34 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and neutral diplomats provided critical escape routes and shelter for children who otherwise would have perished. Though his work was largely unheralded during his lifetime, McClelland’s reports offer an extraordinary record of determination, empathy, and effective dissent through action. Among the earliest to sound the alarm about Hitler’s rise, George Messersmith (1883-1960) used his position as U.S. consul general in Berlin to chronicle, in vivid terms, the Nazi regime’s escalating brutality. He issued warnings to Washington as early as 1933, condemned Nazi abuses in a series of detailed memoranda, and advocated strongly for a more forceful American response following the November 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom. Messersmith’s moral vision and staunch criticism of appeasement made him one of the most outspoken figures in the Foreign Service during the interwar period. Paul Squire (1903-1972), serving as U.S. consul in Bern, became the crucial link between the European resistance and Washington when he transmitted the now-historic Riegner Telegram in August 1942. The cable conveyed the first reliable intelligence of Hitler’s plan to exterminate Europe’s Jews. Squire’s insistence on verifying and forwarding the report, despite skepticism in Washington, ensured that the evidence reached policymakers and Jewish organizations abroad. His persistence helped force the issue of genocide into the official record at a time when denial and disbelief were widespread. In southern France, Vice Consul Myles Standish (1909-1979) carried out one of the most daring acts of diplomatic humanitarianism of the war. Stationed in Marseille from 1937 to 1941, he worked closely with the Emergency Rescue Committee and the American Friends Service Committee to secure exit visas, travel documents, and transport for Jewish and political refugees. Among those he aided were artist Marc Chagall and writer Lion Feuchtwanger. Defying restrictive immigration quotas and orders to cease such activities, Standish personally escorted refugees to the border and organized clandestine departures. Later, he worked for the War Refugee Board, where he was responsible for developing escape routes. He organized escapes from the Axis-held territory for political and religious refugees behind enemy lines. He was particularly active in the efforts to rescue abandoned children. He also compiled the first U.S. government list of war criminals. Envoy Myron Taylor (1874-1959) brought to his role as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal representative to the Vatican a keen sense of moral leadership. A prominent businessman before becoming involved in diplomatic efforts during World War II at the request of Roosevelt, Taylor used his influence to confront Nazi atrocities directly with Pope Pius XII. His memoranda and private appeals urged the Vatican to take a public stand on deportations, and his advocacy contributed to papal statements condemning racial persecution. Taylor’s mission helped keep international attention focused on the plight of Europe’s Jews during the darkest years of the war. As chargé d’affaires in Vichy France, Pinkney Tuck (18961993) confronted French Prime Minister Pierre Laval to protest the deportation of Jewish children and petitioned Washington to grant them U.S. entry. Tuck’s dispatches revealed the human toll of the collaborationist regime and pressed for a stronger American response. His persistent advocacy led to the rescue of hundreds of refugees and earned him wide admiration among humanitarian and diplomatic circles after the war. Finally, George Waller (1892-1962), U.S. chargé d’affaires in Luxembourg, used his limited authority to great effect. When Nazi occupation engulfed the country, Waller expedited visas and travel documents for Jewish families desperate to flee. His quick action and willingness to bend restrictive rules enabled numerous escapes from the advancing German army. For his humanitarian service, Waller was later awarded the Luxembourg War Cross; the military decoration was created by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg on April 17, 1945, to recognize extraordinary feats of military service and bravery. Working individually, often without support or against the wishes of the U.S. government, these 12 diplomats transformed the instruments of diplomacy—visas, cables, and reports—into instruments of conscience. In standing against indifference and fear, they affirmed that dissent, when guided by humanity and principle, is not disloyalty but devotion to the moral core of U.S. service. Their example continues to guide the U.S. Foreign Service today, reminding us that quiet courage can change the course of history. Myles Standish in the early 1940s. COURTESY OF SCOTI WOOLERY-PRICE
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