740.00119 Control (Germany)/5–547
Press Release Issued by the Office of Military Government (US), May 3, 194746
“US Military Government has received application from the Bavarian Communist Party (KPD) to merge with the Socialist Unity Party (SED) of Germany. Permission has been denied for the following reason:
“While the SED Party claims to represent an amalgamation of the Social Democratic and Communist Parties, no request has been received from Social Democratic (SPD) leaders to join in the proposed merger. Military Government cannot approve a change in [Page 867] name by the Communist Party in Bavaria to SED, which would imply an amalgamation of SPD and KPD that has not occurred.
“This decision is made without prejudice to the general freedom of operation which Military Government extends to all democratic political parties in the US zone of Germany. There is no objection to amalgamation of parties on a zonal basis, provided the merger is voluntary, mutual and corresponding to the wishes of the members of both parties concerned. The question of the status of Germany-wide political parties has not yet been decided by the Allied Control Authority.”
- The source text was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram 1075, May 5, 1947, from Berlin, not printed.↩