Office of the Historian

662A.00/3–2852: Telegram

No. 10
The United States High Commissioner for Germany (McCloy) to the Department of State1

secret priority
Bonn, March 28, 1952—7 p.m.

2181. Inform Defense. Reurtel sent Bonn 935, rptd info Paris 3895, dated 7 January.2 Fol is text of draft tripartite protocol on joint action by Ambassadors submitted today by Fr:

  • “1. In implementation of Art I, sect 3 of gen convention on relations between three powers and FedRep,3 Ambassadors of France, Great Brit and US accredited to Fed Govt (hereinafter called the three Ambassadors) will exercise jointly, in name their govts, rights and responsibilities which devolve upon three powers under provisions of gen convention and related conventions concluded on (blank) between them and FedRep.
  • “2. In particular, three Ambassadors will exercise jointly rights of three powers re: a. Stationing of armed forces; b. State of emergency; c. Berlin; d. Germany as a whole, including unification of Ger and peace settlement.
  • “3. Three Ambassadors will be considered as successors of Commanders-in-Chief and of High Commissioners in relations of allied authorities with Sov C-in-C. They will have final responsibility for all questions re relations with Sov occupation authorities, both civil and military.
  • “4. a. Three Ambassadors will jointly give instructions in name of their govts, to Allied Kommandatura in Berlin re exercise of its powers.
  • “b. This in no way modifies previous decisions re stationing of allied forces in their respective sectors of city of Berlin.
  • “5. In principle it is responsibility of three Ambs, acting jointly in name of three powers, to submit to arbitrary tribunal disagreements [Page 16] with FedRep resulting from implementation of conventions concluded on (blank). However:
    • “a. If only two powers consider themselves to be involved, their Ambs may submit such disagreement to arbitrary tribunal after having notified their intention to do so to Amb of third power;
    • “b. If only one power considers itself to be involved, its Amb may submit disagreement to arbitrary tribunal after having consulted two other Ambs and unless latter are mutually opposed such submission.
  • “6. Provision to be inserted on relationships between Ambs and Commanders-in-Chief.”

Paper has not been discussed in committee. In gen it appears satisfactory in terms of Dept reply to Fr aide-mémoire (Deptel 253, November 9 to Bonn4). We have, however, fol preliminary comments. Assume Dept wld prefer agreed minute in place of protocol but Fr will probably insist on latter.

Para 4. Suggested procedure of joint instructions to kommandatura is in line with present practice and with provisions of para 3.

Para 5. Paper fails to make provision for decision, whether unanimous or by majority vote, when three powers are concerned in submission to arbitrary tribunal. Wording shld be altered to read “disagreements with FedRep arising under conventions concluded on”.

Para 5. b. We believe any one of three powers shld be permitted to submit question to arbitrary tribunal even if other two are opposed.

Wld appreciate Dept’s comments soonest.

McCloy
  1. Repeated to Paris.↩
  2. Telegram 935 reported that the French had agreed to discuss in the Allied High Commission the activities of the three future Ambassadors to the Federal Republic, but had insisted that any agreement on the role of the Ambassadors must be approved by the three governments. (662A.00/1–752)↩
  3. For the General Agreement as approved by the Foreign Ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany at Paris, Nov. 22, 1951, see Annex A to HICOM/P (51) 91, Nov. 17, 1951, Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. iii, Part 2, p. 1592.↩
  4. See telegram 2930 to Frankfurt, Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. iii, p. 1575.↩