Office of the Historian

212. Memorandum for the Files by the Ambassador at Large (Thompson)0

Washington, August 22, 1963.

12:57 p.m.—Thursday, August 22, 1963

The President telephoned me to inquire what our response is to be to the Germans on the peace plan.1

I said a meeting was held this morning with Mr. Bundy, Nitze and others. One result was that it was suggested that the Secretary write a [Page 575] letter to Schroeder trying to divert him into making a speech instead of putting forth the plan. Another suggestion was that either Mr. Bundy or Ambassador Thompson call on Schroeder under cover of consulting with other allies.

The President inquired whether the German proposal had been put before the NATO Council. I said reference to the German proposal had been made in the Council. What we would like them to do is to discuss it in general terms and not put forward the specific terms.

The President inquired as to what the French say about it.

I said they supported it in the first place and will now, probably. I said this matter was discussed at length this morning in Mr. Bundy’s office and it was decided that we should try to get them to put it in the form of a speech, which would give more flexibility. I said it was a pretty bad thing and could provoke the Russians into taking some action. I mentioned Home’s talk with Schroeder in which the latter explained what they had in mind. He said the British are pretty unhappy about it.

The President inquired how it went in NATO on observation posts, and asked whether the “New York Times” story2 was accurate. I assured the President that it was not and that discussion had gone well.

LEThompson3
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 21. Secret.↩
  2. When Secretary Rusk had briefed Schroeder on August 10 about his conversations in Moscow (see Document 209), Schroeder had given him the text of a German peace plan. A copy of the plan is attached to a memorandum from Klein to Bundy in the Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Countries Series, Germany.↩
  3. Presumably reference is to a story on page 10 of The New York Times, August 21, 1963.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩