Office of the Historian

396.1 LO/2–752: Telegram

The United States High Commissioner for Germany (McCloy) to the Department of State 1

secret
priority
Bonn, February 7, 1952—10 p.m.

1475. Brit yesterday proposed that joint recommendation of HICOM be made to govts concerning invitation to Adenauer to attend second day of London mtg and that tentative agenda be prepared. Fol recommendation was prepared by polit advisers, but Francois-Poncet has not agreed. It is, however, submitted as representing US–UK views.

  • “[1.] It is clear that the contractual negots with the Fed Govt can not, before the mtg of the three FonMins in London on 13th Feb, be concluded. Far too many points are still outstanding. Nor can they even be brought to a stage at which no more than a few important points remain, which might conveniently be settled by Mins. In these circumstances there can be no question of Dr. Adenauer attending a quadripartite mtg of FonMins to put the final touches to the agreement at this stage.
  • 2. Nevertheless the HICOMs consider it wld be useful for the Fed Chancellor to be invited to attend a conference with the three FonMins in London on 14th Feb, after a tripartite mtg between the three FonMins on the previous day. The three HICOMs consider that such a mtg with the Chancellor cld accelerate progress if it cld lead to decisions of principle on a limited number of disputed points. Furthermore, a mtg of the three Mins in which Ger problems are [Page 29] discussed wld at this time be misinterpreted in Ger unless followed promptly by a mtg between them and the Chancellor. The HICOMs suggest, however, that no invitation be issued or announcement be made until the results of the Bundestag debate are known since the decision on the invitation will be influenced by the course of the debate.
  • 3. If such a mtg takes place, however, it shld be made clear, both in the invitation to the Chancellor and in accompanying publicity, that its purpose is not the conclusion of our negots, but a general review of the position they have reached and the settlement of a certain number of outstanding points now ripe for decision at ministerial level.
  • 4. The HICOMs consider that an appropriate agenda for such a mtg with the Fed Chancellor in London 14th Feb wld be:
    1.
    Security controls.
    2.
    War criminals.
    3.
    Finance (matters arising from the recommendation of the Three Wise Men).
    *4.
    Compensation for holders of German assets in foreign countries.
    *5.
    Exemptions from Lastenausgleich.
    *6.
    Composition of supreme restitution court and payment of restitution claims against former Reich.
  • There may be other questions requiring discussion by the four Mins, but these have not yet been crystalized.
  • 5. It will be necessary for the three FonMins to agree their position on 13th Feb on any of the above points on which tripartite agreement does not before then exist.
Mccloy
  1. Repeated for information to London and Paris.↩
  2. Unless previously settled with the Gers. [Footnote in the source text.]↩
  3. Unless previously settled with the Gers. [Footnote in the source text.]↩
  4. Unless previously settled with the Gers. [Footnote in the source text.]↩