740.00119 Control (Austria)/6–2345

No. 270
The Informal Policy Committee on Germany to the Secretary of State
top secret

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: Directive to Commander in Chief of U. S. Forces of Occupation1 regarding the Military Government of Austria.

References: a. IPCOG 9.2

b. IPCOG 9/1.2

c. IPCOG 9/2.3

On 23 June 1945 the Informal Policy Committee on Germany approved the enclosed “Directive to Commander in Chief of U. S. Forces of Occupation regarding the Military Government of Austria”. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have advised the Committee that they perceive no objection to this directive from a military point of view.

The enclosure is transmitted for your guidance and such implementation as is deemed appropriate. Copies of this directive are being similarly forwarded to the Secretaries of War, the Navy and the Treasury; the Foreign Economic Administrator; and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

. . . . . . .

For the Informal Policy Committee on Germany:
W. L. Clayton

Chairman
[Enclosure]
Directive to Commander in Chief of U. S. Forces of Occupation Regarding the Military Government of Austria
top secret

IPCOG 9/2

References: a. IPCOG 9

b. IPCOG 9/1

1. The enclosure, a revision of IPCOG 9 to incorporate the amendment proposed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as approved by the Informal [Page 338] Policy Committee on Germany on 23 June 1945, is circulated for information and guidance.

. . . . . . .

Charles W. McCarthy
Alvin F. Richardson
Raymond E. Cox

Secretariat
[Subenclosure—Extracts]4
Directive to Commander in Chief of US Forces of Occupation Regarding the Military Government of Austria
top secret

1. The Purpose and Scope of this Directive:

a.
This directive is issued to you as Commanding General of the United States forces of occupation in Austria. As such you will serve as United States member of the Governing Body of the Allied Administration and will also be responsible for the administration of military government in the zone or zones assigned to the United States for purposes of occupation and administration. It outlines the basic policies which will guide you in those two capacities after the termination of the combined command in Austria. Supplemental directives will be issued to you by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as may be required.
b.
As a member of the Governing Body you will urge the adoption by the other occupying powers of the principles and policies set forth in this directive and, pending Governing Body agreement, you will follow them in your zone. It is anticipated that substantially similar directives will be issued to the Commanders in Chief of the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and French forces of occupation.
c.
In the event that recognition is given by the four governments to a provisional national government of Austria, such government should be delegated authority in appropriate matters to conduct public affairs in accordance with the principles set forth in this directive or agreed upon by the occupying powers. Such delegation, however, shall be subject to the authority of the occupying powers and to their responsibility to see that their policies are in fact carried out.
d.
Any provisional national government of Austria which is not recognized by all of the four Governments of the occupying powers [Page 339] shall not be treated by you as possessing any authority. Only individuals who recognize your supreme authority in your zone will be utilized by you in administration.

part i

general and political

. . . . . . .

4. Basic Objectives of Military Government in Austria:

a.
You will be chiefly concerned in the initial stages of military government with the elimination of German domination and Nazi influences. Consistently with this purpose, you will be guided at every step by the necessity to ensure the reconstruction of Austria as a free, independent and democratic state. It will be essential therefore that every measure be undertaken from the early stages of occupation with this objective in mind.
b.
The Governing Body should, as soon as it is established, proclaim the complete political and administrative separation of Austria from Germany, and the intention of the occupying powers to pave the way for the reestablishment of Austria as an independent democratic state. You will make it clear to the Austrian people that military occupation of Austria is intended principally (1) to aid Allied military operations and the strict enforcement of the applicable provisions of the German unconditional surrender instrument in Austria; (2) to eliminate Nazism, Pan-Germanism, militarism, and other forces opposed to the democratic reconstitution of Austria; (3) to cooperate with the Control Council for Germany in the application and enforcement of measures designed to prevent the recurrence of German aggression; (4) to establish Allied control over the use and disposition of German property in Austria; (5) to effect the complete political and administrative separation of Austria from Germany and free Austria from Nazi and German economic and financial influences; (6) to facilitate the development of a sound Austrian economy devoted to peaceful pursuits and not vitally dependent upon German supplies, markets and technical and financial assistance; and (7) to foster the restoration of local self-government and the establishment of an Austrian central government freely elected by the Austrian people themselves. Other objectives of the occupation will be to apprehend war criminals, to care for and repatriate displaced persons and prisoners-of-war who are members of the armed forces of the United Nations, and to carry out approved programs of reparation and restitution insofar as these are applicable to Austria.

. . . . . . .

  1. General Mark W. Clark.
  2. Not printed.
  3. Not printed.
  4. The enclosure to this memorandum constitutes a portion of IPCOG 9/2.
  5. An almost complete text of this directive, as transmitted to Clark on June 27, 1945, by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is printed in Department of State Bulletin, vol. xiii, p. 661.