740.00119 Control (Germany)/7–1445: Telegram
No. 416
The Acting
Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the
United Kingdom (Winant)1
u. s. urgent
5766. Following is paraphrase of tel from McCloy dated July 11:
“It is requested that you postpone, until we have a chance of discussing the matter, giving U. S. sanction to the suggested instructions [Page 606] to Allied representatives concerning additional requirements as set out in the 5 June declaration.2 As I see it, the document is negative in character and may create confusion because of the possibility of different interpretations.
“The term ‘Allied representative’ is not positively defined either in meaning or in application. This fact may promote confusion should an individual zone commander take action on subject matter, which according to this document, should be taken by representatives of the Allies. This would be in the absence of agreement by the Control Council, of course.
“Furthermore there is reserved to the Allied representatives in this document some rights which clearly should belong to the Control Council, as well as some which should be the prerogative of the individual zone commanders. Inasmuch as this proposed instruction was the end result of the 1943 dispute over British long surrender terms, it now seems to have been rendered largely inoperative by the force of recent developments. Another defect is that this paper assumes the existence of more of a central German Government than is now contemplated. In the light of these facts I believe that any action on the proposed instruction be delayed until the final results of the pending Big Three meeting becomes clearer [sic]. It should also be considered in the light of not altering the effect of control machinery protocol or the jurisdiction of zone commanders and the Control Council.”
Further action on additional requirements agreement here postponed pending advice from Potsdam.
Repeated to USPolAd—Hoechst 112.
S[amuel] R[eber]