740.00119 Council/4–1947: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State
secret
urgent
urgent
Moscow, April 19,
1947—7 p.m.
1470. Delsec 1446. For Acheson from Marshall. There follows memorandum of conversation between Mr. Bevin and Secretary Marshall attended by General Robertson (British) and General Draper on 18 April.88
“Four points were discussed and commented on as follows:
- 1.
- Mr. Bevin suggested 10,000,000 tons of steel production for all of Germany as a basis for level-of-industry study for the bi-zonal area. It was agreed that the bi-zonal authorities should study for two or three weeks and should agree on a steel figure. General Marshall hoped the result would come out close to 10,000,000 tons. Mr. Bevin indicated agreement if it should be bracketed between ten and twelve which were the Russian brackets.
- 2.
- Concerning plants made available for reparations by the new bi-zonal level-of-industry, it was both Mr. Bevin’s and General Marshall’s view that these plants should be allocated on a quadripartite basis and should be delivered to IARA countries and to the USSR. In this connection it was General Marshall’s belief that no announcement should be made for six weeks or so in order to avoid the implication that we had been insincere in our efforts in Moscow to agree on economic unity.
- 3.
- Mr. Bevin suggested taking the agreed division of powers between a future central government and the laender as the general basis in working out the bi-zonal arrangements. In this case this division [Page 358] would apply as between the laender on the one hand and the central agencies and Military Government on the other. General Marshall felt that the language suggested might be interpreted as a decision to set up immediately a provisional government for western Germany and that this implication should be avoided. Mr. Bevin agreed with this. General Marshall felt, however, that every effort must be made to assure the success of the bi-zonal arrangements. He believed, as General Robertson phrased it, that we should walk within the framework generally of what we had agreed for the future. General Marshall suggested asking General Clay to come to Moscow immediately but Mr. Bevin and General Robertson felt that the conference was so near to a close that this might not prove practicable, and it was agreed that, as General Robertson intended, he should go to Berlin tomorrow for general discussion of the whole matter in order that they might make joint recommendations including specific language in connection with the last point mentioned.
- 4.
- Mr. Bevin suggested, and General Marshall agreed, that the bizonal agencies should be concentrated as soon as the accommodations could be arranged, but General Marshall suggested again that no announcement be made immediately to avoid unfavorable reaction. He agreed, of course, to the necessary investigations.”
Repeated Berlin for Clay 301.
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