740.00119 Control (Germany)/1–245: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 2—9:17 p.m.]
57. Personal for the Secretary and Assistant Secretary Dunn. I find that I have failed to give a final reply to your 10506 (December 16, midnight)93 after sending you my 11326 (December 20, 8 p.m.).94 The day Mr. Eden95 returned from Athens I asked him to take up this matter with the British Chiefs of Staff as it was blocking our acceptance of the protocol on zones in Germany and was probably responsible for the delay in acceptance by our Government of the agreement on control machinery.96 I reminded him that on his return from the last meeting at Quebec97 he had told me of the President’s generosity in agreeing to the British occupation of the northwestern zone. I told him I thought it was a poor return, in view of this concession, not to grant us control of Bremen and Bremerhaven and the necessary rail, highway and canal facilities to supply our [Page 161] forces in the southern zone. Eden told me he would take the matter up at once and try to get immediate action. I did this following receipt of a cablegram (War 84027, Hilldring98 to Peabody for Meyer,99 December 29, subject: Control Zones) stating that the British Chiefs’ counter-proposal was unsatisfactory to the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- Not printed; it stated inter alia that the War Department would appreciate the Ambassador’s personal intervention to expedite British action to complete agreement on zones of occupation in Germany (740.00119 EAC/12–1644)↩
- Not printed; it stated that the Ambassador would be glad to take action to protect United States interests with regard to the zones of occupation in Germany (740.00119 EAC/12–2044)↩
- Anthony Eden, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs↩
- For text of protocol between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on the zones of occupation in Germany and the administration of “Greater Berlin”, signed at London, September 12, 1944, and the amending agreement signed at London, November 14, 1944, see Department of State, Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) No. 3071, or United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST), vol. 5 (pt. 2), p. 2078. For text of the agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on Control Machinery in Germany, signed at London, November 14, 1944, see TIAS No. 3070, or 5 UST (pt. 2) 2062↩
- Documentation relating to the Second Quebec Conference, September 11–16, 1944, is scheduled for publication in a subsequent volume of Foreign Relations. ↩
- Maj. Gen. John H. Hilldring, Director of the Civil Affairs Division of the War Department↩
- Brig. Gen. Vincent Meyer, Military Adviser to the United States Representative on the European Advisory Commission (Winant)↩