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122-795: Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal camp for internees, particularly for Allied soldiers during World War II. Unlike civilians , for instance Jewish refugees, who were usually sent back to the territories occupied by the Nazi regime, the Swiss government was required by the Geneva Convention of 1929 to keep these soldiers interned until the end of hostilities. The soldiers were held in barracks, and they were used as workers for agriculture and industry, except for officers who were not compelled to work and stayed in unoccupied mountain hotels, mainly in Davos . Among

244-569: A German refugee, reached Switzerland in November 1943. He and other internees in camp Lindenhof-Witzwil had refused to work. He was "punished with twenty days sharp arrest and transfer to the prison camp Wauwilermoos for three months" on the grounds that the detainees had wanted to force an investigation of the camp's "undemocratic and inhumane conditions". On 30   April 1944 Gamperl asked the Swiss Commissariat for Internment by letter to "review

366-437: A Swiss captain asked why they had travelled so far from their camp at Adelboden, and in response, "one of the airmen defiantly informed the juror that 'we were chasing butterflies'". According to Ellington, the response to this lack of candour was: "You have served thirty days at the detention camp and you will now return there and serve forty five more!" Ellington was returned to Wauwilermoos until 1   December. The verdict of

488-574: A barrack. We told them at the same time, that they only would get food when they were working. During 14 days we left these 115 men without any food. On the 14th day, they told us to die. Our answer was: Since man can live 24 days without food and drink, we'll order the doctor to day 23. Some hours later, they demanded to eat. We said: There are 57 shovels and 58 pickaxes. If you'll have worked for an hour, you'll get food. An hour later, after 60 minutes of work, 114 men were eating. The 115th [man] endured 17 days. Then he ate. A US military memo of 1944 mentioned

610-637: A bi-national Fulbright Commission administers and oversees the Fulbright Program. In countries without a Fulbright Commission but that have an active program, the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy oversees the Fulbright Program. More than 360,000 persons have participated in the program since it began. Fifty-four Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes ; eighty-two have won Pulitzer Prizes . The National Security Language Initiative (NSLI-Y)

732-607: A chronic gastrointestinal disease he was "cramped and incapacitated". He asked, supported by further justifications and medical certificates, to be transferred to a nursing home. His letters were never answered; similarly unanswered were three letters sent in August and September 1944 by Josef Dudkowiak, an officer of the German Air Force. Dudkowiak had deserted after four and a half years, after he had denounced his superior officer for corruption. Dudkowiak also said that he had been sent to

854-619: A civilian employee of the Swiss Federal Commissioner of Internment and Hospitalization (FCIH) There he translated artillery manuals, which led to his second commission in the Swiss Army as an orderly officer. This ill-advised appointment was almost certainly due to the national state of emergency and manpower shortage in the Swiss Army, although this does not explain the decision to place Béguin in charge of soldiers of other nationalities. Civilian Internee A civilian internee

976-607: A civilian workforce, and normally uses the Foreign Service personnel system for positions that require service abroad. Employees may be assigned to diplomatic missions abroad to represent the United States, analyze and report on political, economic, and social trends; adjudicate visas; and respond to the needs of US citizens abroad. The US maintains diplomatic relations with about 180 countries and maintains relations with many international organizations, adding up to 273 posts around

1098-548: A curriculum vitae, a statement of interest and a written essay. Opportunity is provided to upload letters of recommendations and nominations to support one's application. The Franklin Fellows Program was established in 2006 by the DoS to bring in mid-level executives from the private sector and non-profit organizations to advise the department and to work on projects. Fellows may also work with other government entities, including

1220-485: A decree of the Swiss Federal Council in 1941, military prisoners would be confined according to whether their offences qualified them for "custodia honesta," or honourable confinement. Special military-run prisons would offer confinement for "certain offenses of purely military character" since honourable crimes such as "escape and escape attempts... [were] usually not the crimes of common criminals". Regardless of

1342-567: A few blocks from the White House , in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. ; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym . Established in 1789 as the first administrative arm of the U.S. executive branch , the State Department is considered among the most powerful and prestigious executive agencies. It is headed by the U.S. secretary of state , who reports directly to

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1464-825: A gunner on a B-17 bomber based in England, was shot at by German anti-aircraft fire in April 1944. The aeroplane was shot at again by Swiss fighters and anti-aircraft batteries after crossing the Swiss border and then landed at Dübendorf airfield . Initially interned in Adelboden, Ellington remained there until September when the American forces were approaching the France–Switzerland border. On 17 September 1944 Ellington slipped out by using his passable German to purchase train tickets for himself and three other internees. Dressed in civilian clothes,

1586-737: A half years in prison. Captain André Béguin was a member of the National Union . He had previously lived in Munich, Germany. "He was known to wear the Nazi uniform and to sign his correspondence with 'Heil Hitler ' ". He was investigated by the Swiss counter-intelligence service for his pro-Nazi political views. Nevertheless, he was retained in command at Wauwilermoos. While in command Béguin "publicly berated Americans, sentenced them to solitary confinement, and denied them Red Cross parcels and mail". Despite his tarnished record, in 1940 Béguin obtained work as

1708-570: A merit-based system of promotions. The Rogers Act also created the Board of the Foreign Service, which advises the Secretary of State on managing the Foreign Service, and the Board of Examiners of the Foreign Service, which administers the examination process. The post-Second World War period saw an unprecedented increase in funding and staff commensurate with the US's emergence as a superpower and its competition with

1830-482: A minimum sentence and even permitted disciplinary punishment in "mild cases". "This subjectivity gave military tribunals wide latitude to treat escape attempts as minor infractions, or instead to classify them as criminal felonies". Once a tribunal convened, the burden of proof was normally substantiated by escape reports from the internment camp commanders, arrest reports from police, and interrogations carried out by an official investigator. This preliminary investigation

1952-472: A single person responsible for that duty. A mail division was established in 1872 and the office of Keeper of Rolls was made independent of the Chief Clerk's Bureau in 1873. Congress legally recognized the bureau system and provided official salaries for some bureau positions in 1873. Following Congressional recognition, several acts of Congress modified the structure of the bureaus between 1874 and 1882. At

2074-529: A translator, were present at the tribunals. The authority to try military internees under the Military Penal Code (MPC) meant that "the intent to apply internal Swiss law to internees predated World War II". Internees on trial for escaping normally faced charges of "disregard of regulations", an MPC article that allowed punishment of up to six months of imprisonment in times of war. However, the MPC did not specify

2196-585: A window and over wire fences and walked for miles". A US Legation officer then drove them to Genève at the border to France, and on 15   November they reached the Allied lines. Most of the Wauwilermoos prisoners had never shared their stories until Mears's grandson contacted them. Survivors reported filthy living quarters, skin rashes and boils, all reported that they were underfed. Some reported being held in solitary for trying to escape. Some went in weighing in

2318-617: Is a civilian detained by a party to a war for security reasons. Internees are usually forced to reside in internment camps. Historical examples include Japanese American internment and internment of German Americans in the United States during World War II . Japan interned 130,000 Dutch, British, and American civilians in Asia during World War II. From December 1941 to April 1942 in World War II, Japan conquered much of Southeast Asia and

2440-525: Is a US Department of State ECA competitive merit-based scholarship to develop the foreign language skills of American high school students in eight critical-need languages. Korean , Mandarin , Russian , Arabic , Hindi , Bahasa Indonesian , Tajiki , and Turkish are all taught in summer and academic year programs abroad, as well as in online classes. NSLI-Y is the most prestigious foreign language program available to American high schoolers and has nearly 9,200 alumni. The Jefferson Science Fellows Program

2562-450: Is a scandal, rushed with dogs") the Swiss newspaper Berner Tagwacht reported on 7   January 1944 the fate of the Soviet internee Dobrolyubov in late November 1943. After a failed escape from Wauwilermoos, Dobrolyubov was condemned to the punishment cell. Because he was sick, Dobrolyubov asked to be sent to the camp's sickroom, but this was denied by Béguin. When Dobrolyubov argued, a dog

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2684-501: Is managed by a senior official. The senior official in most bureaus is an Assistant Secretary of State , with some senior officials having other titles such as Director or Ambassador-at-Large . The final tier of senior leadership below Assistant Secretary is Deputy Assistant Secretary, of which there are several dozen. Staff below the Deputy Assistant Secretary rank are generally considered "working level." Officials from

2806-606: The Canton of Luzern in Switzerland. Peat at the former Wauwilersee lake had been mined since 1820, and the area was drained in the mid-19th century. Due to the fact that the camp was built on a former lake, the internees often sank to their ankles in mud. The camp was under the supervision of the Swiss Army . From the beginning, Wauwilermoos had a bad reputation. The camp was guarded day and night by soldiers with dogs. In all 47 men formed

2928-519: The NKVD . The British also set up a number of camps: the former Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg became No. 6 Civil Internment Camp and KZ Esterwegen became No. 9 Civil Internment Camp. United States State Department The United States Department of State ( DOS ), or simply the State Department , is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for

3050-681: The SS and functionaries of the Nazi Party and its affiliated organizations who were covered by the category of "automatic arrest" were interned by the U.S. occupation authorities in the former Dachau concentration camp . The first of these prisoners were released at the beginning of 1946. The Soviet Union set up ten special camps in the Soviet Zone of Occupation , the former Buchenwald concentration camp became Special Camp No. 2 while Sachsenhausen concentration camp became Special Camp No. 7. They were run by

3172-668: The State, War, and Navy Building in 1875. Since May 1947, the State Department has been based in the Harry S. Truman Building , which originally was intended to house the Department of Defense; it has since undergone several expansions and renovations, most recently in 2016. Previously known as the "Main State Building" , in September 2000 it was renamed in honor of President Harry S. Truman , who

3294-803: The Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The State Department moved several times throughout the capital in the ensuing decades, including six buildings in September 1800; the War Office Building west of the White House the following May; the Treasury Building once more from September 1819 to November 1866; the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875; and

3416-674: The U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021, by a vote of 78–22. As of 2024 , the State Department maintains 271 diplomatic posts worldwide, second only to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China . It also manages the U.S. Foreign Service , provides diplomatic training to U.S. officials and military personnel, exercises partial jurisdiction over immigration , and provides various services to Americans, such as issuing passports and visas , posting foreign travel advisories, and advancing commercial ties abroad. The department administers

3538-517: The census . President Washington signed the new legislation on September 15. Most of these domestic duties gradually were transferred to various federal departments and agencies established in the 19th century. However, the secretary of state still retains a few domestic responsibilities, such as serving as keeper of the Great Seal and being the officer to whom a president or vice president wishing to resign must deliver an instrument in writing declaring

3660-679: The ortsgruppenleiter (local group leader) from the top Gestapo agents to leaders of the Hitler Youth , the Peasants' League, and the Labor Front . In May and June 1945 about 700 civilians a day were arrested, and a total of over 18,000 in August. In September 1945, 82,000 suspects were being held in internment camps, available for possible trial and sentencing as members of criminal organizations. [1] Well over 100,000 Germans were incarcerated by December 1945, according to Harold Marcuse . Members of

3782-561: The 180s and 190s and came out 50 pounds lighter". In early December 1944 USAAF First Lieutenant Wally Northfelt was nearing his second month of imprisonment at Wauwilermoos. Northfelt attempted to escape from Switzerland near Geneva in September 1944, but he was apprehended by border guards and confined at Wauwilermoos. After his arrival at the punishment camp, Northfelt quickly tired of the "meager rations of coffee, bread, and thin soup" which he blamed in part for his weight loss of forty pounds during his time in Switzerland. Northfelt said that "he

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3904-742: The 1996 reorganization, the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), while leading an independent agency, also reports to the secretary of state, as does the US ambassador to the United Nations . From 1790 to 1800, the State Department was headquartered in Philadelphia , the national capital at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Street. In 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., where it briefly occupied

4026-698: The 2015–16 cycle, 17% and 24% of American applicants were successful in securing research and English Teaching Assistance grants, respectively. However, selectivity and application numbers vary substantially by country and by type of grant. For example, grants were awarded to 30% of Americans applying to teach English in Laos and 50% of applicants to do research in Laos. In contrast, 6% of applicants applying to teach English in Belgium were successful compared to 16% of applicants to do research in Belgium. The US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors

4148-626: The American airman Sergeant Daniel L. Culler, B-24 top turret gunner, was one of the first USAAF airmen sent to Wauwilermoos, in June 1944. On 12   May of that year Culler, the B-24's tail gunner, Howard Melson, and the British soldier Matthew Thirlaway had slipped away from Adelboden , where they were interned. They hoped to escape via Zürich and Bellinzona to Italy, rejoining the Allies near Rome. After three days in

4270-453: The American internees were eventually charged in the Swiss military justice system, "an experience that forever changed their perceptions of Swiss neutrality ". The majority of Americans held in Wauwilermoos in autumn 1944 were in "pre-trial confinement, awaiting a military tribunal by the Swiss Army for the crime of attempting escape". The Swiss military tribunals were convened by territorial courts (German: Divisionsgericht ), operating under

4392-564: The Committee of Correspondence that was used by the colony of Massachusetts to communicate with the other colonies. The Committee of Secret Correspondence was renamed the Committee of Foreign Affairs in 1777. In 1781, the Department of Foreign Affairs was established as a permanent body to replace the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and the office of secretary of foreign affairs was established to lead

4514-899: The Congress , White House , and executive branch agencies, including the Department of Defense , Department of Commerce , and Department of Homeland Security . The program is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin , and aims to attract mid-career professionals to enrich and expand the department's capabilities. Unlike the Jefferson Science Fellows Program, a Franklin Fellowship is a year-long volunteer position for which one may obtain sponsor support or participate out of personal resources. Participation areas assigned to Franklin Fellows are determined by several factors, including issues of priority to

4636-709: The Consular Bureau; the Home Bureau; and the Keeper of the Archives, Translator, and Disbursing Agent. The office of Commissioner of Patents was created in 1836. In 1842, the Department of State was required to report to Congress on foreign commercial systems, and a clerk within the department was assigned the responsibility of arranging this information. This position was established as the Superintendent of Statistics in 1854 and

4758-405: The Department of State was the fourth most desired employer for undergraduates according to BusinessWeek . From 2009 to 2017, the State Department launched 21st Century Statecraft, with the official goal of "complementing traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft that fully leverage the technologies of our interconnected world." The initiative

4880-420: The Department of State/USAID, to help with its daily operations. The program is applied for, follows a process starting in August, and takes about a year to learn a candidate's ranking results. Awards are not solely achievement based, but intelligence and writing skills should support one's suitability for the position as the committee determines. A candidate applies for the program online, which entails submitting

5002-719: The Diplomatic Bureau; the Consular Bureau; the Home Bureau; the Bureau of Archives, Laws, and Commissions; the Bureau of Pardons and Remissions, Copyrights, and the Care of the Library; the Disbursing and Superintending Bureau; and the Translating and Miscellaneous Bureau. His successor John Forsyth reduced this number to just four the following year, overseen by a chief clerk: the Diplomatic Bureau;

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5124-501: The Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead US foreign affairs agency, and its head, the secretary of state, is the president's principal foreign policy advisor. The department advances US objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the president's foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to US citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to

5246-535: The Fulbright Program from an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress . Additional direct and in-kind support comes from partner governments, foundations, corporations, and host institutions both in and outside the US The Fulbright Program is administered by cooperating organizations like the Institute of International Education . It operates in over 160 countries around the world. In each of 49 countries,

5368-566: The Fulbright Program, competitively selected US citizens may become eligible for scholarships to study, conduct research, or exercise their talents abroad; and citizens of other countries may qualify to do the same in the United States. The program was established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. The Fulbright Program provides 8,000 grants annually to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university lecturing, and classroom teaching. In

5490-425: The Pacific region. In doing so, Japan acquired colonies of the United Kingdom , Netherlands , and the United States . Tens of thousands of non-combatant civilians of countries at war with Japan resided in those territories. Japan interned most of the civilians in makeshift camps located throughout the region and in China and Japan. Many of the civilians were interned for more than three years from early 1942 until

5612-417: The Philippines. Conditions for internees were worst in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) where large numbers of widely dispersed internees, mostly Dutch, overwhelmed Japanese resources and capabilities resulting in a high death rate for internees. Long before 1945, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force had worked out automatic arrest categories ranging from the top Nazi Party leadership to

5734-426: The Secretary through the Assistant Secretaries are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Under the Obama administration, the website of the Department of State had indicated that the State Department's 75,547 employees included 13,855 foreign service officers; 49,734 locally employed staff, whose duties are primarily serving overseas; and 10,171 predominantly domestic civil service employees. Since

5856-652: The Soviet Union in the subsequent Cold War. Consequently, the number of domestic and overseas employees grew from roughly 2,000 in 1940 to over 13,000 in 1960. In accordance with the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, the U.S. State Department established the Rewards for Justice program . The Rewards For Justice program offered money as an incentive for information leading to the arrest of leaders of terrorist groups, financiers of terrorism, including any individual that abide in plotting terror attacks by cooperating with extremist groups. The Rewards For Justice program offered money as an incentive for information leading to

5978-524: The State Department spending time in the United States and interacting with their American colleagues, leadership and counterparts. Notable alumni of Professional Fellows include Edmond Fernandes , Anoka Abeyratne . The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program , is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under

6100-401: The Statistical Office was created within the department. In 1853, the office of Assistant Secretary of State was created to oversee the heads of each bureau. A Commissioner of Immigration existed between 1864 and 1868. An Examiner of Claims was established in 1868 to address claims by American citizens against foreign nations, but it was abolished in 1868 and then reestablished in 1870 under

6222-425: The Swiss Military Court Regulations of 1889 ( Militärstrafgerichtsordnung ) and the Swiss Military Penal Code of 1927 ( Militärstrafgesetz Bundesgesetz vom 13. Juni 1927 ). The jurisdiction was established by decree of the Swiss Federal Council in 1939. Presided over by a judge or chief justice , the tribunal panels consisted of six officers and non-commissioned officers under a judge. The Federal Council selected

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6344-406: The Swiss Military Criminal Code were detained. Wauwilermoos housed military internees of various nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and the USA. Swiss military-run prisons like Wauwilermoos were established earlier in the war, after cantonal prisons became "overcrowded with prisoners convicted in military court." According to

6466-517: The Swiss Military Criminal Code. On the 4 hectares (10 acres) site a total of 25 barracks were situated: eleven barracks with a capacity of about 550 inmates; the remaining 14 barracks were used by the Swiss camp staff. The prisoner barracks could each accommodate up to 50 people and were built from wood; they were neither insulated nor were they heated in winter. The barracks were equipped with simple beds stuffed with straw, and only officers slept on straw-filled mattresses. Sanitary facilities were basic;

6588-447: The Swiss officials. For instance Major Humbert, army doctor ( Militärarzt ) and head physician in the Seeland district of the Swiss Federal Commissioner of Internment and Hospitalization (FCIH), mentioned in three reports in January and February 1942, the "enormous morbidity" in the penal camp: "The moral atmosphere in the camp is absolutely untenable". Major Humbert also noted the despotic punishment catalogue and psychological deficits of

6710-424: The Swiss prisoners were members of the United States Army Air Forces , who were sentenced for attempting to escape from other Swiss camps for interned soldiers, or other offences. The internment prison camp was one of three Swiss penal camps for internees that were established in Switzerland during World War II. In Wauwilermoos prison camp both military internees and male civilian internees who had been convicted under

6832-482: The Ticino mountains Culler became ill, and he decided to go back to the Adelboden camp. Culler was condemned, still ill, and placed on rations of bread and water for ten days in Frutigen . When he returned to Adelboden he was sent to Wauwilermoos without any explanation; later he was informed that a judge had deemed his punishment as too light. Culler's good clothes were confiscated by camp commandant André Béguin in return for "old dirty rags." Sent to barracks 9, Culler

6954-408: The U.S. president and is a member of the Cabinet . Analogous to a foreign minister , the secretary of state serves as the federal government's chief diplomat and representative abroad, and is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession . The position is currently held by Antony Blinken , who was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by

7076-408: The US embassy was informed of conditions by three American soldiers who had escaped from Wauwilermoos. Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who visited Wauwilermoos "failed to notice much amiss", and ICRC member Frédéric Hefty wrote: "If iron discipline is the norm, there is also a certain sense of justice and understanding that helps with the re-education and improvement of

7198-536: The US military in Bern , military attaché Barnwell R. Legge , instructed the soldiers not to flee so as to allow the US Legation to co-ordinate their escape attempts, but the majority of the soldiers thought it was a diplomatic ruse or did not receive the instruction directly. Soldiers who were caught after their escape from the internment camps were often detained in the Wauwilermoos prison camp near Luzern. On 1   October 1944 Switzerland housed 39,670 internees in all: 20,650 from Italy, 10,082 from Poland, 2,643 from

7320-457: The United States, 1,121 from the United Kingdom (including five Australians), 822 from the Soviet Union, and 245 from France. In September the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was commissioned by the US Supreme Command to organise the escapes of 1,000 American internees, but this did not happen until late in the winter of 1944–45. The site was located on the former Wauwilersee lake in the municipalities of Egolzwil , Wauwil and Schötz in

7442-449: The United States. All foreign affairs activities—US representation abroad, foreign assistance programs, countering international crime, foreign military training programs, the services the department provides, and more—are paid for out of the foreign affairs budget, which represents little more than 1% of the total federal budget. The department's core activities and purpose include: The Department of State conducts these activities with

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7564-424: The Wauwilermoos camp in July 1945. Starting in 1943 Switzerland attempted to shoot down American and British aircraft, mainly bombers, overflying Switzerland. Six aircraft were downed by Swiss Air Force fighters and nine by anti-aircraft cannons ; 36 airmen were killed. In addition there were 137 emergency landings during the war. Officers were interned in Davos , enlisted men in Adelboden . The representative of

7686-407: The Wauwilermoos penal camp without any explanations. On the occasion of a lecture in front of Swiss officers Béguin explained his "art of bulk handling" (German: Kunst der Massenbehandlung ) on 26   June 1944: 115 internees refused to work. Three times we gave the command to work. It was refused. We examined all 115 men's pockets, left nothing therein as the handkerchiefs, and we locked all in

7808-456: The age range of 18 to 35 years old from the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Timor Leste . YSEALI's programs include competitive exchange fellowship programs to the United States , virtual and on-ground workshops within Southeast Asia , and seed grant funding opportunities. The programs fall under the key core themes of civic engagement , sustainable development , economic development , governance , and

7930-430: The arrest of leaders of terrorist groups , financiers of terrorism, including any individual that abide in plotting terror attacks by cooperating with extremist groups . In 1997, Madeleine Albright became the first woman appointed Secretary of State and the first foreign-born woman to serve in the Cabinet. The 3rd millennium saw the department reinvent itself in response to the rapid digitization of society and

8052-538: The bureau was replaced by an office to facilitate the transfer of information between consular offices and the new department. The Passport Bureau was restored the same year, and its name was changed to the Bureau of Citizenship in 1907. The department underwent a major reform in 1909 when Congress expanded its funding. Separate divisions were established within the Department for Latin American Affairs, Far Eastern Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, Western European Affairs, and Information. An additional Division of Mexican Affairs

8174-401: The camp on several occasions, headed by Swiss Army Colonel Auguste Rilliet. The inspection team simply noted that sanitary conditions could be improved, and that prisoners were not aware of the length of their sentences or why they were in the camp in the first place. Immediately prior to the removal of the commandant in September 1945 Rilliet rated the camp conditions unsatisfactory. Wauwilermoos

8296-471: The camp, his report came to the chief of the legal department of the Swiss federal internment department, Major Florian Imer. After an inspection of the camp, Imer noted that "in particular the allegations of Major Humbert were exaggerated for the most part". Another report in January 1943 noted the camp's poor sanitary condition. At the end of 1944, Ruggero Dollfus, interim Swiss Federal commissioner for internment ( Internierungskommissär ), complained again about

8418-515: The camp. Béguin also claimed that "the barracks were built according to regulations, and despite their shortcomings, were 'of the same type as those used in the Army ' ". Officials at the US Legation in Switzerland disagreed with Béguin's "tempered description of conditions" at the penal camp. According to military attaché General Legge, the camp was: of the stockade type... surrounded by barbed wire, constantly patrolled by dogs and guards with sub-machine guns... [Conditions are] unreasonably severe, at

8540-428: The commandant of the prison camp, Captain André Béguin . His complaints resulted in no action by the authorities, and in February 1942 Humbert was dismissed. In the same year an investigation of Béguin was conducted because of possible espionage in favour of Nazi Germany. Although Colonel Robert Jaquillard, chief of the counterintelligence service of the army, spoke against the retention of Captain Béguin as commander of

8662-430: The conditions in Wauwilermoos as "worse than in enemy prison camps" and confirmed the first-hand impressions. The "meals consisted of watered-down soups and scorched stale bread". The sanitary circumstances were subpar: for instance, the latrines were just trenches, very unsanitary, and to clean them the trenches were hosed down every few weeks. Reportedly, "lice and rats were everywhere and the men got sick with boils due to

8784-606: The country as well as a candidate's degree of career seniority and personal interests. See also Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) (pronounced / w aɪ s iː ˈ l iː / ) is a program of the DoS for emerging leaders from Southeast Asia . The program was launched by President Barack Obama in Manila in December 2013 as a way to strengthen leadership development, networking, and cultural exchange among emerging leaders within

8906-456: The country's foreign policy and relations . Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions , negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations . The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building ,

9028-529: The decision. Reflecting the fledgling status of the US at the time, the Department of State under Secretary Jefferson comprised only six personnel, two diplomatic posts (in London and Paris), and 10 consular posts. When Jefferson took charge of the department, one clerk oversaw The Foreign Office and another oversaw the Home Office. Congress authorized the department hire a chief clerk for each office in June 1790, but

9150-524: The department the first federal agency to be created under the new Constitution. This legislation remains the basic law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and assigned it a variety of domestic duties, including managing the United States Mint , keeping the Great Seal of the United States , and administering

9272-481: The department. The U.S. Constitution , drafted September 1787 and ratified the following year, gave the president responsibility for conducting the federal government's affairs with foreign states. To that end, on July 21, 1789, the First Congress approved legislation to reestablish the Department of Foreign Affairs under the new government, which President George Washington signed into law on July 27, making

9394-482: The departments of Defense, Treasury, and Commerce. The department also consults with Congress about foreign policy initiatives and policies. The most senior official in the Department is the Secretary of State. The Secretary is the chief executive officer of the Department of State and a member of the Cabinet who answers directly to, and advises, the president of the United States . The Secretary organizes and supervises

9516-791: The difficult elements sent there". The reports contained statements from internees that the camp was "a relaxing place that they would happily return to". However, "the internees provided their statements in return for favours from Béguin". The conditions in the camp were not reported correctly. "Switzerland's wartime general, Henri Guisan , demanded that all Red Cross reports about the internment camps be submitted to army censors first if delegates wanted access" notes historian Dwight S. Mears. The American military attaché in Bern warned Marcel Pilet-Golaz , Swiss foreign minister in 1944, that "the mistreatment inflicted on US aviators could lead to 'navigation errors' during bombing raids over Germany". The ICRC inspected

9638-456: The end of the nineteenth century, the department consisted of the Chief Clerk's Bureau, the Diplomatic Bureau, the Consular Bureau, the Bureau of Accounts, the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, the Bureau of Appointments, and the Bureau of Archives. Other offices, such as that of translator, also operated separately from the bureau system. In 1903, the Bureau of Foreign Commerce was transferred to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor , and

9760-566: The end of the war in 1945. In general, civilian internees of the Japanese were treated less harshly than were prisoners of war (POWs). Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs administered the internee camps while the Ministry of War administered the POW camps. The Japanese left the internal administration of the camps mostly in internee hands, providing only small amounts of food, fuel, and other necessities to

9882-497: The entire department and its staff. Immediately subordinate to the Secretary are the Deputy Secretary and the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources , the second- and third-highest ranking officials in the department. Ranking below the two Deputy Secretaries are six Under Secretaries , who each oversee several bureaus and offices tasked with specific areas of policy and administration. Each bureau or office, in turn,

10004-598: The final months of World War I, the Bureau of Citizenship was split into the Division of Passport Control and the Visa Office. Other changes made during World War I include the conversion of the Division of Information into the Division of Foreign Intelligence in 1917 and the establishment of the Correspondence Bureau in 1918. The Division of Russian Affairs was established in 1919, and the Division of Political Information

10126-420: The financial means to sustain their work abroad. Combined with the common practice of appointing individuals based on politics or patronage, rather than merit, this led the department to largely favor those with political networks and wealth, rather than skill and knowledge. In 1833, Secretary of State Louis McLane oversaw a major restructure of the Department of State into a formal collection of seven bureaus:

10248-561: The global economy. In 2007, it launched an official blog, Dipnote , as well as a Twitter account of the same name, to engage with a global audience. Internally, it launched a wiki , Diplopedia ; a suggestion forum called the Sounding Board ; and a professional networking software, "Corridor". In May 2009, the Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) was created to provide remote internships to students. The same year,

10370-534: The group travelled unaccosted to a city near the French border where they were arrested by an observant Swiss soldier. They were first confined in the Basel city jail for three days and then transferred to Wauwilermoos where Ellington recalled "barbed wire, straw bunks, and guard dogs". After nearly a month in Wauwilermoos, Ellington and his companions were transported to Bern to appear at the Swiss military tribunal. Each defendant

10492-440: The guard as of 13   February 1945. The camp was additionally secured by several rows of barbed wire. Within the camp sector "Santenberg" was considered a military prison, sector "Egolzwil" housed alcoholics, while the department for "difficult elements" and for repeat offenders was in the sector "Wauwilermoos". In Wauwilermoos prison camp there were both military internees and male civilian internees who had been convicted under

10614-558: The intent of the Federal Council, for most of 1944 the Swiss authorities did not follow the custodia honesta model, but rather "grouped American internees with common criminals in Wauwilermoos". From July 1941 to September 1945 Wauwilermoos was under the command of Swiss Army captain Andre Béguin. The harsh detention conditions were later described by numerous former inmates and by various contemporary reports and studies. For instance,

10736-441: The internees. As the fortunes of war turned against Japan, conditions for internees worsened and by the end of the war starvation threatened in many camps. The self-rule, self-sufficiency, and cooperation of the internees permitted the Japanese to control internee camps with a minimum of resources and personnel, amounting at times to only 17 administrators and 8 guards for more than 3,000 internees at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in

10858-417: The judges and panel members for three-year terms. They retained their regular military positions while serving the court. The military court regulations specified that the chairmen must "hold at least a major degree", but the judges were not required to be trained in law, despite their position as "chairman of the court". Also a prosecutor, defence attorney, court clerk, and in the case of foreign defendants,

10980-492: The latrines were simple trenches in the earth. The diet was meagre and poor. The detainees were widely lacking medical care. Even access to auxiliary packets from the Red Cross and communication by letter were denied. The officer barracks were designed for only 20 occupants, but had 86 by autumn 1944. As a result André Béguin explained that "he could no longer provide amenities such as sheets and shaving mirrors for officers below

11102-417: The lieutenant, in an "arrest local beside the pigsty". Dziedic had to take off his uniform and put on rags, and was paraded through the camp. In the second half of December 1943, the then 26 Soviet internees were sent, along with other detainees, to fetch wood from the forest. They were accompanied by several guards with dogs who ordered the soldiers to collect significantly more wood than normal and take it to

11224-724: The lowest subsistence level, and mud ankle deep. General Legge considered them worse than those in POW camps in Nazi Germany. Prior to the escape attempts of summer 1944, only a few American internees were condemned to Wauwilermoos, usually for "drunkenness and disorderly conduct" and with the tacit approval of the US legation. Once the escapes of American POWs increased, the "Swiss government sent every offender to Wauwilermoos, normally for two or three months without trial". By autumn 1944, over 100 American internees were incarcerated in Wauwilermoos, and "the Swiss government threatened to keep them there without trial for six to seven months". Many of

11346-631: The newly established Law Bureau. In 1870, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish reorganized the department into twelve bureaus: the Chief Clerk's Bureau, two Diplomatic Bureaus, two Consular Bureaus, the Law Bureau, the Bureau of Accounts, the Statistical Bureau, the Bureau of Translations, the Bureau of Pardons and Commissions, the Bureau of Domestic Records, and the Passport Bureau. The bureaus of law, translations, and domestic records each consisted of

11468-483: The offices were consolidated under a single clerk the following month. In 1793, responsibility over patents was transferred from the cabinet to the Department of State. The office of superintendent of patents was created to carry out this responsibility, but the office was not recognized by Congress until 1830. In the 19th century, the U.S. State Department was responsible for administering the consular services and Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The Department of State

11590-622: The oldest U.S. civilian intelligence agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research , and maintains a law enforcement arm , the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The Articles of Confederation did not designate a separate executive branch of the government. Foreign affairs were delegated to the Committee of Secret Correspondence by the Congress of the Confederation in 1775, based on

11712-464: The poor sanitation. Among others Dollfus noted that the Red Cross auxiliary packets were confiscated by Béguin, and nearly 500 letters from and to the airmen had been withheld by the commandant. Béguin, was suspended and banned from entering the camp effective 5   September 1945. On 24   September he was taken into custody. On 20   February 1946, a military court sentenced Béguin to three and

11834-467: The prison camp, 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) from the forest. The Soviet internees refused to comply with this, and a guard fired his gun into the air and set the dogs on his prisoners. For this alleged resistance, soldier Malfejw was detained for ten days in the punishment cell. In a fight among inmates of barrack 29 on 28   September 1944, a 27-year-old Soviet internee was shot by the guards and another wounded by two bullets. Robert Gamperl, probably

11956-500: The rank of captain". Firewood to heat the stoves was also in short supply. In response to the Americans "who [threatened to cut] up tables and benches to keep warm", Béguin claimed surprise, and resolved that "if they behaved churlishly we could no longer treat them like officers". The commandant claimed that the allocation of firewood was greater than the quantity rationed to Swiss soldiers, a comparison used to justify many conditions around

12078-697: The real reasons, a hearing by the legal officer and reprieve to the clarification of the matter". His letter was never forwarded from Wauwilermoos; neither were letters from Alfred Friedrich and Josef Haslinger. Jules Keller, a medical student, had deserted from the German Army. From Wauwilermoos he sent at least five requests between 23   August and 2   November 1944 to the Federal Commissioner for Internment. Keller asked for health reasons to spend internment near his aunts in Zürich. He argued that because of

12200-644: The renovation of the buildings on the 11.8 acres (4.8 ha) Navy Hill campus, which housed the World War II headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services and was the first headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency . In June 2022 the State Department launched a new transnational association , the Minerals Security Partnership . The Executive Branch and the Congress have constitutional responsibilities for US foreign policy. Within

12322-463: The tribunal continued after his departure, and was never informed of the actual verdict. This "demonstrates that internees had difficulty comprehending their experience with Swiss military justice due to both language and cultural differences, and the fact that they were effectively serving their sentences in advance of the tribunal verdicts". Under the title "Das ist ein Skandal, Mit Hunden gehetzt" ("This

12444-410: The tribunal was not delivered for another 20 days, by a slightly altered panel on which one of the Swiss captains had been replaced by another officer of the same rank. The verdict was 75 days confinement for each of the four defendants, with 45 days deducted for pre-trial confinement. In addition, they were each fined their pro-rated share of the trial cost of 17.5 Swiss francs. Ellington was unaware that

12566-472: The unsanitary conditions". They "also lost weight, mostly about 40 pounds". Béguin castigated American internees by "subjecting them to cruel punishments and solitary confinements for minor infractions". The soldiers also were "imprisoned a total of 7 months"; the Hague Convention allowed only 30 days confinement. In addition, the internees did not know the length of their sentences. 2nd Lt. Paul Gambaiana

12688-409: The whole thing. James Misuraca spoke about the compound of single-storey buildings surrounded by barbed wire, the armed Swiss guards with dogs, and the commandant, "a hater of Americans, a martinet who seemed quite pleased with our predicament". Arriving on 10   October 1944, Misuraca and two other US officers made an escape on 1   November. They had "timed the rounds of the guards, climbed out

12810-450: The world. In the United States, about 5,000 professional, technical, and administrative employees work compiling and analyzing reports from overseas, providing logistical support to posts, communicating with the American public, formulating and overseeing the budget, issuing passports and travel warnings , and more. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Department of State works in close coordination with other federal agencies, including

12932-423: Was a laborious process and did not facilitate the swift execution of justice. The Swiss military justice system was overwhelmed by the rash of escape attempts in the summer of 1944. For the minority of indicted internees who eventually received verdicts the average sentence was 74 days in prison, but the average time to complete the investigations and military tribunals was 82 days. For instance, Sgt. Dale Ellington,

13054-521: Was a major proponent of internationalism and diplomacy. As the DOS is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, it is sometimes metonymically referred to as "Foggy Bottom". The US Department of State has in the recent years rolled out Professional Exchange Fellows who have risen to professional ranks in their lives and are chosen by the US Embassies worldwide to be a professional fellows of

13176-544: Was another USAAF airman sent to the camp. Just before D-Day his aircraft went down. In a telephone interview from his home in Iowa in 2013 Gambaiana said: [the crew] wanted to get back to our base so we attempted to leave Switzerland, and they got us and put us there. It was a Swiss concentration camp. About the only thing I can remember ... we had cabbage soup which was hot water and two leaves of cabbage floating around...The rest I have put away and forgotten. I'm trying to forget

13298-416: Was appointed at his own request as the commander of the camp. The sanitary facilities were dysfunctional, and Béguin stole the food packages and harassed the Allied internees. "He was a Nazi, not only a Nazi sympathizer," Robert Cardenas told CBS 8 News in a 2013 interview. Cardenas, a retired US Air Force brigadier general, was a captain in the 44th Bomb Group interned in Switzerland in 1944. While Cardenas

13420-417: Was composed of two primary administrative units: the diplomatic service, which staffed US legations and embassies, and the consular service, which was primarily responsible for promoting American commerce abroad and assisting distressed American sailors. Each service developed separately, but both lacked sufficient funding to provide for a career; consequently, appointments to either service fell on those with

13542-539: Was designed to utilize digital technology and the Internet to promote foreign policy goals; examples include promoting an SMS campaign to provide disaster relief to Pakistan, and sending DOS personnel to Libya to assist in developing Internet infrastructure and e-government. Colin Powell , who led the department from 2001 to 2005, became the first African-American to hold the post; his immediate successor, Condoleezza Rice ,

13664-617: Was established in 1915. The Bureau of Trade Relations was abolished in 1912 and replaced by an Office of Foreign Trade Advisers, and the Office of the Adviser on Commercial Treaties was split from this office in 1916. During World War I , the Bureau of Citizenship was tasked with vetting every person who entered or departed from the United States to ensure public safety. New branches of the Bureau of Citizenship were opened in New York and San Francisco. In

13786-538: Was established in 1920. The Department of State underwent its first major overhaul with the Rogers Act of 1924 , which merged the diplomatic and consular services into the Foreign Service , a professionalized personnel system under which the secretary of state is authorized to assign diplomats abroad. An extremely difficult Foreign Service examination was also implemented to ensure highly qualified recruits, along with

13908-450: Was established in 2003 by the DoS to establish a new model for engaging the American academic science, technology, engineering and medical communities in the formulation and implementation of US foreign policy. The Fellows (as they are called, if chosen for the program) are paid around $ 50,000 during the program and can earn special bonuses of up to $ 10,000. The program's intent is to equip Fellows with awareness of procedural intricacies of

14030-407: Was given a copy of the poorly translated charges, and had "methodically listed the identities of the defendants, the charges against them, a catalog of evidence, and the names of their tribunal jurors", in fact the only trial record they received. The tribunal panel consisted of three Swiss officers, of which the highest ranking were two captains, and three enlisted soldiers. During the interrogation,

14152-512: Was horrible. Between 149 and 161 Americans who were caught attempting to escape in 1944 were sent to Wauwilermoos, "where their confinement would eventually test the limits of international law." The American internees remained in Wauwilermoos until November 1944, when the US State Department lodged protests against the Swiss government and secured their release. The agreement did not impact all nationalities, as Soviet internees were still at

14274-486: Was not himself sent to Wauwilermoos, he did visit it and witnessed the camp's abysmal conditions firsthand. In his recollection: the beds were wooden planks or some of them were only straw on the floor ... American prisoners were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, starvation, freezing, disease-ridden conditions and virtually no hygiene facilities ... [the camp] was exactly like, if not worse than, any POW camp in Germany, it

14396-482: Was only able to get enough food to survive by purchasing it off the black market". Northfelt was also ill; sleeping on dirty straw had caused sores all over his body, and he had problems with his prostate gland . Medical care was given by a doctor, Northfelt said, who "specialized in women's cases". Northfelt said Béguin was a "pro-Nazi" who "only cleaned up the camp when inspections by high ranking officers or American dignitaries were announced". On 3   November 1944

14518-430: Was repeatedly raped by internees from Soviet Union. He reported this to Béguin and some of the guards who laughed and sent him back. The next days they even closed Culler's barrack at night. The torture did not end until new internees became Culler's roommates: "I was bleeding everywhere", Culler said later. Culler fell seriously ill and was transferred to hospital. Béguin, who has been labelled "a disgrace to Switzerland",

14640-403: Was sent in, pulling him to the ground and tearing his clothes. A guard kicked the internee lying on the ground before Dobroliubov was sent to the punishment cell. Symforian Dziedic, a Polish lieutenant, was voluntarily returned to Switzerland after fleeing to France. After a second attempt to escape at the end of 1943, he was imprisoned in Wauwilermoos again. Béguin locked Dziedic, as described by

14762-684: Was the second female secretary of state and the second African-American. Hillary Clinton became the third female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009. In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building. A joint venture consisting of the architectural firms of Goody, Clancy and the Louis Berger Group won a $ 2.5 million contract in January 2014 to begin planning

14884-529: Was the subject of official protests by the United States, Great Britain, Poland, and Italy, as well as a barrier to the normalisation of diplomatic relations with the USSR. Numerous Swiss citizens reported that the conditions at Wauwilermoos were in violation of the 1929 Geneva Conventions, including a Swiss Army medical officer, an officer on the Swiss Army's General Staff, and the editors of two Swiss newspapers. Starting in 1942 on-site inspections had been carried out by

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