75. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the German Ambassador (Krekeler), Department of State, Washington, October 16, 19561
SUBJECT
- Possible Consideration by UN General Assembly of German Reunification
Under instructions Mr. Krekeler presented the attached aide-mémoire;2 he solicited the Secretary’s comments and support, should he approve. The Ambassador mentioned that wording of point (a) referring to the “failure of the occupying powers to fulfill their legal obligations to restore Germany’s unity” was unfortunate and of course was meant to refer to the USSR only.
The Secretary said the general idea in the proposal was good but the details might lead to difficulties. He recalled that the Austrian question had been referred to the UN and although the successful outcome could not be traced to the UN, action by the General Assembly was nevertheless useful in keeping the question to the forefront. However, Austria was less complicated than Germany and the composition of the General Assembly is now less dependable from our standpoint. The Secretary said it would be necessary to go through the membership list to see whether a two-thirds majority favorable to our ideas could be counted upon. He also had in mind the [Page 166] situation in Committees of the Assembly where mischievous amendments might be carried by majority vote; a two-thirds majority in the Assembly itself was required for adoption of a resolution.
Respecting the sponsoring countries proposed in the aide-mémoire, the Secretary said India with its neutralist ideas would probably not be helpful, despite the point made by Mr. Krekeler that Nehru had gained experience during his visit in Bonn.3 The Secretary advised lining up countries in free world security organizations, with an Asian country, either Thailand or Pakistan, adding perhaps Austria.
The Secretary emphasized the importance of working out details, reiterating the risk of amendments. Germany and the Western countries must be able to count on majorities in Committee to defeat such amendments, also the Chairman of the Committee would be important. Presumably the question would go to either Committee I or the Ad Hoc Committee of the Assembly.
The Secretary said he was quite prepared to consider the German proposal sympathetically but we should be sure that we would be able to come out with a desirable result. He did not wish to give a definite opinion now but said we would study the problem.
The Secretary and the Ambassador speculated on some of the countries who would be favorable, including the following: a majority of the American Republics; presumably most of NATO; 5 or 6 Asian countries; the total amounting to about 40 votes. The Baghdad Pact countries might also be added. Out of the total UN membership of 76, about 52 favorable votes would be needed. However, there would be many marginal countries and some of them would be unpredictable.
Mr. Krekeler agreed that hard calculation was needed and he looked to the Secretary for advice because of his experience in the UN. He promised to report the Secretary’s views to the German Government.
The Secretary indicated that the Department would be glad to go over the question further after the German Embassy has heard from Bonn.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/10–1656. Confidential. Drafted by Beam.↩
- Not printed; it expressed the hope that the U.N. General Assembly would adopt a resolution urging the termination of the present situation in Germany in order to facilitate German reunification “in freedom”.↩
- Nehru visited Bonn July 13–16 for discussions with West German officials.↩