Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III

740.001119 EAC/6–1245

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

No. 23614

London, June 12, 1945.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit a Memorandum by the United Kingdom Representative on the European Advisory Commission (E.A.C. (45) 58 of June 11, 1945) enclosing a redraft of the United States Delegation’s proposed General Directive on the Treatment of Germany in the Initial Post-Defeat Period. The United States proposal was circulated in the Commission as E.A.C.(45)30 of April 6, 1945,⁵⁴ and was sent to the Department with the Embassy’s despatch No. 22349 of April 12.⁵⁵

It will be recalled that the United States draft General Directive was discussed at some length in the Commission at its meeting on May 3, 1945.⁵⁶ Since that time the other Delegations have been giving further study to the United States draft and since the end of May they have undoubtedly been assisted in their studies of this paper by the United States Directive to Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Forces of Occupation regarding the Military Government of Germany, which was circulated for the information of the Commission as E.A.C.(45)56 of May 29, 1945.⁵⁵

In recent meetings all Delegations have expressed an interest in resuming discussions of the General Directive at an early date.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:

E. Allan Lightner, Jr.

Secretary, U.S. Delegation European Advisory Commission

[Enclosure]

Memorandum by the Acting United Kingdom Representative on the European Advisory Commission (Hood)⁵⁷

E.A.C. (45) 58

London, 11 June, 1945.

Treatment of Germany in the Initial Post-Defeat Period

On 6th April the United States Representative circulated to the European Advisory Commission a draft General Directive on the Treatment of Germany in the Initial Post-Defeat Period (E.A.C. (45) 30). Preliminary consideration was given to this draft by the Commission at its meeting on 3rd May, 1945.

2. The United Kingdom Delegation has considered the United States draft and prepared a redraft of it, in which some of the provisions of the original United States draft are rearranged, and other fresh provisions are added.

3. I now circulate to my colleagues, as an annex to this memorandum, the United Kingdom redraft of the U.S. General Directive.

4. I hope the Commission will agree to take this redraft into consideration when it resumes discussion of the U.S. draft General Directive.

[Subenclosure]

Treatment of Germany in the Initial Post-Defeat Period U.K. Re-Draft of U.S. Directive

1. The authority of the Control Council to initiate plans and reach agreed decisions on the chief military, political, economic and other questions affecting Germany as a whole shall be paramount, and those plans and decisions shall be carried out in each zone of occupation by the national Commander-in-Chief concerned. In matters exclusively affecting his own zone, each national Commander-in-Chief shall exercise supreme authority in accordance with directives received from his own Government.

2. The purposes of the occupation of Germany, to the promotion of which the above plans and decisions are to be directed are:—

(i) The complete disarmament of Germany and the elimination or control of all German industry that could be used for military production. For these purposes:—

(a) the German armed forces, including the General Staff and all para-military organisations, shall be demobilized as soon as practicable and disbanded in such manner as permanently to prevent their revival or reorganisation; and

(b) as part of the programme to attain this objective, all implements of war and all specialised facilities for their construction shall be seized or destroyed. The maintenance and production of all implements of war shall be prevented, except as may be otherwise directed.

(ii) To convince the German people that they have suffered a total military defeat and that they cannot escape responsibility for what they have brought upon themselves, since their own ruthless warfare and the fanatical Nazi resistance have destroyed German economy and made chaos and suffering inevitable.

(iii) To destroy the National Socialist Party and its affiliated and supervised organisations, to dissolve all Nazi institutions, to ensure that they are not revived in any form, and to prevent all Nazi and militaristic activity or propaganda.

(iv) To lay the foundations for the rule of law in Germany and for eventual peaceful co-operation in international life by Germany.

3. Nazi laws which provide the basis of the Hitler regime or which establish discriminations on grounds of race, creed, or political opinion shall be abolished. No such discriminations, whether legal, administrative or otherwise, shall be tolerated. National Socialist courts shall likewise be abolished.

4. War criminals and those who have participated in planning or carrying out Nazi enterprises involving or resulting in atrocities or war crimes shall be arrested, with a view to their ultimate disposal. Nazi leaders and influential Nazi supporters and any other persons dangerous to the occupation or its objectives shall be arrested and interned.

5. All members of the Nazi Party who have been more than nominal participants in its activities and all other persons hostile to Allied purposes shall be removed from public and semi-public office, and from positions of major responsibility in important private undertakings. Those Germans who are permitted to remain in, or are appointed to, official posts (e.g. in the police or the administration) should understand that they hold office only during good behaviour.

6. German education shall be so controlled as completely to eliminate Nazi and militarist doctrines and to make possible the development of democratic ideas.

7. The administration of affairs in Germany should be directed towards the decentralisation of the political structure and the development of local responsibility. The German economy shall also be decentralised, except that to the minimum extent required for carrying out the purposes set forth herein, the Control Council shall permit or secure the establishment of central controls and, in particular, of (a) essential national public services such as railroads, communications and power, (b) finance and foreign economic affairs, (c) production and distribution of essential commodities, and (d) such other matters as may be directed from time to time.

8. In the imposition and maintenance of economic controls, German authorities shall to the fullest extent practicable be ordered to proclaim and assume administration of such controls. Thus it should be brought home to the German people that the responsibility for the administration of such controls and for any breakdown in those controls will rest with themselves and their own authorities. Any German controls which run counter to the objectives of occupation will be abolished.

9. Allied controls shall be imposed upon the German economy but only as may be necessary:—

(a) to carry out programmes, as prescribed by higher authority, of industrial disarmament and demilitarisation, of reparations, of relief for liberated areas and of other supplies as may be notified;

(b) to assure the production and maintenance of goods and services required to meet the needs of the occupying forces and displaced persons in Germany and essential to prevent starvation, disease or civil unrest;

(c) to ensure the equitable distribution of essential commodities between the several zones;

(d) to control German industry and all economic and financial international transactions, including exports and imports, with the aim of preventing Germany from developing a war potential and of achieving the other objectives named herein. For the same purpose no extension of credit to Germany or Germans by any foreign person or Government shall be permitted, except with the permission of the Control Council;

(e) otherwise to carry out the objectives of occupation and prevent conditions arising which would endanger the occupying forces or impede them in their tasks.

10. No action shall be taken in execution of the reparations programme or otherwise which would tend to support basic living standards in Germany on a higher level than those generally current for comparable categories of the population in liberated territories.

11. The first charge on all approved exports for reparations or otherwise shall be a sum necessary to pay for approved imports.

12. Recurrent reparations should not by their form or amount require the rehabilitation or development of German heavy industry and should not foster the dependence of other countries upon the German economy.

13. A suitable programme for the restitution of identifiable property looted by Germans from Allied territory shall be carried out promptly.

14. Subject to the overriding necessity for the maintenance of military security, political activities (including public demonstrations or meetings) shall not be forbidden, but support of Allied authority shall not be lent to any particular political party or policy in Germany.

15. Subject again to the necessity for maintaining military security, freedom of speech and freedom of the Press shall be permitted, and the formation of free trade unions shall be encouraged.

16. Freedom of religion and the maintenance of respect for the churches in Germany shall be fostered, though steps should be taken to ensure that religious activities are not used as a cloak for the spreading of undesirable political ideas or of propaganda directed against any of the United Nations.

17. The attitude to the German population of all Allied forces shall be just, but firm and distant. Fraternisation between Allied forces and the German population shall be strongly discouraged; in particular, contact between Allied forces and German forces not yet demobilized shall be reduced to a minimum. In general, contact with German officials should be as little as is necessary in order to ensure the adequate supervision of administration.

18. This directive does not apply to Austria.

54. See footnote 28, p. 504.
55. Not printed.
56. See telegrams 4628 and 4629, May 7, 10 p.m., from London, pp. 504 and 506, respectively.
55. Not printed.
57. Originally circulated in the European Advisory Commission by the Acting United Kingdom Representative on June 7.