862.00/7–848: Telegram
The United States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State
37. Party functionaries, governmental leaders, economic council factions, leaders of SPD and CDU met July 7, 1948 to brief and instruct their Ministers-President for the Koblenz sessions July 8 and 9.1 Franz Neuman, Fritz Heine, Willy Eichler returning from London conversations for SPD meeting at Ruedesheim, CDU in Koblenz.
Announced purpose party meetings to instruct Ministers-President on constitutional questions, according to Frankfurt proposals which “authorized” Ministers-President to call constitutional assembly before September 1, 1948. Actual purpose reported to decide degree each party will cooperate with MG re participation in constitutional convention.
[Page 382]SPD and CDU sources state that compromise on constitutional questions easily reachable. Following basic principles already agreed: (1) decentralized state; (2) civil rights guarantees; (3) supreme court with powers of legislative review. Differences to be reconciled both intraparty and between parties: (1) competence central and Land governments in economic and financial matters; SPD tends toward strong central powers, CDU strong Land powers but both Ehard and Adenauer groups willing to compromise on questions of competence; (2) electoral procedure, single constituency as against proportional representation.
Both parties oppose September 1 assembly for formulating constitution; argue time not ripe or practical and to put constitutional proposals to German people would be meaningless unless combined with more basic economic questions such as socialization, economic reconstruction, etc. Neither party believes German people in position to choose, for example, between single constituencies as against proportional representation, to decide on complicated questions of distribution financial or taxation power.
SPD has suggested variations on following themes: (1) basic administrative statute defining relations between central, Land and local governments and establishing de facto west Germany government; or (2) actual constitutional assembly representing all Laender including Soviet Zone and Berlin to establish sovereign German state with allied recognition. CDU source (confirming my telegram 32 of July 7, 19482) predicted nothing more than basic administrative statute could be devised now; complained that by leaving foreign policy and control foreign trade in allied hands, Frankfurt proposals mean German sovereignty nonexistent. Under these circumstances they agree constitution a farce or front for allied purposes. CDU sources also contend it extremely dangerous for Allies to insist on constitution this date, as automatically severing Soviet Zone from Germany. Think road should be left open for unified Germany, identifying unified Germany with return of Pomerania and Silesia, trumps now held by Soviets.
Both CDU and SPD leaders appear insecure on their legalistic ground. They understand contemporary party scrimmages not getting at basic issues of German life and agree only way to end situation is German assumption of sovereignty, but incapable of accepting German sovereignty merely as western state, even while they may be realistic enough to see Soviet Zone is lost.
Report July 7 meetings follows.
- Wuerttemberg–Baden Minister President Maier announced on July 1 that the Ministers President of the American, British, and French zones of occupation would meet in Koblenz on July 8 and 9. Telegram 1582, July 2, from Berlin, not printed, reported that the meeting would seek to arrive at a common viewpoint concerning the method of selecting a constituent assembly, suggestions for revising Laender boundaries, and reaction to the outline of an occupation statute (862.00/7–248).↩
- Supra.↩