Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Germany and Austria, Volume VII, Part 1

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 196

No. 514
Proposal of the Soviet Delegation¹

[Translation]

confidential
FPM(54)33

Berlin, February 4, 1954.

Formation of a Provisional All-German Government and the Carrying Out of Free All-German Elections

Considering it necessary to end the division of Germany and, in accordance with the agreements reached between the Four Powers, to achieve a national reunification of Germany on a democratic and peace-loving basis, the governments of the U.S.S.R., France, the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. have arrived at the following agreement:

1. To consider as a task which cannot be postponed the formation of a Provisional All-German Government by the parliaments of the German Democratic Republic and of the German Federal Republic, with a wide participation of democratic organisations.

Such a Provisional All-German Government may be set up to replace the existing governments of Eastern and Western Germany, or, should this prove difficult at the present time, those two governments may temporarily remain in existence.

2. The main task of the Provisional All-German Government shall be the preparation and the carrying out of free All-German elections, namely:

(a) the working out of a draft all-German electoral law ensuring that all-German elections are really democratic in nature with the participation of all the democratic organisations and the carrying out of these elections in conditions of real freedom, which would eliminate the possibility of any pressure by powerful monopolies on the voters;

(b) should it be considered necessary, the carrying out of an investigation to determine the presence throughout Germany of conditions essential for the carrying out of democratic elections, and the application of adequate measures to ensure the existence of such conditions;

(c) the carrying out of all-German elections, as a result of which the German people would take their decisions, without any interference on the part of foreign countries, concerning the social and state organisation of a democratic Germany, and on the basis of which shall be formed an all-German Government.

3. To establish as the tasks of the Provisional All-German Government the following:

(a) representation of Germany in the preparation of a peace treaty and German representation in international organisations;

(b) prevention of Germany’s being drawn into coalitions or military alliances directed against any Power whose armed forces participated in the war against Hitler’s Germany;

(c) questions of German citizenship;

(d) ensuring the free activities of democratic parties and organisations, and banning of the existence of fascist, militarist and other organisations hostile to democracy and to the preservation of peace;

(e) development of economic, trade and cultural relations between Eastern and Western Germany; questions of transport, of postal and telegraph services, questions of the free movement of people and goods throughout the whole territory of Germany and other questions concerning the interests of the German people as a whole.

4. With a view to ensuring that the German people should have the right to solve their national affairs independently, to recommend to the Government of the German Democratic Republic and to the Government of the German Federal Republic to immediately convene a conference of plenipotentiary representatives of Eastern and Western Germany, in order to agree on a procedure for setting up a Provisional All-German Government, its composition, functions, tasks and powers.

5. The governments of the U.S.S.R., France, the United Kingdom and the U.S.A., on their part, will take measures directed at the establishment of conditions which would contribute to the successful execution by the Provisional All-German Government of the tasks imposed upon it, and would eliminate any interference and pressure on the part of foreign powers in the carrying out of all-German elections. For these purposes the governments of the Four Powers have agreed to withdraw, prior to the holding of elections, their occupation forces from both the territory of Eastern Germany and the territory of Western Germany, with the exception of limited contingents which would remain to carry out guard duties arising from the control responsibilities of the Four Powers: those of the U.S.S.R.—for Eastern Germany, those of the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and France—for Western Germany.

1. This proposal was introduced at the tenth plenary on Feb. 4. For a record of that meeting, see Sectos 86 and 87, Documents 419 and 420.