Office of the Historian

862.6362/7–1547

The British Embassy to the Department of State 15

Aide–Mémoire

General Clay and General Robertson have reached agreement in Berlin on a new level of industry plan for Germany. Their original [Page 987] intention was that this agreement should be published on Wednesday, July 16th.

2. The British Foreign Secretary thinks that in view of the way things are developing in Paris it would be highly undesirable for any publicity to be given to the Level of Industry Plan at the present time, since this would inevitably raise suspicions and create misunderstandings at the Paris Conference. He considers that no announcement should be made until the Paris Committees have got well under way and indeed thinks that it might be better for any publicity to be postponed until the forthcoming Anglo-American meeting in Washington. Mr. Bevin also considers that the agreement must be communicated to M. Bidault before it is made public.16

3. His Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires in Washington has therefore been instructed to inform the State Department of Mr. Bevin’s views and to express the hope that, bearing in mind the importance of avoiding any unfortunate reactions in Paris, they will ensure that no publicity is given for the time being to this agreement by United States authorities either in Washington or Germany. General Robertson has also been asked to request General Clay to give no official publicity to the plan at the moment and to ensure that no premature unofficial leakage takes place.

Washington, July 15th, 1947.
  1. This aide-mémoire was left with Under Secretary of State Lovett by British Oharge Balfour on July 15.↩

  2. In a telegram to British Chargé Balfour dated July 15, a copy of which was given to the Department of State, Foreign Secretary Bevin stated the following about immediate publication of the new level of industry plan:

    “It will cause suspicion among many of the powers represented here [the Conference of Economic Cooperation at Paris] and will give substance to the propaganda which the Russians are putting out that the object of this Conference is to ‘Put Germany First’ . . . . Any immediate publication I repeat would be a tragic mistake.” (862.6362/7–1547)

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