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

740.00119 Control (Austria)/11–1445: Telegram

The United States Political Adviser for Austrian Affairs (Erhardt) to the Secretary of State

Vienna, [12 November 1945.]
[Received November 14—12:10 p.m.]

[P–5568.] Some improvement in Allied Council progress will be noted in complete report on November 10 meeting in P–5538 of November 11 to Agwar signed Clark for JCS to pass to State.

Although nothing definite was done on currency conversion, it appeared divergences were narrowing and some decision might become possible at extraordinary meeting agreed for Friday, November 16th.

Approval of 125 Renner laws was brought forward in implementing extended authority of Austrian Government. It completed basis for November 25 elections.

Approval of censorship regulations completes long delayed prerequisite to reopening Austrian International Postal and Communication services.

Approval of first two missions of United Nations, viz, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, should facilitate efforts to reopen some foreign trade channels.

Council adopted Executive Committee recommendation set forth in my telegram of November 7⁹⁶ that four occupying powers make strong representations through government channels to Czechoslovakian, Hungarian and Yugoslavian Governments to prevent mass expulsion of Germanic peoples into Austria from those countries. (Please repeat such representations to me when made.)⁹⁷

On important question of unilateral versus joint action inherent in reservation of governmental powers, although no agreement was reached, the issues were clearly defined. Russians want Allied Council to have full authority over Austrian relations with all countries except members of Council. (Kiselev mentioned Hungary to me as an example.) Soviet member obviously wanted very much to get adoption of first five points of Soviet proposal in my telegram November 1⁹⁸ and in P–4752,⁹⁹ even at sacrifice of sixth point. Clark would have preferred not to announce at this meeting Department’s intention designate me representative to Austrian Government but his hand was forced by British decision to announce me [Mack?] as designation. After initial surprise Russians interpreted this as following their own example.

As elsewhere recently, question of precise meaning of Potsdam agreement arose in Council discussion. Russians repeatedly state that in accordance with it all German property in Austria is now Soviet property and that any questions regarding interpretation of that agreement are a matter for settlement between the governments outside the Allied Council.

Erhardt

96. Telegram 430, from the Political Adviser in Vienna, not printed.

97. By means of telegrams 741 to Budapest, 417 to Praha, and 429 to Belgrade, November 28, the Department instructed its Ambassadors at those posts to call to the attention of the Governments to which they were accredited the imminent danger of a further influx of Germanic peoples into Austria, and to urge that measures be adopted by each Government to prevent the mass expulsion of such people into Austria (840.4016/11–2845); for text, see telegram 417, November 28, to Praha, vol. ii, p. 1315.

    On November 20, the Allied Control Council for Germany approved a plan for the transfer of the German population to be moved from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland into the four occupied zones of Germany. For documentation on this subject, see ibid., pp. 1227 ff.

98. No pertinent telegram of this date found in Department files; reference is possibly to telegram 404, from Vienna, October 31, p. 644.
99. Not printed, but see footnote 80, p. 646.