normo being caused and time wasted. 14

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In the event a variety of arrangements w re m d technical enemy governments to accommodat th ir cti property being paid over to the British Custodian, whil pr on such assets: if they wished to appoint their own t receive the debts or property of persons in th ir t nitory wh pay them over to him, but would have no power to gath r in th dispose of it, and the property had to remain in th nit d a payments agreement or other form of settlement. t rn ti to persons in the enemy territory might be paid into under joint UK-Allied government control.l ~ om sp were made, as in the case of the Polish gov rnm nt in Custodian was allowed to collect in debts against a pr mi government to honour British debts. Wher a t chni aJ appoint a Custodian or seek separate payments arrang m n as in the case of France), the British Custodian remain d in their debts and property. Despite these accommodations, th between the TWE legislation and the insistenc of 'Alli d t hni on rights over their own property remained unr solved nd m some formal agreement was concluded, such as th An 1 - u and Financial Agreement of 2 October 1944 (which n v rth 1 from its scope any German property cloaked h agreement was to prove a model for subsequ nt enemies who were also Allies.

Early implementation oj Trading with the Enemy Legislation The arrangements and discussions described ab v r J t d the disposition of debts owed to persons in enemy t rritory, wh or belligerent. These debts were predominantly, th u h n commercial, left over from pre-war transactions. In th property such as bank balances or securities, it had b n m th September 1939 to notify the existence of such prop rty whether it belonged to private citizens or to corporat n the powers to vest enemy property in the Custodian w r r r ly the early part of the war. According to a Board of Trad .r 1940, the general policy was to refrain from making v sting rd cases where property could not be secured effi ctiv ly th rwi there were enemy-owned shares in British compani s d v enable business to continue. 16 As with debts, th emphasi and preservation, and on ensuring that the enemy was d ni d Minute by Dean (Fa), 3 October 1940, W 1071113/49, FO 371125 3. Note of interdepartmental meeting on 7 February 1941 , Bank of n 1 d 6J 16 Copy enclosed in circular despatch from Colonial flie , 18 J 1786/2311270, Fa 36912561 14

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