Office of the Historian

96. Diary Entry by the Ambassador to Germany (Bruce)0

Bonn, December 10, 1958.1

Fought as usual today for firmness in Berlin. I see no way for the U.S. Government to avoid a decision, to be made known privately to the Soviets, that we are ready to preserve our rights in Berlin by force. This means an ultimate recourse to war, not waged in Berlin but between the US and the USSR. It would be difficult to persuade our allies to adopt such a course, but unless we have the firm intention, if driven to it, to employ force no matter what the risks, we will never in my opinion reach a satisfactory arrangement with the Soviet Government. However we should decide, there should be no publicity or use of threats, but our stand should be conveyed privately to Khrushchev so that at least he would make no miscalculations.2

  1. Source: Department of State, Bruce Diaries: Lot 64 D 327. Secret.↩
  2. Presumably the entry was written in Bonn.↩
  3. The following day Bruce attended Trimble’s staff meeting and reiterated these views. (Ibid.)↩