740.00119 Council/4–1247: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State
us urgent
1333. Delsec 1418. For the President, Vandenberg, Connally and Acheson from Marshall. Twenty-seventh CFM meeting, April 12, Bevin presiding, made very little progress toward resolving differences on the establishment of central German administrative agencies, the German advisory council, and a provisional government for Germany.45
Differences of opinion on the future provisional government involve not only the functions of this government, but also its relationship to the Allied Control Council. No agreement was reached on the division of powers between the provisional central government and the state (Laender) governments. The Council agreed to refer the entire question of the provisional government of Germany to the deputies for Germany, who will report to the CFM at its next session whenever that may be.
The Council agreed that the destruction of German military material and the demolition of military establishments and installations should be accelerated.46 It also agreed that the ACC should (1) draw up by next July a plan for liquidating German plants constructed especially for the production of war materials, and (2) carry out this plan before June, 1948.
Bevin agreed on condition that if the UK, despite its best efforts, could not completely finish liquidation of these plants in its zone by this date, ACC would be informed. No agreement was reached to fix a specific period within which a plan for the liquidation of German war industry potential would be completed. Marshall pointed out and Bevin agreed that no such plan is possible prior to a decision on the level of Germany’s peacetime industries. After discussing democratization, the Council agreed to refer to ACC the unagreed questions concerning both demilitarization and democratization.
The Council also heard the German deputies’ report on the procedure for the preparation of the German peace treaty47 and discussed without reaching agreement the following major differences which the deputies were unable to resolve: (1) degree of Albania’s participation; (2) awaiting the formation of a central German government [Page 331] before calling the peace conference; (3) including China among the CFM powers convening the peace conference; (4) the composition of the peace conference; (5) whether the German government or representatives of Germany would present their views to the conference; (6) the degree to which the CFM will be bound by the recommendations of the peace conference; (7) whether the treaty will be signed by a German government; (8) whether the treaty will be ratified by Germans; (9) whether a clause will be included in the German constitution concerning treaty obligations. The discussion on procedure is to be continued Monday.
Department please repeat to Vienna as 35, to Rome as 32; and to Paris as 132.
Repeated to London 150, Berlin 256.
- The Council was at this point completing its consideration of the Report of the Coordinating Committee, document CFM(47) (M)121, April 11, 1947, p. 436.↩
- The Council was considering here the Report of the Special Committee, document CFM(47) (M)122, April 11, 1947, p. 446.↩
- The reference here is to document CFM(47) (M)125, April 12, 1947, p. 452.↩