Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Council of Foreign Ministers, Volume II

C.F.M. Files: Lot M–88: Box 2061: CFM Documents

Proposal by the United States Delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers⁹³

secret
C.F.M.(46) 211

Paris, 9 July, 1946.

German Questions

proposal by the united states delegation for the preparation of the peace settlement for germany, showing amendments in the u.s. proposal of may 15, 1946⁹⁴

While there is no German government with which a peace treaty can be made, it is of the utmost importance that the Allies should without delay agree among themselves upon the peace settlement which they wish to have German authorities accept. Agreement among the Allies upon such settlement is necessary in order to enable them to know the goals towards which Allied occupation and administration of Germany should be directed.

It is therefore proposed that each member of the Council should appoint a special deputy who will have adequate time to give to the work, to represent his government in the preparation of the peace settlement for Germany. The special deputies should be instructed to initiate at once an intensive study of the problems involved in the German settlement and to prepare a draft of a proposed settlement for Germany. The special deputies should be instructed to make interim reports of the progress of their work to the Council. They should also be instructed to proceed with their work with a view to enabling the Council to submit a draft peace settlement for Germany to a an Peace Allied Conference to be convened on November 12, 1946 a date to be fixed by the Council of Foreign Ministers. That will be a year and a half after the German surrender.

Their consideration necessarily will take considerable time.

It is not necessary that there be at that time a German government to accept the settlement. It is essential that the Allies be agreed upon the peace settlement in order that the Allies should know the kind of settlement toward which the Allied occupation and administration should be directed until a German government can be created to accept that settlement.

93. This paper was circulated by the Secretary of State at the conclusion of the 38th Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, July 9, 1946, and it came under discussion during the 39th Meeting of the Council, July 10, 1946; see the United States Delegation Records of these meetings, pp. 836 and 860, respectively.
94. The paper under reference is printed as Annex 1 to the United States Delegation Record of the 7th Informal Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, May 15, 1946, p. 393.