Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, General, Volume I

740.00119 E.A.C./9–2144: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, September 21, 1944—11 p.m.
[Received September 21—8:23 p.m.]

7856. Comea 93. My 7679, September 17, 9 p.m. Today Strang delivered to me and the Soviet Ambassador letters withdrawing the reservations attached in his August 31 letters⁸⁵ to the United Kingdom approval of the German surrender instrument. Text follows by air.⁸⁶ I hope that the Soviet Government will now withdraw its reservation set forth in Gousev’s letter of September 14.⁸⁷ If that is done, I believe that we shall have a much more solid tripartite basis of policy in Germany than if the reservations had been allowed to stand.

Winant

[As an enclosure to instruction 4583, September 27, 1944, the Department transmitted to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom for his information and guidance a “Directive to SCAEF [Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force] Regarding the Military Government of Germany in the Period Immediately Following the Cessation of Organized Resistance (Post-Defeat)”, dated September 22. This directive was prepared by the War and State Departments and concurred in by the Treasury Department. It was included as Enclosure C of Joint Chiefs of Staff document J.C.S. 1067, “Directive for Administration of Post-Defeat Military Government in Germany”, dated September 24, 1944. For texts of the instruction and directive, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, pages 142, 143.]

85. See telegram 7138, September 1, from London, p. 329.
86. Transmitted in despatch 18161, September 22, from London; neither printed.
87. See telegram 7679, September 17, from London, p. 338.