34. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Elbrick) to the Secretary of State1
SUBJECT
- Call by Austrian Minister Figl on September 24 at 2:30 p.m.
Foreign Minister Figl has an appointment to see you on September 24, at 2:30 p.m. In view of the problems which are to be discussed, he will be accompanied by the Austrian Finance Minister, Dr. Reinhard Kamitz, whom you met during your visits to Vienna to sign the State Treaty and to attend the reopening of the opera. The Austrian Ambassador, Dr. Karl Gruber, Colonel Raymond, and I will also be present as well as an interpreter for Minister Figl.
I. Topics the Secretary Should Raise
A. Oskar Teuber Case
Discussion:
Foreign Minister Figl has written you a personal letter (Tab A)2 requesting the return of certain property worth approximately one [Page 51] million dollars to Oskar Teuber which was vested by the Office of Alien Property (OAP). The property has been retained because the OAP has taken the position that return would not be in the “national interest” because Mr. Teuber once applied for membership in the Nazi Party, even though his application was not accepted and he was mentally incompetent at the time of his application, according to Austrian law. Minister Figl is interested in the case because he was a personal friend of Mr. Teuber’s father, the founder of the Austrian Boy Scout movement.
Recommended U.S. Position:
Minister Figl should be informed that upon receipt of his letter concerning the property of Oskar Teuber the letter was referred to the Attorney General. Mr. Elbrick discussed the matter with the Alien Property Custodian on September 22 and learned that the claim is still under consideration and may have to be referred to the Attorney General for decision. In any event, as the Minister is aware, an Austrian delegation is coming to Washington on October 5 to negotiate a treaty for the return of Austrian vested property which would include the Teuber property. The United States hopes that the treaty will be concluded and ratified at an early date.
B. Matters of Concern to the United States
From the United States point of view, there are two important problems in our relations with Austria: Austrian failure to comply with certain important provisions of the Vienna Memorandum and Austrian failure to settle certain categories of claims of former persecutees, as provided in Article 26 of the State Treaty.
1.Vienna Memorandum (Background Memorandum, Tab B)
Discussion:
Although Austria agreed to return the property of the British and the American oil companies within twenty-one months after the ratification of the State Treaty, that is by April 27, 1957, the Lobau refinery, the major refinery owned by the companies, and its pipelines have not yet been returned. The Austrian Government has also not settled claims based on former oil exploration rights in Eastern Austria. On August 27, the United States and UK Embassies delivered identical notes requesting prompt return of the Lobau refinery and settlement of other outstanding claims, and the Department undertook a number of representations urging full compliance with the terms of the Vienna Memorandum. Embassy Vienna cabled on September 19 that a proposal to return the Lobau refinery and pipelines will be brought before the Cabinet on September 24 but will not take effect until some time later. The oil companies which have long [Page 52] been deprived of their property are anxious to regain control of the refinery.
Recommended U.S. Position:
The Secretary should express the concern which the United States Government has felt that Austria has not been able to comply with its obligations under the Vienna Memorandum within the specified twenty-one month period which expired on April 27, 1957. The United States hopes that the Lobau refinery and the pipelines will soon be returned and that a settlement satisfactory to both parties will be achieved in the near future on the other outstanding claims of the oil companies.
If, in reply, the Minister refers to the proposed Austrian Cabinet action, the Secretary should welcome the proposal and state that the United States relies on Austrian good faith in fulfilling its commitments under the Vienna Memorandum and expects that a satisfactory settlement on all points, including the exploration rights, will be achieved.
2. Jewish Claims under Article 26 (Background Memorandum, Tab C)
Recommended U.S. Position:
The Secretary should stress to Minister Figl and Minister Kamitz, who are both members of the Austrian Cabinet Committee established to consider claims of former Jewish persecutees in Austria, that individual claimants, Jewish organizations in the United States, and a number of Senators and Congressmen have been exerting great and increasing pressure on the Department to have Austria complete the settlement of claims under Article 26 of the State Treaty which provides for restoration of property, legal rights, and interests to the persecutees. The United States hopes that the Austrian Government will soon take some action either by settling individual claims for bank accounts, insurance policies, and other legal rights and interests or by establishing a fund of sufficient size to meet the bulk of the claims.
II. Topics Foreign Minister Figl May Raise
A. Austrian Request for a PL 480 Program
Discussion:
The Austrian Embassy has stated that Minister Figl will probably urge that the United States approve the Austrian request for an $11.6 million PL 480 Title I program. In view of the limited PL 480 funds available and the many more critical requests pending, it is difficult to say anything definite now about Austria’s chances for a PL 480 program but they appear dim.
[Page 53]Recommended US. Position:
The Secretary should state that the Austrian request has received careful consideration but that there are numerous requests for PL 480 programs from countries whose economies are weak, that Austria’s economy is relatively strong, that it has already received three Title I programs totalling $43.3 million, and that we are unable at this time to make any definite commitment for this year.
B. Austrian Interest in Multilateral Aid to Poland via OEEC
Discussion:
The Austrian Foreign Minister may refer to recent conversations with Ambassador Matthews and Secretary Weeks in Vienna regarding Austrian efforts to promote an association by Poland with the OEEC and a grant of credits to Poland through the European Payments Union of the OEEC.
The Austrians expect this issue will be raised at the OEEC Ministerial Meeting of October 15, although it is not clear whether the question would be raised on Austrian initiative or by a group of OEEC countries. In the meantime, Austria has granted Poland a credit equivalent to $5 million. The Austrian Government considers an EPU credit, which would draw largely on German funds, would be an expression of Western European solidarity in support of Poland.
Recommended U.S. Position:
The Secretary should state that our preliminary position is that we would favor efforts to bring Poland into a relationship with the OEEC as a means of strengthening Polish ties with Western Europe. As already indicated to Minister Figl by Ambassador Matthews in Vienna, a relationship between Poland and the OEEC would presumably involve careful and balanced consideration by both the Poles and the member Governments of the OEEC. Association with OEEC and extension of an EPU credit to Poland would involve a number of technical and economic problems some of which would be similar to those which have arisen in connection with the question of Spanish and Yugoslav association with the OEEC. If, however, a decision is taken on a high political level by both the OEEC countries and Poland, to undertake a Polish-OEEC tie, these difficulties should not prove insuperable.3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 763.13/9–2357. Official Use Only. A handwritten notation on the source text indicates that Secretary Dulles saw the memorandum.↩
- None of the tabs has been found in Department of State files.↩
- No record of the September 24 meeting between the Secretary of State and Figl has been found in Department of State files or the Eisenhower Library.↩