740.00119 (Potsdam)/5–2446
No. 513
Briefing Book Paper
top secret
Introductory Statement Concerning Germany’s
Eastern Frontier
The Inter-Divisional Committees on Germany and on Russia and Poland1 have recommended that
Germany should be required to cede Upper Silesia, East Prussia
and the portion of Pomerania east of the Kreuz–Dramburg line and
that the remainder of German territory east of the Oder, and the
territory between the Oder and the Neisse, should remain in
German possession.
For the purposes of this present series of summary
recommendations the eastern frontier of Germany has been divided
into the six segments discussed on the following pages.
Two underlying documents (H–160 and
CAC–341)2 have attempted to analyze the character of this
whole frontier problem and to make as reasonable a
recommendation for settlement as could be devised, given the
complexity of the factors which need to be taken into
consideration.
It has been recognized, however, that these recommendations
represent a judgment of what appears to be the most desirable
solution and not as an unbending resolution on the part of this
Government. Patently it would be out of the question for us to
say that we would accept only the frontier line here suggested
and would have nothing to do with a frontier moved farther to
the West. The position here taken rests on the thought that this
Government should counsel [Page 751] against, and express grave reluctance to
approve, a line west of the one recommended. If the Polish and
Soviet Governments press insistently, and if they are supported
by the British Government, we shall have no recourse but to
agree to the cession of the area east of the Oder. It is
believed, however, that this Government should refuse to
sanction at this Conference the transfer to Poland of the
territory between the Oder and the Neisse.
[
Washington
,] July 4, 1945.
[Attachment 1]
East Prussia
top secret
-
a.
-
Recommendation:—East Prussia
(except for the Koenigsberg district, which presumably
will go to the Soviet Union) should be ceded to
Poland.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—East Prussia remained
under German sovereignty, although physically separated
from the rest of Germany, after the “Corridor” was
transferred to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles.3
The western and part of the southern boundaries of East
Prussia were fixed by the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers, August 16, 1920, following a
plebiscite in the Marienwerder and Allenstein
districts,4
held in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles. Under
the final settlement, Poland received a narrow riparian
strip along the east bank of the Vistula, varying in
width from a few feet to a half mile.
The area of East Prussia under the 1920 boundaries was 14,283
square miles, its population (May, 1939) was 2,496,017.
According to the census of 1925—the most reliable index of
linguistic distribution—the Polish population of East
Prussia was 40,502, to which might be added the 62,596
Masurians, Slavs who speak a dialect akin to Polish,
residing in the district of Allenstein. Polish sources
estimate the Polish population of East Prussia at over
400,000. The whole of East Prussia is claimed by the Warsaw
Polish Government. The Soviet Union favors Polish
acquisition of East Prussia or all of the province except
for the northeastern sector, including the chief city and
part [port] of Koenigsberg which it
intends to annex. The Polish Government insists on the
deportation of ail Germans from the area to be annexed, to
Germany.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
[Page 752]
[Attachment 2]
Danzig
top secret
-
a.
-
Recommendation:—The former Free
City of Danzig should be ceded to Poland.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—The Danzig area was
renounced by Germany in the Treaty of Versailles, June
28, 1919, and proclaimed a Free City with a High
Commissioner appointed by the League of Nations on
November 9, 1920, in accordance with the terms of this
treaty.5
It was re-incorporated in Germany on September 1,
1939.6
It is claimed by Poland as a port essential to Polish
economy. In the post-war disposition of the former Free
City, whose legal status is quite complex, the League of
Nations and Danzig itself, as well as Poland and
Germany, are interested parties. The question is closely
connected with that of East Prussia.
The total area of the Free City of Danzig was 731 square
miles. The population in 1936 numbered 412,000. According to
the Danzig census of 1923, out of a total of 366,730, there
were 12,027 persons speaking Polish or Kashub; the remainder
were German-speaking. The Polish Government apparently
intends to expel to Germany the German population of the
Danzig area.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
[Attachment 3]
German Upper Silesia
top secret
-
a.
-
Recommendation:—German Upper
Silesia (Oppeln district) should be ceded to
Poland.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—The area in question
is the former German Regierungsbezirk of Oppeln, which included the
territory awarded to Germany by the Conference of
Ambassadors, October 19, 1921,7
following a plebiscite held in accordance with the terms
of the Treaty of Versailles, plus several local
districts to the west of the plebiscite area. Its area
is 3,750 square miles, its population about 1,500,000.
It is a highly industrialized region closely affiliated
economically with the larger complex of heavy industries
in southwestern Poland. The greatest concentration of
industry is in the extreme east, covering about
one-tenth of this total area and including one-third of
the population. In addition to coal, iron and steel
production, the area [Page 753] was responsible (in 1937) for
about two-thirds of Germany’s zinc ore output and over a
quarter of its lead ore.
In 1925 the exclusively German-speaking element made up 57
percent of the total population in the territory which
formed part of the plebiscite zone, 72 percent in the
industrial district. The western districts outside of the
plebiscite zone, with a population of about 323,000, are
almost wholly German-speaking. The Warsaw Polish Government
demands the deportation to Germany of the German population
of this area.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
[Attachment 4]
Eastern Pomerania
top secret
-
a.
-
Recommendation:—That portion of
Pomerania which lies east of the Kreuz-Dramburg line
should be ceded to Poland.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—The area in question
is that part of Pomerania which lies east of a line
drawn from the confluence of the Netze and Draga rivers
just west of Kreuz, thence to Neuwedell, from there to
Dramburg, and west of Belgard to the sea. It comprises
an area of 6,812 square miles with a population of
835,000, almost entirely German. It is among the poorer
agricultural sections of Germany, with many large
estates of low value per hectare. Its cession to Poland
would represent no serious economic loss to Germany;
together with East Prussia it comprises most of the
region of the larger Junker estates. For Poland it would
mean a greatly extended sea frontage on the Baltic and
an improved strategic position in relation to Germany.
This territory is claimed by the Warsaw Polish
Government.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
[Attachment 5]
German Territory East of the Oder
(Excluding East Prussia, Upper Silesia and Eastern
Pomerania)
-
a.
-
Recommendation:—The American
Government would prefer a solution under which the
territory would remain part of Germany. However, the
British have agreed that all territory east of the Oder
shall be ceded to Poland8 and this Government is not
prepared to [Page 754]
make an issue of the matter if, as is certain, it is
pressed by the Russians.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—This territory
consists of parts of the Prussian provinces of
Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. Its area is 10,473
square miles; its population in 1939 was 2,104,553,
almost entirely German. Cession to Poland would
establish as a frontier the most prominent geographic
feature available as a line of demarcation in this area,
but would destroy the natural unity of the Oder basin.
If the river line were strictly adhered to it would
divide the important metropolitan areas of Stettin,
Frankfort and Breslau. The area is mainly agricultural
and, in Silesia, of considerable value.
The Warsaw Polish Government has laid claim to this territory
and also to the major cities lying on the west bank of the
Oder. It has also hinted at the need of a further belt of
territory west of the Oder, perhaps 30 kilometers in width,
to strengthen the strategic frontier. The German population
presumably, would be deported from the entire area
annexed.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
[Attachment 6]
Territory Between the Oder and Lower
Neisse Rivers
top secret
-
a.
-
Recommendations:—This territory
should remain part of Germany. There is no historic or
ethnic justification for the cession of this area (as
well as of the trans-Oder region referred to immediately
above) to Poland. Such action would doubtless create
economic and population difficulties of the greatest
magnitude for Germany and arouse an intense spirit of
irredentism. Maintenance of the Oder–Neisse frontier
might well become the most critical security problem in
Europe during the coming years.
-
b.
-
Basic Data:—This area includes
parts of the Prussian provinces of Silesia and
Brandenburg. It is a rich agricultural area of 8,106
square miles and a population of 2,700,000, almost
entirely German. It is claimed by the Warsaw Polish
Government; its annexation would, as in other similar
instances, involve the deportation of its German
population to Germany.
Cession of this area to Poland, in addition to East Prussia,
Upper Silesia and other German territory east of the Oder,
would reduce the Polish-German frontier to 250 miles and
provide Poland with its most defensible frontier in the
west. It would facilitate Polish-Czech communications and
afford Poland primary railroad lines from the Baltic
southward through Liegnitz and Breslau.
[Washington,]
June
30, 1945.
