221. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the German Ambassador (Krekeler), Department of State, Washington, February 11, 19571
SUBJECT
- Relationship of Overseas Territories to the Proposed European Common Market
In a call on the Secretary following his return from Germany, Ambassador Krekeler said that both Foreign Minister von Brentano and Chancellor Adenauer had discussed with him the problem of the relationship of overseas territories to the common market. He said there was a wide difference of opinion between the French Delegation and other delegations. The Chancellor recalled a remark which the Secretary had made to him, that it would be desirable that Germany assist in the economic development of Africa. The Ambassador said that in 1951 a plan for this purpose had been developed by German industrialists. However, nothing had come of it and the situation in Africa had changed very radically. He said the Germans see the importance of doing something in this field. On the other hand, they do not wish Germany to be labeled as a colonial power. They feel their position is somewhat like that of the United States. Were they to become associated with colonialism, they fear that what they could accomplish in under-developed areas would be seriously prejudiced. The Ambassador said that the Chancellor would be very grateful for the personal views of the Secretary on this subject.
The Secretary said that he did not feel it was always possible to find an answer to problems of this kind in terms of generalities. He said that the U.S. had always tried to avoid its close association with the British, French, Dutch, Belgians and Portuguese from committing us to support their colonial policies. The governments of those countries had never liked our attitude and our position had been a source of constant friction between us and them. The Secretary pointed out that this problem had arisen in connection with the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty and drew the Ambassador’s attention to the passage in the report of the Foreign Relations Committee dealing with this matter, in which it was stated that “Whether the United States will in fact support the colonial policies of any of the other signatories will depend entirely on our evaluation of those policies under the conditions then existing and not on any obligations assumed under the pact.” (Report of the Foreign Relations Committee on Executive L, 81st Congress, 1st Session.2)
[Page 524]The Secretary said that this did not mean that we should dissociate ourselves from everything which the colonial powers do. He said that it seemed to him that it was essential that a relationship of Africa with Europe be worked out in terms of an evolution which would involve a large degree of self-government on the part of the African territories and a continuing close degree of association between Africa and Europe. He said that there is a tendency to think of the world in terms of East and West. If one looks at a map, it is apparent that Africa is the big hinterland of Europe. The Secretary said that it is important that the movement toward self-government be one of peaceful evolution rather than one brought about by violent revolution. The colonial powers tend to move slowly, in fact, too slowly. It is difficult for any government to grant to a colony or an overseas territory like Algeria a greater degree of autonomy than is absolutely necessary. However, if one waits until it is demonstrated that there is a need for granting autonomy, it is already too late. One has to move ahead of the necessities of the case. This is difficult to do since people in the home countries, and in their parliaments in particular, question the need for taking action. The result is that by the time action is taken, it is often too late to preserve the good in the relationship with overseas territories.
The Secretary said he thought that the Federal Republic, before associating itself with the policies of colonial powers, should get the best assurances it could that these policies could be calculated to work out peaceful relations with the colonial areas. He thought that if a policy of peaceful evolution were adopted, the prospect for Europe was rather dark. It was, of course, possible to have a unified Europe, but Europe needed the resources of Africa. The Secretary drew a parallel between the European situation and that of the U.S. in earlier days. The Eastern colonies had to federate but they could not have developed without the resources of the West and a sound relationship with the Western areas. He thought the same principles were applicable to Europe. If Europe could work out proper relations with Africa, it could develop into one of the greatest forces in the world. He said one should stop thinking of Europe as the Old World. The concept of a relationship with Africa opened up vistas which were new and exciting and should be immensely challenging to people with forward looking ideas.
The Ambassador said that he was grateful for this expression of views. He hoped that public opinion in the U.S. would support this viewpoint. The Secretary said he was sure that it would.