Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The British Commonwealth; Europe, Volume III

740.0011 EW (Peace)/3–247

The Prime Minister of Italy (De Gasperi) to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Vandenberg)¹

[Rome,] March 2, 1947.

My Dear Senator Vandenberg: Remembering your friendly personal interest in the future of Italy and your manifestations of sympathy, I am sending you, confidentially, a pressing request.

My Government will meet many difficulties in obtaining approval of the Treaty by the Constituent Assembly. We are counting on the friendly help of the United States to give the Assembly, which is called upon to make a difficult decision, reasons for legitimate hope for the future.²

Without prejudicing her commitments to the other contracting parties, America could give us assurances that she will unblock Italian assets in America and hand over to Italian industry, with the obligation of scrapping them, the warships that were assigned to you. Even in our recent conversations in the United States the feasibility of these concessions was suggested to me by the American authorities. The friendship between the two countries requires that these assurances be given now in the immediate common interest and in order to alleviate the harsh peace conditions.

I may remind you that in Paris, at the meeting of May 10, 1946, the American Delegation declared itself in favor of the Molotov-Bidault proposal to entrust the Italian colonies to Italy under a U.N. mandate. It would make an excellent impression if America renewed at this time her declaration of good will and if United States diplomacy encouraged England, which is perhaps coming closer to the idea of a colonial agreement with Italy.

Lastly, many interests in connection with reparations and commercial relations link Italy with the future of Germany. It would be only fair if co-belligerent Italy could for this reason participate in the negotiations concerning Germany. America’s support of this request would be greatly appreciated as the first practical result of international cooperation.

I appeal to you as a friend having influence and to the enlightened conscience of the American Senate, which in you and in Senator Connally has two very well-informed members interested in the future of the Italian Republic, and I extend to you in advance my heartfelt thanks.³

De Gasperi

1. This letter in Italian was delivered as the enclosure to a note from the Italian Embassy, No. 1957, March 2, 1947, to the Department of State (740.0011 EW (Peace)/3–247). The translation here printed was prepared in the Department of State and forwarded to Senator Vandenberg by Acting Secretary Acheson on March 4, 1947 (740.0011 EW (Peace)/3–247).
2. On the same date a similar appeal was sent to Senator Vandenberg, on behalf of the Italian Constituent Assembly, by its President, Umberto Terracini. For text, see Congressional Record, vol. 93, pt. 5, p. 6309.

3. Acting Secretary of State Acheson, in a letter dated March 13, 1947, replied to Ambassador Tarchiani on behalf of Senator Vandenberg for forwarding to Prime Minister De Gasperi. He stated that Senator Vandenberg had “now asked me to let you know that he is most sympathetic to the nature of the Premier’s appeal” and that he had added “that he shares the anxiety of all of us to aid in the stabilization of the new Italian democracy. He is confident, however, that his friend Signor De Gasperi will understand he cannot make any commitments in foreign affairs other than those which may have been made in the first instance by the President and the Department of State.

   “Senator Vandenberg also asks that you repeat to Signor De Gasperi the assurances of his great sympathy for the new Italy, and of his concern for Italy’s problems and needs.” (740.0011 EW (Peace)/3–347)