740.00119 EAC/179

Memorandum by the United Kingdom Representative to the European Advisory Commission ( Strang )52

E.A.C. (44) 17

Machinery in Germany During the “Middle Period”, i.e. the Period of Military Government After Hostilities Cease

1.
On 22nd March, 1944 I circulated to the Commission a paper (E.A.C. (44) 14) covering a memorandum outlining the structure of the machinery of control through which the proposed High Commission would work during the period when the High Commission would be the Supreme Allied authority in Germany.
2.
I explained that that memorandum did not deal with the organization of the machinery of control required in the “middle period”, that is to say the period between the cessation of hostilities and the opening of the period when the High Commission would be the Supreme [Page 212] Allied authority in Germany. I said that the United Kingdom Delegation hoped in due course to submit a further memorandum for the “middle period” also.
3.
I now circulate to the Commission, as an Annex to the present paper, a memorandum making proposals for the machinery of control required for Germany during the “middle period”, that is to say, the period of military government after the cessation of hostilities.
W[illiam] S[trang]
[Annex]

Memorandum by the United Kingdom Delegation to the European Advisory Commission

MACHINERY IN GERMANY DURING THE “MIDDLE PERIOD,” i.e., THE PERIOD OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT AFTER HOSTILITIES CEASE

Introduction

1.
The present memorandum deals with the machinery of control required for Germany during the “middle” period immediately after the cessation of hostilities.
2.
In the memorandum enclosed in the paper circulated by the United Kingdom Delegation on the 15th January, 1944 (E.A.C. (44) 3), the machinery required in Germany during the following periods, was considered in outline:—
(a)
The Period of Active Hostilities (Period A).
(b)
The “Middle Period,” i.e., the Aftermath of Hostilities (Period B).
(c)
The Period of Effective Allied Control (Period C).
3.
In the memorandum enclosed in the paper circulated by the United Kingdom Delegation on the 22nd March, 1944 (E.A.C. (44) 14), the proposals for the period of Effective Allied Control were considered in greater detail. In particular, the functions of the High Commission and the organisation it would require to carry them out were examined.
4.
The present memorandum deals with the Middle Period, i.e., the Aftermath of Hostilities, in more detail than the memorandum in E.A.C. (44) 3.
5.
It is not possible to tell what the conditions will be when hostilities cease. On the one hand Allied forces may not yet have set foot on German soil; on the other, large parts of Germany may already have been occupied.
While the Allied forces are in process of completing the occupation of Germany, it will be necessary for Commanders-in-Chief to be the supreme authorities within their own zones and to exercise local control through their own civil affairs and disarmament staffs, in the [Page 213] same way as will be necessary if German territory is occupied before hostilities cease.
6.
The United Kingdom Delegation are, however, impressed with the need for establishing on a Three-Power basis and at the earliest possible moment a form of Military Government at the centre, the function of which will be to exercise authority throughout Germany as a whole by controlling German Authorities at the centre.
Consideration will first be given below to the form which Military Government should take and then go on to deal with the stages by which it might be established.

Form which Military Government should take

Supreme Authority.

7.—(a) Supreme authority should be exercised by, or on behalf of, the Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces of Occupation. It is recommended, therefore, that supreme authority should be vested in a Military Commission consisting of the Commanders-in-Chief themselves—though, if local conditions precluded, they could be represented by their deputies. While the United States/British Forces are under one Command, it is considered essential that a senior British Commander should sit on the Military Commission, so that, from the start, all Three Powers will be represented on an equal footing.

(b) The Military Commission would act in accordance with directives received from the three Governments. It is assumed that on all matters, other than those of individual concern to each of the Forces of Occupation, directives would be co-ordinated through the medium of the European Advisory Commission or whatever Inter-Allied body is then in existence for dealing with European affairs.

8. If an acceptable central German Government exists, the Military Commission would act as the channel through which the policy of the United Nations would be imposed on that Government. In the absence of such a German Government, it might be necessary for the Military Commission to assume considerable administrative responsibility. Even so, it would have as far as possible to use German machinery and suitably selected German personnel.

Machinery of Military Government under the Military Commission.

9. The tasks to be performed in the matter of Government by the Allies in Germany immediately after the cessation of hostilities would involve control of much the same nature, and over much the same fields of German activity, as would require to be exercised later on by the High Commission. It follows that the central machinery of control required during the period of Military Government would be substantially the same as that required under the High Commission.

It is therefore recommended that the machinery of control outlined in E.A.C. (44) 14 for the High Commission period should be set up [Page 214] during the Middle Period, but under the supreme authority of the Military Commission. It should be named “Military Government.” Thus the body in Period B corresponding to the “Executive Committee of Control” in Period C would be called the “Executive Committee of Military Government” and so on.

Staffing of Proposed Machinery

10. The United Kingdom Delegation are impressed—

(a)
by the need for continuity in carrying out the task of controlling Germany throughout all the three periods referred to in E.A.C. (44) 3;
(b)
by the need for personnel of sufficient calibre to be available very early to deal adequately with the immensely complex problems with which they will be faced.

With regard to (a) continuity would be assured if the personnel employed during the period of Military Government (Period B) were the same as those who would later work under the direction of the High Commission during Period C, and include a considerable proportion of those who had been engaged in the exercise of Allied Military Government in Period A.

In particular, it is considered essential that the Directors of the Sections who would form the “Executive Committee of Military Government” should be the men who would later be Directors of the Sections who would form the “Executive Committee of Control” under the High Commission.

With regard to (b), it is recommended that the Directors of the various Sections should have had wide administrative experience in their own particular fields. The staffs of the non-military Sections should, where necessary, be recruited from civilian sources in spite of the fact that during Period B they would be the agents of “Military Government.”

11. Furthermore, the United Kingdom Delegation consider that, in order to ensure uniformity in the work of control, it would be desirable for control staffs to be “mixed” at the higher levels.

The Forces of Occupation.

12. Any necessary co-ordination between the forces of occupation would be effected by the Military Commission through a central Military Staff.

United Nations’ Agencies charged in Germany with the problem of Relief, Repatriation, Transport, &c.

13. So long as Military Government lasts it would be necessary for these agencies to be subordinate to it. It is suggested that they should be answerable to the Executive Committee of Military Government, but that in the event of disagreement they should have the [Page 215] right of access to the Military Commission through the President or Chairman of the Executive Committee of Military Government.

The High Commission.

14. As already indicated in paragraph 10 of the memorandum enclosed in E.A.C. (44) 3, it is suggested that three representatives of the future High Commission should be available throughout to advise the Military Commission on economic and political matters.

Advisory Council.

15. As indicated in paragraph 4 of the memorandum enclosed in E.A.C. (44) 14, further study is being given to the possibility of setting up a council composed of the representatives of other Allied Governments, to function in an advisory capacity to the High Commission. It is considered desirable that the “middle” period should be of very limited duration and that as soon as possible after the end of active hostilities the High Commission should take over control. If this takes place, it should not be necessary to set up the Advisory Council during the “middle” period. If, on the other hand, the latter period should prove to be prolonged, it would be desirable to establish the Advisory Council before the High Commission takes over control. In that case its contact with the Military Commission should be through the future High Commission, rather than direct. This would obviate the necessity for the Military Commission receiving advice from more than one quarter.

Structure of Proposed Machinery.

16. For ease of reference, Appendix A54 to the memorandum enclosed in E.A.C. (44) 14 is repeated, with appropriate changes, as Appendix A to the present memorandum. It illustrates the German Ministries to be controlled, and the functions to be performed, by each of the various sections.

17. The whole proposed structure of the machinery under the Military Commission is illustrated at Appendix B.54 Below the Executive Committee of Military Government level it is the same as Appendix B to the memorandum enclosed in E.A.C. (44) 14.

Method of Setting up Military Government

18. As already indicated, the United Kingdom Delegation consider it essential that Military Government at the centre should be established at the earliest possible moment. In view of paragraph 10 above, it is essential that the personnel who would compose it should be the men who would carry on under the High Commission in Period C and at the same time would have been closely identified during Period A with the Civil Affairs Staff of the Allied Armies, and should have worked with them at least during the planning stage.

[Page 216]

The Military Government organised at the centre in Periods B and C must of necessity be tripartite (British-American-Soviet) as already indicated in paragraph 6. During Period A, however, Allied Military Government would be carried out by an Anglo-American organisation in the West and a Russian organisation in the East. The problem, therefore, is to provide at the commencement of Period B an organised British-American-Soviet team, suitable in composition and calibre to control the Central German Administrative Machine, in conjunction with the necessary elements of the Allied Military Government personnel who had earlier been functioning with their respective Commanders-in-Chief during Period A.

19. The United Kingdom Delegation recommend that a British-American-Soviet team, to form the nucleus of the Executive Committee of Military Government and the nucleus staffs of Sections and Sub-commissions, should be formed in London at the earliest possible date.

This team, working within the agreed Directives issued to the Supreme Allied Commanders, as a result of the advice tendered to the three Governments by the European Advisory Commission, would undertake the detailed planning for the control of the German Central Machinery. In this task the team would of necessity co-operate closely with the staffs of the Supreme Allied Commanders, i.e., Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, and the appropriate Soviet Headquarters. It would be available at the commencement of Period B as the agency which the respective Commanders-in-Chief would utilise to set up the necessary tripartite machinery at the centre, and would, together with the Commanders-in-Chief and their Deputies, proceed, if necessary by air, to the seat of the German Government.

20. The three representatives of the future High Commission referred to in paragraph 14 would accompany the Military Commission in an advisory capacity.

Duration of the “Middle Period,” i.e., the Aftermath of Hostilities

21. It is not possible to tell how long this period will last. This must largely depend on the internal conditions in Germany when the time comes. The United Kingdom Delegation would, however, emphasise the recommendation made in paragraph 11 of the memorandum enclosed in E.A.C. (44) 3, namely, that supreme authority should be transferred to the High Commission at the earliest possible moment that the situation permits.

  1. Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in the United Kingdom in his despatch 15413, May 4; received May 13.
  2. The memorandum was originally circulated in the European Advisory Commission by the United Kingdom Representative on May 1.
  3. Not printed.
  4. Not printed.