Messersmith, G.S.
Date
2011-06-15
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press
Abstract
Description
Comments on ex-King Carol of Roumania and Madame Lupescu; thinks Carol was misunderstood by general public; Messersmith was Minister to Austria before Carol abdicated and talked with many Roumanians about him; he was one of the last of Southeast European rulers to oppose Nazi penetration of his country; he also held out against certain British oil interests in Roumania thus incurring their enmity; thinks he might have kept throne if he had been willing to send Madame Lupescu, who for some time had been his mistress, out of the country, but he said if she had to leave, he would leave also; they went first to Spain, then Portugal, and arrived in Cuba shortly before Messersmith left for Mexico; about a year later they went to Mexico City to live; they took a house on the outskirts of the city where they entertained frequently in a modest way; Carol appealed to Messersmith to help him with a business matter; all his money was in the Chase National Bank in New York and he was able to draw out only a small sum each month, hardly sufficient to cover living expenses; Messersmith succeeded in getting the amount increased, but was not sure it was wise, as Carol's resources were rapidly being exhausted; many people had idea Carol was very wealthy and he was called on by charities and individuals for assistance; he probably gave away more in a month than the amount of his personal expenditures; found Carol very intelligent; he had keen political perception and was very well informed; he and Madame Lupescu were frequent dinner guests of the Messersmiths, who found them pleasant, charming people; a friend in the State Department wrote to Messersmith telling him his entertaining Carol and Madame Lupescu in Embassy residence was doing him no good at home; Messersmith told friend later that he had seen few people more attached to each other or more loyal to each other than Carol and Madame Lupescu; Messersmith felt that any Foreign Service officer had a right to a personal life of his own; life was not kind to either Carol or Madame Lupescu; what happened to her [Jewish] family hung over her constantly; altitude of Mexico City was difficult for her and they left reluctantly to live in Brazil; the Messersmiths saw them briefly in June 1947 when ship on which they were returning after post in Argentina stopped in Rio De Janeiro for a day; found Madame Lupescu very ill and Carol in despair; received cable from Carol several days later stating he and Madame Lupescu had been married; had occasional letters from them after they returned to Portugal to live. Carol's life was saddened by his son, Michael, turning against him; his death from heart attack in 1954 was unexpected.
Keywords
Messersmith, George S. (George Strausser), 1883-1960.