740.00119 Control (Germany)/4–1548: Telegram
The United. States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State
888. Yesterday at Frankfurt after regular fortnightly Bipartite Board Meeting I attended final meeting Military Governors Conference. General Koenig came to Frankfurt for this purpose, meeting having on its agenda only approval of final report to be submitted to London Ambassadors Conference on Germany. Text of report with two minor amendments is as reported in mytel 859, of April 13. Copy of report was sent by air today to London and is being mailed to Department.1
After this principal item of business was dispatched, there was discussion of Berlin situation about which French have evinced a certain nervousness during the past days. General Koenig raised the question stating that he would like views of his British and American colleagues on an idea, which he would discuss today at Paris, of approaching Sokolovsky informally in Berlin regarding a meeting of Control Council. He thought it might be useful to smoke out Soviet position and that such an informal conversation might bring out more clearly Russian position regarding traffic regulations in the corridor and general intent of SMA regarding the future in Berlin. Both US and UK representatives would not concur. We thought that it would be untimely to do so at this stage immediately prior to Italian elections and forthcoming London Conference. It would also be interpreted by Russians as sign of weakness because they would be certain that French representatives had been requested to undertake this action [Page 894] by us. I took this occasion to ask what private opinion of Robertson and Koenig is regarding status of Control Council. Both replied that they considered Control Council as finished and that for the rest it became question of tactics and timing. French of course are strong in view that onus for initiating action regarding establishment of German Government, issuance of separate currency, dissolution of Control Council, et cetera, should fall on Russians. Most of the French here have never liked the selection of Berlin as seat of Control Council in any event and would not go into mourning, I am sure, if Berlin were abandoned. Neither would they deplore the partition of Germany. Robertson privately feels that Berlin is, from our point of view, merely question of time, and that the bulk of our effort beginning possibly in June should be concentrated in Frankfurt.
[For the remainder of this telegram, dealing with the discussion of the establishment of a Western German Government, see page 186.]