Office of the Historian

740.00119 Control (Austria)/5–345: Telegram

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

Moscow, May 3, 1945—noon.
[Received May 3—9:55 a.m.]

1447. ReEmbs 1431 May 1, 10 p.m. to Department repeated to Caserta as 79, London as 187 and Paris as 89. Communication has just been received from Vyshinski in reply to the two letters which I addressed to him on April 30 and May 1 pursuant to Department’s telegrams 972 April 28, 7 p.m.23a and 981 April 30, 9 p.m.

Vyshinski states that the Soviet forces operating on Austrian territory cannot get along without the organization of an administration composed of local citizens, just such an organization he continues has been created in the form of the Provisional Austrian Government by agreement between leaders of all non-Fascist democratic parties in Austria. It goes without saying, he concludes, that later in accordance with the existing agreement an Allied Control Commission will be set up which will carry out the necessary control over the Austrian Government.

Exact text of Vyshinski’s letter is being sent to Department only, in a separate message.24

Sent Department as 1447 repeated to Caserta for Erhardt as 85 London for EAC as 193 and Paris for Reber25 and Murphy as 94.

Kennan
  1. Not printed, but see footnote 96, p. 104.↩
  2. Infra ↩
  3. Samuel Reber, Counselor of Mission, Staff of the United States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) from August 14, 1944, until April 25, 1945, when he was reassigned to the Department, Division of Western European Affairs↩