740.00119 Control (Germany)/6–745
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Central European Affairs (Riddleberger)
Mr. Berard called today at my request to discuss the question of the French zone of occupation in Germany. This interview was pursuant to a request which Mr. Berard had made to me on June 1 [May 31?]35 to take up once more at the War Department his suggestion that this Government would agree to hand over certain parts of its zone in Germany to France after our deployment was concluded. Mr. Berard requested this in view of Ambassador Bonnet’s conversation with Mr. McCloy last week, at which time the Ambassador understood that this was a possible development.
In accordance with decisions reached at a meeting in Mr. McCloy’s office on June 6, I informed Mr. Berard as follows:
The American Government does not exclude the possibility of turning over portions of its zone at a later date to the French Government. However, this would have to be accomplished at a time and under conditions which would be determined by the American authorities in the light of their requirements in administering the United States zone in Germany.36
Mr. Berard was of the opinion that this response did not go as far as what Mr. McCloy had told the Ambassador. I told Mr. Berard that the reply I had just given represented the agreed opinion of the competent American authorities and that I hoped he would convey it in that precise form to Paris. He promised he would do so.
Mr. Berard then described at some length the reasons why the French Government attach such importance to having the entire province of Baden, but brought forth nothing new.