740.00119 EAC/5–145: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
Washington, May 2,
1945—7 p.m.
3449. It is the opinion of the Department, in response to your 4390, May 1, noon, 4419 and 4420 May 1, midnight, that
- 1.
- The basic consideration in the EAC negotiations should be to have the projected proclamation ready to be issued as quickly as SCAEF and the Soviet High Command consider it appropriate;
- 2.
- We approve showing the texts of the surrender instrument and of the proclamation based on it to the Governments of the United Nations contributing military forces to the defeat of Germany and we agree to inviting their adherence. We would not, however, at this late hour be willing to reopen consideration of the text of the surrender instrument or to delay agreement in the EAC on the text of the proclamation by negotiations with the United Nations not directly represented there.
- 3.
- We see no objection to making a more specific acknowledgment in the proclamation of the contributions of the United Nations other than the four major powers (refer Department’s 2233, March 23, 11 a.m.). We feel, however, that a modification of proposed text of the proclamation which would imply the necessity for the concurrence of United Nations not represented on the Control Council in the “additional requirements” envisaged in article 12 (b) would add a most serious complexity to the work of the Control Council and of the zone commanders. We are persuaded that the practical necessities of military government preclude the formal authorization by these other United Nations of the various measures to be taken in Germany by the four Occupying Powers.
- 4.
- The phraseology proposed by the UK Delegation for insertion in the fourth paragraph of the British draft proclamation is, therefore, undesirable from our point of view.
Grew