863.501/12–750
Memorandum of Conversation, Prepared in the United States Legation in Austria 1
| Present: | Ambassador Donnelly | Chancellor Figl |
| Sir Harold Caccia | Minister Helmer | |
| Minister Payart | State Secretary Graf2 | |
| Mr. Dowling | ||
| Mr. Cheetham | ||
| Mr. Maillard |
Ambassador Donnelly informed those present that the US Element was prepared to issue arms and equipment to the Austrian gendarmerie as agreed upon an previous conferences between the Western High Commissioners and the Austrian government provided two conditions were met: (1) A gendarmerie battalion were set up in each of the three western zones; (2) There should be appointed a battalion commander, deputy commander and official qualified to sign for and be responsible for the use of the equipment in each of the three Western zones.
Sir Harold Caccia said that the British element was as eager as the US element to start this program at the earliest opportunity. His only reservation, which he felt was shared by the other elements as well as by the Austrian government, was that it must not appear as though a quadripartite agreement had been openly violated.
[Page 501]Minister Payart, while agreeing in principle with the program and with Sir Harold’s reservations, felt unable to agree formally prior to the receipt of detailed instructions from his government.3
Chancellor Figl said he was in complete agreement with the program. The Austrian government, too, was eager to obtain the equipment as quickly as possible. The conditions outlined by Ambassador Donnelly would be met, and the names of the nine responsible officers would be transmitted to the High Commissioners on November 30. The Chancellor requested Minister Helmer to discuss the matter in greater detail.
Minister Helmer stated that gendarmerie personnel currently assigned to the Western zones could not be detailed to these units. In the first place, these gendarmes were currently used for normal gendarmerie functions; secondly, they were regular civil servants and could not be assigned to duties entailing separation from their families for a long period. The Ministry of the Interior had completed preparations for hiring additional gendarmes on December 1, 1950 for the specific purpose of undergoing an eighteen months training period. In this manner 500 gendarmes would be available for each zone.
Minister Helmer strongly objected to the use of the term “battalion” for these units. The gendarmes would receive their training in regular gendarmerie schools and the groups so formed should be referred to as “schools”. The use of the term “battalion”, the Minister pointed out, would lead to unnecessary complications, and was, moreover, entirely foreign to the gendarmerie, which is a civilian organization. Chancellor Figl supported this argument by pointing to the obvious propagandistic advantages should the Soviets raise this issue in the Allied Council. Both he and Minister Helmer agreed, however, that internally these units would function in a military manner and could serve as a nucleus for an army should Austria unexpectedly obtain a treaty in the near future. State Secretary Graf pointed out that eighty percent of the personnel selected for these units would be former officers or non-commissioned officers.
It was agreed that: (1) 500 gendarmes in each zone would serve for an uninterrupted training period of 18 months;
(2) The three Western High Commissioners would be notified by the Ministry of the Interior on November 30 as to the respective commanders, deputy commanders and persons authorized to sign for the equipment;4
[Page 502](3) The US element would inform the French and British elements and the Austrian government concerning the precise manner in which the equipment would be physically released;
(4) The equipment for the gendarmerie in the French zone would be turned over after the French High Commissioner has announced his assent.
It was agreed that caution would be exercised in putting the agreement into effect, and that care would be taken to avoid the appearance of violation of a quadripartite decision.
- The source text was transmitted as enclosure 1 to despatch 522, December 7, from Vienna, not printed (863.5/12–750).↩
- Walter J. Donnelly, United States High Commissioner for Austria with the personal rank of Ambassador; Jean Payart, French High Commissioner for Austria; Walter C. Dowling, United States Counselor of Mission; Nicolas J. A. Cheetham, British Counselor of Mission; Pierre Maillard, French First Secretary of Mission; Oskar Helmer, Austrian Minister of the Interior; Ferdinand Graf, Austrian Secretary of State of the Interior.↩
- In telegram 3328, from Paris, December 11, not printed, Embassy Paris reported that it understood “that Payart was authorized December 7 to take parallel action.” (763.5/12–1150)↩
- Enclosure 2 to despatch 522, not printed, listed the names of the Austrian Commandants and officials responsible for the material taken over in each of the three Western Zones.↩