Office of the Historian

740.00119 Control (Austria)/4–2545: Telegram

The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State 76

Moscow, April 25, 1945—7 p.m.
[Received April 25—5:35 p.m.]

1348. ReDeptel 907, April 19, 11 a.m. I have received a letter from Vyshinski stating that the Soviet Government has no objection to the dispatch to Vienna of several American officers to participate in the work of the provisional control machinery. Vyshinski states that the Soviet Government considers it extremely important to expedite the delimitation of the zones of occupation in Austria and in Vienna and to discuss plans for the organization of the provisional control machinery in conformity with the proposals advanced from the Soviet side for consideration in the European Advisory Commission.

[Page 94]

Concerning political and economic questions and particularly questions of the removal of various types of equipment, Vyshinski states that the Soviet Government considers that no obstacles should be placed in the way of the urgent removal of trophy equipment which might be used in the war against Germany.

Kennan
  1. The text of this telegram was repeated on April 27 to London as Department’s No. 3291 and to Caserta as No. 391.↩