134. Memorandum for the Record1
SUBJECT
- Conversation with German Minister
Minister Oncken of the German Embassy came in to see me today at his request to show me an instruction from Bonn to the effect that the Poles had told the German negotiators2 in Bonn that a White House “personality,” though not the President himself, had told the Polish [Page 316] Ambassador that the US would have no objection if the FRG recognized the Oder-Neisse line as the permanent Western frontier of Poland.3
I told Oncken that this seemed to refer to a talk between Mr. Kissinger and the Polish Ambassador on February 3,4 in which Michalowski had said that the US should tell the Germans that we wanted them to make an agreement settling the border. Mr. Kissinger had responded that we had made clear that we wanted German-Polish reconciliation. Michalowski had then said that this was not enough, to which Mr. Kissinger had responded that we would present no obstacles to German-Polish understanding. I added that Mr. Kissinger had made no comments more specific than that and had not addressed the legal points involved at all. I also told Oncken that in talking with me before going in to see Mr. Kissinger, Michalowski had said that since the Germans settled their Western frontiers they should be able to do the same in the East. I had responded that these situations were legally and politically different.
Oncken said he appreciated the information and would report it home.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 683, Country Files—Europe, Germany, Vol. IV 12/69–9 Apr 70. Secret; Nodis. Sent for information. Drafted by Sonnenfeldt. The original was sent to Kissinger. A typed notation indicates that Hillenbrand received a copy directly from Sonnenfeldt. A notation on the memorandum indicates that Kissinger saw it on March 27.↩
- Negotiators from the West German and Polish Foreign Ministries met in Warsaw February 4–7 for a first round of talks on the normalization of relations between their two countries. The main topic of discussion was potential FRG recognition (de facto or de jure) of the Oder-Neisse Line. For an account of the talks, see Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1970, Bd. I, pp. 163–164, 166–169, and 175–179.↩
- Ambassador Rush reported from Bonn on February 13 that Finke-Ossiander “told EmbOff in strictest confidence, and without authorization to do so, that, in course Winiewicz–Duckwitz discussion on Oder-Neisse line,…, Winiewicz countered FRG point on four-power responsibility for final border settlement provisions, with accounts of ‘reports’ recently received from Polish Ambassadors in Paris and Washington…. Winiewicz said, according to his info, FRG ‘concern’ over four-power issue greatly overdrawn…. [P]olish Ambassador in Washington reported that he recently spoke, ‘not with the President personally,ʼ but with ‘somebody quite high up in the White House.’ He also said that Oder–Neisse issue would present ‘no problems to U.S.’” (Telegram 1577 from Bonn, February 12; National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 683, Country Files—Europe, Germany, Vol. IV 12/69–9 Apr 70) Sonnenfeldt summarized the issue for Kissinger: “As was to be expected, the Germans, despite Onckenʼs very confidential call on me, put the story the Poles told them about White House support for an Oder-Neisse settlement into regular State channels. Before the attached telegram… arrived from Bonn, I had already sent Hillenbrand the memoranda of your conversation with the Polish Ambassador and of mine with Oncken. Hillenbrand will write to Fessenden to make sure he will tell the Germans the same thing at his end as I told Oncken here. This should take care of this matter at least for now.” (Memorandum from Sonnenfeldt to Kissinger, February 13; ibid.)↩
- See Document 133.↩