740.00119 EAC/4–45: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
London, April 4,
1945—midnight.
[Received April 5—2:46 a.m.]
[Received April 5—2:46 a.m.]
3450. Cornea 206. At tonight’s meeting of the EAC the Soviet representative presented the following draft amendments to the United Kingdom draft agreement on control machinery in Austria (full text transmitted with my despatch No. 20639 January 261).
- 1.
- Add “recognized by the four great powers” to last sentence of the preamble.
- 2.
- Omit “naval” in last sentence of paragraph [article] 2(a).
- 3.
- Delete paragraph [article] 2(b).
- 4.
- In article 4 omit the naval division, combine the military and air divisions into one military division and add a reparation and deliveries division.
- 5.
- In article 9 omit the last sentence beginning with words “in enforcing the terms”.
- 6.
- In article 11 substitute “the City of Vienna” for “Greater Vienna”. End of Soviet amendments.
- 1.
- In the discussion De Leusse, acting for Massigli, proposed inclusion in the preamble of a reference to the declaration of the French Committee of National Liberation of November 16, 1943 endorsing the Moscow Declaration on Austria. This was approved by the Commission in principle.
- 2.
- I proposed and the Commission agreed to change “15” to “13” March 1938, in the preamble, to conform to date of the decrees effecting annexation of Austria to the Reich.
- 3.
- The Commission agreed to accept Soviet amendment 1 above, for inclusion at end of preamble.
- 4.
- In respect to Soviet proposal to liaison officers (article 2(a)) and the naval division (article 4), I urged strongly the need for both naval arrangements because of Austrian factories producing naval equipment. Gousev argued that as Austria was not a naval power it would be sufficient to include naval personnel in a single military division. Strang at first supported retention of a naval division for purposes of naval disarmament and demobilization. Later he advanced tentative suggestion to call the single military division the “armed forces division” and to omit all separate references to “military” “naval” or “air” liaison officers by making provision for “liaison officers”.
- 5.
- In urging omission of article 2(b) Gousev urged undesirability of promising Austrians in advance that military occupation regime will be replaced by one based on civilian commissioners, especially in absence of any active Austrian movement to assist Allies in liberation of country. I expressed concurrence with this general view emphasizing the military character of the draft agreement.
- 6.
- Soviet insistence on inclusion of a “reparation and deliveries division” in article 4 led to considerable discussion of the question of Austrian reparation, which I report in a separate telegram.2 I urged, in accord with Department’s 2007, March 15, midnight, that inclusion of a reparation division would discourage Austrians in rebuilding their economic independence, and that provision for restitution could be included in functions of the economic division. Strang expressed preference for no reparation division, but suggested it be called “restitution and deliveries division” with possible later insertion of word “reparation” if it were later decided that Austria should pay reparation. Gousev continued to urge inclusion of a reparation and deliveries division.
- 7.
- Gousev urged omission of last sentence of article 9 on ground that agreement should make no reference to retention of present administrative organs, which are Fascist in character, and that existing organs should be either liquidated or purged of “obviously Fascist elements”. Strang pointed out that draft agreement assumed carrying through of drastic purge of administrative personnel, after which administrative organs could be used to assist Allied authorities in governing.
Winant