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

740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–348

Notes on a Meeting Between the United States and British Military Governors for Germany and the Ministers President of the United States and British Zones of Occupation of Germany, Frankfurt, October 29, 1948¹

[Extract]

confidential

[Frankfurt ?,] 1 November 1948.

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Dismantling

4. The Ministers President asked whether their recent memorandum on dismantling had been carefully studied and what had been the reaction of Mr. Hoffman. They stressed the great interest which was felt on the subject throughout Germany but denied that their attitude in the matter was in any way governed by political pressure.

5. General Clay emphasized the following:—

a. The sixteen Nations are entitled to reparations for damage which they sustained in the war.

b. The Western Allies have put four billion dollars into Western Germany which is ten times the capital value of the plant scheduled for removal. There is also more industrial plant in Germany than can be utilized for many years.

c. Any review of the list of plants scheduled for dismantling has the object of ascertaining where these can best be employed in the interests of European recovery and not for the personal advantage of Germany. This is the only basis on which the sixteen Nations could be expected to agree to any amendment of the list. The constant submission of memoranda and political agitation on the part of the Germans only tends to show that they are considering their own interests. This attitude can only result in fewer and not more of the plants scheduled for removal being allowed to remain in Germany.

d. In Eastern Germany a much larger amount of plant has been stripped down. Political capital is now being made out of dismantling by those who were responsible for stripping the East of its plant. German interference by Trade Unions in the matter can only endanger United States aid.

e. Demands for payment of war damages by Germany have been small, since under the Paris agreement the list of plants scheduled for dismantling is to be the final one.

6. General Robertson stated that the failure of the German people to appreciate the principle of reparations only hindered progress. He had previously promised to consider the retention of any plants shown to be vital to coal production.

7. Both Military Governors then stressed that minor alterations might be made in the list but there is no use in hoping that a large-number of the 300 plants would be allowed to remain.

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1. The source text, which apparently was prepared by General Clay’s staff secretariat, was transmitted under cover of a letter of November 3 from Ambassador Murphy to Jacob Beam, not printed.

   The West German Ministers President in attendance at this meeting were: Kopf of Lower Saxony, Ehard of Bavaria, Arnold of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brauer of Hamburg, Kaisen of Bremen, Luedemann of Schleswig-Holstein, Maier of Württemberg–Baden, and Stock of Hesse. Besides Generals Clay and Robertson, Ambassador Murphy was also present.