Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, Germany and Austria, Volume II

CFM Files: Lot M–88: Box 118: File—TRI Documents

Paper Agreed Upon by the London Conference on Germany¹

secret

TRI/17 (Final)

Letter of Advice to Military Governors Regarding Powers of Civil and Military Governments

1. —With reference to paragraph 10 of TRI/13 (Final):²

The Governments of the three occupying powers recognise that the establishment of a constitutional German Government will necessitate a definition of the relationship between this government and the Allied authorities. The Military Governors will accordingly grant legislative executive and judicial power to German governments and reserve to themselves such powers as are necessary to ensure the fulfilment of the basic purpose of the occupation. Such powers are those necessary to enable the Military Governors to:—

(a) Conduct or direct Germany’s foreign relations until such time as she may be permitted unrestricted foreign relations;

(b) Exercise the minimum control over German foreign trade, and over internal policies and measures which could adversely affect foreign trade, necessary to ensure respect by the German authorities for obligations entered into by the Occupying Powers in regard to Germany and the proper use of funds made available to Germany;

(c) Exercise such controls as have been or may be agreed upon, as for example, regarding the international authority for the Ruhr, reparations, the level of industry, decartelisation, disarmament and demilitarisation, and certain aspects of scientific research;

(d) Protect the prestige and ensure the security of the Occupation Forces and the satisfaction of their requirements within defined limits agreed upon between the Military Governors;

(e) Ensure the observance of the Constitutions which they have approved.

2. The Military Governors shall resume their exercise of their full powers in an emergency threatening security, and if necessary to secure compliance with the Constitutions or with the Occupation Statute.

3. The Military Governors shall exercise the above-mentioned controls according to the following procedure:

(a) Any amendment to the Constitutions shall be submitted to the approval of the Military Governors.

(b) In the fields mentioned in article I (a) to (e), the German authorities shall comply with the decisions or directions of the Military Governors.

(c) Whenever not otherwise provided, in particular for implementation of paragraph (b) above, all laws and regulations from the German Authorities shall come into force automatically within 21 days, unless disapproved by the Military Governors, after a majority vote whenever Federal Government is concerned.

(d) When the Military Governors have received the recommendations of the Ministers President regarding the revision of the State boundaries, and before approving the submission of these recommendations to the people of the affected areas, they (Military Governors) will agree upon an organisation of Military Government in the States.

4. The Military Governors shall have a special responsibility to observe, advise and assist the Federal and State Governments in regard to the democratisation of political life, social relations and education. This shall not imply any restriction of the legislative, executive and judicial competence accorded to such Governments in these matters.

5. The Military Governors are hereby authorised to transmit to the Ministers President the broad principles embodied in the foregoing for their observations. They will then communicate these broad principles, modified as they may then agree, to the Constituent Assembly as a guide to that body in its work of preparing the Constitution and will receive from it the observations which it may wish to put forward. When the Military Governors announce their approval for the submission of the Constitution to the States, they will publish simultaneously an Occupation Statute, incorporating these principles as finally modified by them, in order that the people of the States may understand that they accept the Constitution within the framework of this Occupation Statute.

London, 19 May, 1948.

1. This paper was agreed upon at the 7th Informal Meeting of the London Conference on Germany, May 19; see telegram 2171, Delsec 1742, May 20, from London, infra. It was Annex I to the Report of the London Conference on Germany, p. 309.
2. Post, p. 305.