310. Memorandum of Conversation0

PARTICIPANTS

  • President Heuss
  • Dr. Von Brentano
  • Secretary Dulles

After dinner when I was talking alone with President Heuss, he recalled the visit of President Bayar to Germany1 and his (Heuss’) feeling that Turkey was in a desperate financial position and that something should be done to help Turkey. I asked that Foreign Minister Von Brentano join us because Von Brentano, whom I sat next to at dinner, had referred to the fact that he had seen the Turkish Ambassador that day here in Washington.

Dr. Von Brentano joined us. He, too, expressed the view that Turkey’s situation was very bad and that she should not be pushed over the brink. I said we agreed with that and that the United States was giving a very substantial amount of assistance in one way or another to Turkey, but that we felt that it was imperative that Turkey should take more positive measures to put its own house in order. I said I felt that it would be a mistake if Germany should, on a bilateral basis, extend financial assistance to Turkey without regard to the views of the International Monetary Fund or the OEEC as to the over-all financial and economic position. Dr. Von Brentano said that he quite agreed that there should be no bilateral assistance to Turkey by the Federal Republic, and that anything that was done should be coordinated with the Monetary Fund or with OEEC. He seemed to have in his mind the OEEC rather than the Monetary Fund.

  1. Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Dulles. Heuss and Brentano were in Washington June 4–7 on a State visit. The meeting was held at the German Embassy.
  2. May 7–15.