European War Office

In the interim of World War I, Spain remained neutral due to several inducements. One of these, more esteemed, reasons for the King, was because of his family bonds—his wife being British and his mother Austrian, among other family relations. Nonetheless, this did not prevent the King from forming the European War Office, thus, expressing involvement in the war.

On August 7, 1914, it was published in Gaceta de Madrid, a Royal Decree, signed by both King Alfonso and Prime Minister Eduardo Dato, declared the country's neutrality, stating that government had the "duty to order the strictest neutrality to Spanish subjects in accordance with the laws in force and the principles of public international law".

For the Government, there was no purpose to engage in the conflict, especially considering that there were not enough resources to do so—[2] a reason which the political and economic class conceded upon.[3] King Alfonso also agreed, despite having talked with the French ambassador of his desire to enter the conflict on the side of the Allies in exchange of "some tangible satisfaction," presumably referring to Tangier.[4]

Another consequential rationale for Spanish neutrality was the precariousness of its armed forces. Spain was involved in numerous conflicts in the north of Africa because of its protectorate of Morocco. This situation caused for an outdated Army, with inferior supplies and, because of the large number of officers, most of the budget went to pay their salaries. The Navy's reputation was impaired due to the defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898. It was not until a decade later when the government started again to invest in new warships, however, the Navy was not ready to engage in warfare.

Social unrest must also be mentioned, as a result of growing support of the labor movement and the appearance of left-wing republican parties, which may attempt to spark a republican revolution. A coup d'état would be unfavorable to Spain.

Julián Juderías in 1918

The Office, was formed in, approximately, 1914 with six staff. A publication in a French newspaper, Le Petit Girondais, provoked an avalanche of letters from many Europeans asking for aid. This compelled the King to enlarge the Office to 48 staff members, all of them speaking several languages, assisted by many volunteers. A notable member of the Office was historian and translator Julián Juderías, who spoke 15 languages.

The office worked in coordination with the Red Cross and was structured in several sections:[5]

• Missing People.
• Information and Correspondence in Occupied Territories.
• Prisoners.
• Repatriations of Soldiers Severely Wounded or Sick.
• Repatriations of Civilians.
• Internment Service in Switzerland.
• Pardons.
• Commutations of Sentences.
• Remittance of Funds to Individuals and Families in Occupied Territories.
• Reports on Inspection Visits by Spanish Delegates.

The Office admitted more than 200,000 letters —140,000 of them from the families of soldiers— all of whom were answered thanks to, what Juan José Alonso Martín, director of the Palace General Archives, has described as "a primitive computing system."[6]

The efforts of the King was not only to find people's relatives but to cease the practice of capital punishment. It is calculated that approximately 100 were saved from execution thanks to the Office —including French and German soldiers. The King even tried to save Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family, with no success.[7][8] The Palace General Archives have more than 90 documents sent to St. Petersburg that proves the efforts to liberate or visit the Tsar —the Office's staff visited more than 4,000 prisoners over all Europe— but the Romanovs were already dead when the rescue operation began. However, the King was not sure of the fate of the Tsarina and her children so he and his Office continued.[6]

There is evidence that his efforts were instrumental in lifting the German invasion of Belgium, so that provisions from the United States could reach its nine million inhabitants.

• French actor and singer Maurice Chevalier was taken prisoner in Germany; it was thank to the secret intervention of King Alfonso that he was released.[10]
• Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky was arrested in Budapest, Hungary and was release thanks to the intervention, among other international leaders, of King Alfonso.[11]
• In the Royal Palace's archive exists a complaint about the bad situation of future French president Charles de Gaulle made by the Spanish inspectors and sent by the King to a war camp.[12]
• Being only 8-years-old, a French girl named Sylviane Sartor sent a letter to the King asking him to find her uncle, a war prisoner, saying that the deed would enlighten her mother. She said the following: "Your Majesty, Mother is crying all the time because her brother has been taken prisoner. She has just received a letter that says he will die of hunger. Your Majesty, if you could send him to Switzerland… because Mother is certainly going to make herself ill. Your Majesty, I thank you in advance. Your servant, Sylviane". The King replied, asking for more information: "Dear Miss, I will do my best to stop your mother from crying. So be so good as to send me exact news of your uncle so that I can take the matter further. Alfonso XIII, King." The prisoner was Achille Delmonte, found in a camp in Hanover, Germany and sent back to Switzerland with his family.[6]
• The French prime minister asked the King to attempt to get the repatriation of 20,000 French civilians that the war had suppressed in the enemy zone, and that they were to be deported to internment camps. Alfonso XIII achieved his liberation in several months, and France considered him a war hero ever since.[13]
• The efforts of the Office were unsuccessful in the search for John Kipling, the only son of the Nobel Prize for literature Rudyard Kipling. His remains were not found and identified until 1922.[13]

Nowadays, all these letters and documents from the European War Office are property of the Royal Palace of Madrid archives and it forms part of a public exhibition called Letters to the King. The humanitarian activities of Alfonso XIII during the Great War that will be open between November 8, 2018 and March 3, 2019. It can be visited in the Genoa Rooms of the Royal Palace of Madrid.

• Ministry of Supply
• World War I
• Diplomacy

• Some pictures of the public exhibition