Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, European Security and the German Question, Volume III, Part 2

762A.00/10–1351: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Office of the United States High Commissioner for Germany, at Frankfurt¹

secret
priority

Washington, October 13, 1951—11:23 p. m.

2400. Fol is text of our revision of draft reply to Adenauer² referred to in our immediately preceding tel.³

“Your ltr 202–04 II 11375/51 of Oct 4⁴ was transmitted to the three govts represented on the Allied HICOM and has been considered by them.

In your ltr you repeated the proposals made by the Fed Govt on Mar 22 and Sept 14, 1950 and on Mar 9, 1951 for the holding of free, gen, equal, secret and direct elections in the whole of Ger. You also requested the govts of the four OCC Powers to give the Ger people the earliest opportunity to elect under internatl supervision and under the legal and psychological conditions specified in the various proposals of the Fed Govt, a constituent and legislative natl assembly. The three govts need not remind you of the numerous occasions on which they have jointly and individually supported the idea of such elections under conditions which have been specified as necessary to protect the individual and natl liberties of the Ger people. They refer among other things to the ltrs sent by the Brit, Fr, and US High Commissioners in Ger on May 26, 1950 and on Oct 10, 1950 to Gen Chuikov, to the statements issued by the Brit, Fr, and US FonMins in London on May 14, 1950 and in NY on Sept 19, 1950 and to the proposals made by the Brit, Fr and US Deputies at the Paris Four Powers Conference on Mar 5, 1951. They now renew their support for the idea of elections under the safeguarding conditions which have been specified.

In your recent ltr you have made an additional proposal. You wrote:

The Fed Govt feels obliged to do all in its power in order to ensure that the actual conditions for holding of all-Ger elections, proposed by it, are given. Vis-à-vis the territory at large, this can only be done by a neutral internatl comm—under UN control—carrying out investigations in the SovZone and in FedRep, to establish in how far prevailing circumstances make the holding of free elections possible. The Fed Govt requests that such an internatl enquiry be immediately carried out for the territory of the FedRep and wld ask the govts represented in the Allied HICOM to propose the estab of such a comm to the UN without delay. The Fed Govt will in every way facilitate the execution of the tasks of such a comm and will in particular allow it access to all Fed and Land Administrative offices as well as to all official papers and docs which it may require to see in order to complete its tasks.’

The three govts warmly welcome the constructive initiative which you have taken in making the proposal for a UN comm to investigate the extent to which prevailing circumstances allow the holding of free elections in the FedRep and in the SovZone of Ger. They have not failed to note the desire of the Fed Govt that such an inquiry take place immediately in its territory. The three govts desire to inform you that they will, at the first suitable opportunity, put your views before the UN and will propose that the UN undertake an investigation over the whole area of Ger. They consider that only by such means can it be expeditiously and satisfactorily determined whether or not conditions exist in the entire area of Ger which wld make it possible to consider as a practical matter the holding of gen elections.”⁵

Acheson

1. This telegram, drafted by Laukhuff and cleared with Secretary Acheson, Bohlen, Matthews, Perkins and Wainhouse, was also sent for action to London, Paris, and Bonn, and repeated to Moscow and Berlin.

2. At 9:55 a. m. the Department of State had received from Bonn the text of a British draft reply to Adenauer’s letter, which repeated the salient points made by the Chancellor and concluded:

   “I write to Inform you that your ltr was transmitted to the three govts represented on the Allied HICOM and has been considered by them. The three govts are willing to put before the UN your views re the necessity for a UN investigation of electoral conditions in the Sov Zone and In the FedRep, coupled with your specific request for such an enquiry to be held immed in the territory of the FedRep.

   I should, however, add that the three govts consider that the UN might well take the view, which they themselves hold, that the investigation wld only serve a useful purpose if it were in fact extended over the whole of Ger as suggested in your note.” (Telegram 232 October 13, 762.00/10–1351)

3. Telegram 2399, not printed (762A.00/10–1351). It reviewed recent developments concerning the unity question, indicated that revisions in the British draft reply were necessary “because Bonn draft strikes Dept as so curt, lukewarm and negative in character as to be of little use to Chancellor vis-à-vis Bundestag and Ger public opinion”, and repeated the Department of State’s belief that a unilateral U.S. statement was “highly important to prevent Ger attention from being centered exclusively on issue of Ger unity.”
4. Not printed, but see footnote 4, p. 1793.
5. On October 14 and 15 the American embassies in London and Paris replied that subject to minor revisions the British and French approved the U.S. draft but still had reservations about the proposed statement. Telegrams 1822, October 14 and 2187, October 15, from London and Paris (702.00/10–1451 and 762A.00/10–1551).