740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–2148: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France
us urgent
niact
4565. Personal for Amb. On behalf Secy you are requested urgently to make following communication to Schuman in response his aide-mémoire Nov 20 (re Embtel 59691):
“The Sec of State has carefully studied the aide-mémoire which Mr. Schuman sent him on current German problems following the meeting held on Fri, Nov 19.2
Several of the pertinent questions were covered in the conversation which Mr. McNeil and the Sec had with Mr. Schuman on that date. Mr. Schuman will also have seen the statement which the Sec made at his press conference on Nov 24.3 The Sec has now been informed that the Brit Govt agrees with his proposal that a French representative should participate in the control group established for coal and steel without awaiting the final fusion agreement. The Sec trusts this cooperation may prove effective and fruitful.
[Page 535]As Mr. Schuman mentioned in the conversation held on Nov 19, the basic points of view of the three western countries regarding Germany are not far apart. It is our firm, common intention that Germany in the future shall not be able again to start an aggressive war. Given this identity of purpose, it is impossible to believe that complete agreement cannot be reached on the course of action we shall pursue.
The US Govt understands the anxieties of the Fr Govt concerning any future misuse of German economic power. The trusteeship plan, as has been fully explained, was designed to prevent excessive concentrations of economic power and the return of Nazis to positions of ownership and control. At the same time it sought to promote increased production of the Ruhr properties as required for the benefit of western Europe as a whole.
It is our desire that Germany’s recovery shall be designed to further the constructive interests of Europe and to make more effective the financial contribution which the US is at present called upon to assume in assisting European economic recovery. It continues to be US policy that the vital elements of security shall be protected to ensure that the economic power of the Ruhr industries shall not again be used by any Ger Govt for a revival of military power or as an economic weapon for the furtherance of exclusive Ger policies. These principles were a guiding factor in the agreements resulting from the talks on Germany held in London last spring, including the agreement for the establishment of an international authority for the Ruhr.
The establishment of long-term international controls for Germany remains an open issue for development by the interested Allied powers in connection with the determination of a definitive Ger settlement. It is also our view that the security of Germany’s neighbors will depend on a strong economic and defensive organization for western Europe. This makes it all the more necessary that we should continue to develop a constructive policy respecting Germany in which guarantees will play their appropriate role. These are matters which my Govt is always prepared to discuss and which it is confident can be resolved.”