862.00/10–1749
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
Meeting With the President
item 4.1 berlin
I gave the President a report on developments relating to Berlin. He was anxious to know what our thought was on the struggle with the Soviet Union for Germany and how we thought we were moving in the latest developments. I told him that it seemed to us that the matter hinged on so many issues that it was very hard to make predictions. One question was whether the American people would have the determination to stay with the matter with the military and financial implications which were involved, both in Germany and in Western Europe. If we were, that was one hurdle passed. Another important question was the direction in which the French leadership moved. I had had great hopes that Schuman understood and would press for an understanding with Germany. It was uncertain as yet what his position in the new government would be. Reports are that the new Premier,2 for understandable personal reasons, has an angry and uncompromising attitude toward the Germans. This would make the task of integrating Germany into Western Europe much more difficult. In the third place, the fate of Tito would have a very important bearing on whether the Soviet Union intended to reduce some of its activities in Western Europe, or whether it would be encouraged by a failure of Tito to expand some further.3 All one can say is that the issue is by no means clear and depended almost equally upon ourselves and upon others.
- Other topics discussed with the President were: Korean aid, United Kingdom recognition of China, ambassadorial appointments, and Ambassador Jessup’s contemplated tour of the Far East↩
- Georges Bidault.↩
- For documentation on the United States attitude toward the Yugoslav–Comintern dispute, see volume v .↩