Office of the Historian

262A.84A41/9–652: Telegram

No. 480
The Secretary of State to the Office of the United States High Commissioner for Germany, at Bonn1

secret
Niact
Washington, September 6, 1952—2:53 p.m.

1097. Re urtel 1019, Sept 6. You may authorize Chancellor to make statement to effect US is willing to use its good offices to try to abate Arab pressure and to endeavor to persuade at least some of the Arab states to abandon their threats. You may also wish to refer to specific instances in which Dept has taken this action in past. Re Deptel 359 to Damascus rptd Bonn 2015, Mar 12, and para 3 Deptel 109, Aug 22,2 to Damascus being rptd priority Bonn.3

Acheson
  1. Repeated to Damascus.↩
  2. Telegram 109 to Damascus, Aug. 22, summarized a conversation at the Department between Assistant Secretary Byroade and the Syrian Chargé, who called to request U.S. support for Syrian membership on the U.N. Trusteeship Council. Paragraph 3 of the telegram concerned the German reparation question, to which the Chargé referred, requesting U.S. assistance in urging the Israelis to turn the funds over to the Arab refugees. Byroade stated that the Department had never involved itself in the Israeli-German negotiations, but that the Department had taken the position with German leaders that the German people owed reparations on moral grounds. Byroade further stated that the German people could not be expected to pay these German funds directly to the Arab refugees; the Department would support Israeli reparations to Arab refugees on moral grounds, and not because of any connection with German reparations to Israel. (783.00/8–1652)↩
  3. In circular telegram 325, Sept. 23, 10 a.m., sent to the Arab capitals, the Department referred to telegram 1097, and instructed Embassies to use any appropriate opportunity to implement the Department’s position. To object to payment by Germany was to deny the principle of compensation, which was not in the interest of the Arab refugees. The Embassies were authorized to state that the United States was now in touch with the Israeli Government with respect to initiating the compensation program previously agreed to in principle by Israel. (262.84A41/9–2352)↩