Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Germany and Austria, Volume VII, Part 2

762.00/5–2554: Circular airgram

No. 602
The Secretary of State to the Office of the United States High Commissioner for Germany, at Bonn¹

confidential

Washington, May 25, 1954.

CA–6855. HICOG will recall that a suggestion from the Department to propose new all-Berlin elections (contained Department’s CA–2769 of November 19, 1953²) was left in abeyance as a result of the subsequent Soviet acceptance of the Four Power Conference. The Department has been reconsidering this idea in the light of such recent developments as the SED announcement that it intends to participate in the forthcoming West Berlin elections and the statement of SPD Chairman Neuman designed to call the SED bluff by advocating all-Berlin elections (Berlin’s despatch 854³).

The Department is of the opinion that it would be appropriate to suggest once more free all-Berlin elections. This move could help demonstrate our continued interest in Berlin’s future and place the Soviets once more on the defensive. Such a proposal (preferably based on an appeal by the West Berlin Government to the Allies) might be made to the Soviet authorities by either the three Allied High Commissioners or the Berlin Commandants. It would suggest that inasmuch as elections are now scheduled in the western sectors and no municipal elections have been held in the Soviet sector since 1946, free all-Berlin elections should be held.

We would expect that the Soviets will in effect refuse the offer or employ evasive tactics. We believe that either type of response could be exposed and exploited.

In the unlikely event that the Soviets should agree in principle to all-Berlin elections, it would be necessary to assure acceptance of certain safeguards, e.g. use of the 1946 electoral law, guarantees requisite for truly free elections, and Four-Power agreement on the powers to be exercised vis-à-vis the government of a reunited Berlin. The latter would presumably be comparable to the position taken by the Allies at the Berlin Conference re an all-German Government, i.e. providing for a minimum of such “reserve powers”, and their exercise only on the basis of majority vote.

If HICOG perceives no objection to the above proposal, the Department recommends that it be taken up with the appropriate British and French authorities.

Dulles

1. Drafted by Carlson and cleared by Bonbright, Lyon, Eleanor Dulles, Straus, and WE. Repeated to Berlin, London, Paris, and Moscow.
2. Not printed. (762.00/11–1953)
3. Despatch 854 reported on the eleventh Berlin SPD Parteitag, held May 8–9, during which Neuman had called for all-Berlin elections. (762A.00/5–1354)