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

740.00119 Control (Germany)/10–2945

The United States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State

No. 1218

Berlin, October 29, 1945.
[Received November 15.]

Sir: I have the honor to transmit a report dated October 25, 1945, received from Mr. Brewster Morris, my representative at Seventh Army Headquarters at Heidelberg, on the subject of “Political Developments and the General Situation in the Stuttgart Area”.³⁶

The report summarizes comprehensively the observations and conversations of the reporting officer in the course of his two-day visit to Stuttgart. It is noteworthy that except for variations in the personalities involved, there seem to be in the Stuttgart area the same developing political forces, the same criticisms and the same dangers as exist elsewhere in the American Zone and in Germany.

The Department’s attention is particularly invited to certain facts and observations contained in the report. First of all, in Wuerttemburg as elsewhere, the Communists are strongly promoting the idea of a united front as one of the means of creating a single party system which they can control. The idea is not so readily accepted by other political parties in Stuttgart as in Berlin, perhaps chiefly because of the absence of the foreign pressure which Berlin Communists can and do successfully bring to their support. Also to be noted is the fact that there is some reason to believe that the Communist who is on the Board of Licencees of the Stuttgarter Zeitung is successfully making use of his position to spread Communist doctrine.

The report notes also the unanimous opinion in Stuttgart that the plan for local elections in January is unwise and premature. All German and Military Government authorities whose views were ascertained also felt that the recently published Law No. 8,³⁷ calling for the removal of all members of the Nazi Party from private enterprise, was unwise and is creating great nervousness and uncertainty among the people. This duplicates reports received from other areas. The Communists alone are reported to welcome the law and they do so apparently only because they see an opportunity to use it to promote the introduction of industrial management by the workers. The Department’s attention is also invited to the concluding paragraphs of the report which point out the unfortunate effects which the rapid redeployment of such large numbers of our troops is having on the maintenance of order and the authority and prestige of the occupation forces.³⁸

Respectfully yours,

For the U.S. Political Adviser:

Loyd V. Steere

,
Counselor

36. Not Printed.
37. See footnote 9, p. 976.
38. Mr. Morris commented on the depredations being carried on within Germany by displaced persons. This situation, he felt, was worsened by the redeployment of troops and the deactivation of the lower echelons of Military Government, which caused a general slackening of law and order. He urged a cautious approach in handing over governmental responsibility to the Germans.