462.00R/8–3145
The British Embassy to the
Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
As the State Department is aware the Governments of Belgium, Norway,
Greece, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
Denmark, Egypt, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India
have now been invited by His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom,
the United States Government and the French Provisional Government to
submit claims for reparation from the three Western Zones of Germany as
provided by the Potsdam Agreement.
It is, therefore, necessary to consider urgently the constitution and
function of an Inter-Allied Separation Commission which will be
responsible for implementing the Reparation Agreement insofar as the
functions concerned are not performed by the Control Council.
Attached is a preliminary paper, which has yet to be submitted for
Ministerial approval in London, proposing the establishment of such an
Inter-Allied Separation Commission.
His Majesty’s Embassy is instructed to state that this paper by no means
represents the final views of His Majesty’s Government and that as no
reparation deliveries even of an interim nature can easily be made until
machinery exists for handling them it is in their opinion a matter of
some urgency to agree on what this machinery should be. They have,
therefore, in mind to submit a document along these lines during the
forthcoming discussions in Moscow and the purpose of communicating the
draft informally to the United States Government (and the French
Provisional Government) at the present
[Page 1276]
time is to enable the latter to send any comments
they may wish to their representatives at the Moscow talks.
His Majesty’s Embassy is instructed to draw particular attention to
paragraph 6 of the draft. It had originally been the view of His
Majesty’s Government that the voting system must ensure that the
Controlling Powers have the last word. They are, however, reluctant to
propose plural votes for themselves and rather than this at present
prefer to propose that each member should have one vote, subject of
course to paragraph 6 (2). There remains, however, the danger of one or
all of the Controlling Powers, on the basis of a majority vote of such a
body, finding themselves bound to some decision which, as Controlling
Powers, they would be reluctant to accept. A possible solution would be
to insert a new sub-section (3) of paragraph 6 which would provide that,
once a reparation plan including percentages had been agreed, the vote
should be according to percentages. This should ensure that the
Controlling Powers would be in a position to out-vote the others on any
question in which a conflict of interest between the Controlling Powers
and the other Powers concerned arose. Such an arrangement would appear
to be equitable from the point of view of a reparation claimant.
Paragraphs 8 and 11 of the draft are subject to discussion in greater
detail with the British representatives on the Control Council.
His Majesty’s Government are in some doubt about the Poles. It could be
argued that there is no obligation to recognize a Polish claim to
membership as the Poles are only entitled to a fixed percentage of the
Russian share. On the other hand the Poles are certainly interested
inasmuch as they are due to receive deliveries, under the terms of their
agreement with the Soviet Union, from the Western Zones and His
Majesty’s Government see no harm in inviting them to be members if they
desire.
Washington
, August
31, 1945.
[Enclosure]
The Governments of the United Kingdom, United States, U.S.S.R. and
France are agreed that as soon as a general reparation plan has been
accepted by all the Allies concerned it will be necessary to create
an inter-Allied Reparation Commission to which all countries
entitled under the plan to receive reparation shall be invited to
appoint members in order to carry out following functions.
- (a)
- To ensure equitable applications of the plans as between
different countries entitled to reparation in so far as this is
not a matter for Control Council to decide.
- (b)
- To receive from Control Council lists of material available
for reparation.
- (c)
- To receive from countries entitled to reparation lists of
material which they desire to receive as reparation.
- (d)
- To allocate material between countries entitled to receive
reparation in accordance with reparation plan.
- (e)
- To perform such other functions as are entrusted to it under
reparation plan.
- 2.
- Governments of United Kingdom, United States, U.S.S.R and
France being satisfied that assistance of such a Commission is
required at once in advance of general agreement on a reparation
plan in order that provisions of article 7 of agreement on
reparations reached at Potsdam may be satisfactorily, carried
out, have agreed to invite following Governments who have
suffered from German aggression and contributed to victory, to
take part in Constitution of I.A.E.C. viz., Belgium,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Luxemburg, Czechoslovakia,
Yugoslavia, Greece, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand
and India.
- 3.
- Pending agreement on a general reparations plan, the I.A.E.C.
shall
- (a)
- receive from Control Council lists of material
available as advance deliveries in accordance with
article 7 of Potsdam Agreement
- (b)
- receive from Countries entitled to receive reparation
lists of material which they desire to receive as
reparation.
- (c)
- allocate material between countries represented on
I.A.E.C. taking account of urgency of their
needs.
- 4.
- In determining allocation of material available for advance
deliveries, the I.A.E.C. will have regard
- (a)
- to provisions of Article 4 of the Potsdam
Agreement
- (b)
- to any other policies which may be agreed by Allied
Commission on Reparations,
- (c)
- to an equitable distribution which shall not prejudge
the proportions which may be laid down at a later date
by reparation plan.
- 5.
- The I.A.E.C. shall not be empowered to do anything which might
diminish the responsibilities of the Control Council either
generally or as laid down in regard to reparation by the Potsdam
Agreement.
- 6.
-
- 1) Each member shall be entitled to one vote.
- 2) The Governments of U.S.S.E. and Poland shall not
exercise their votes in matters in which under
provisions of the Potsdam Agreement they have no direct
interest.
- 7.
- The seat of the committee shall be at Berlin or at such other
place in Germany as it may determine, in consultation with the
Control Council.
- 8.
- The Control Council and Commanders in Chief in their several
zones shall ensure to the Committee, to its members, and to
staff committee and to its members (other than German nationals)
the following facilities.
[Page 1278]
- (a)
- the free provision at cost of German authorities of
local supplies and services and local currency required
for their provisioning, maintenance, accommodation and
transport,
- (b)
- their exemption from all German taxation including
customs duties,
- (c)
- their exemption from suit and legal process in any
German court,
- (d)
- the inviolability of their premises to13
- (e)
- freedom of communication by cypher and otherwise with
their respective governments to the same extent as that
enjoyed by military missions attached to the Control
Council.
- 9.
- The foregoing facilities shall only be granted to any of the
personnel specified in paragraph 9 when his name has been
notified to the Control Council.
- 10.
- All other facilities which the committee may require in
Germany shall be the subject of agreement between it and the
Control Council or the Commanders in Chief in their respective
zones.
- 11.
- Subject to conditions of paragraph 9, the personnel mentioned
therein shall be subject in each zone to the same regulations as
apply in that zone to officers of corresponding rank, status and
nationality in the service of the organization attached to the
Commander in Chief of that zone or the Control Council.
