Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume II

Pauley Files

No. 971
Text Considered by the Drafting Committee on Reparations From Germany

[Undated.]

German Reparation

(Agreed with reserves noted by Drafting Committee)

1. Reparation claims of U. S. S. R. shall be met by removals from the Zone of Germany occupied by the U. S. S. R.

2. The U. S. S. R. undertakes to settle the reparation claims of Poland from its own share of reparations.

3. The reparations claims of the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries entitled to reparations shall be met from the Western Zones^* and from German external assets^*.

4. In addition to the reparations to be taken by the U. S. S. R. from its own zone of occupation, the U. S. S. R. shall receive additionally from the Western Zones:

(a) 15 per cent of such usable and complete industrial capital equipment, in the first place from the metallurgical, chemical and machine manufacturing industries as is unnecessary for the German peace economy and should be removed from the Western Zones of Germany, in exchange for an equivalent value of food, coal, potash, zinc, timber, clay products, petroleum or petroleum products, and such other commodities as may be agreed upon.

(b) 10 per cent of such industrial capital equipment as is unnecessary for a peace economy and should be removed from the Western Zones, to be transferred to the Soviet Government on reparations account without payment or exchange of any kind in return. Removals of equipment as provided in (a) and (b) above shall be made simultaneously.

5. The amount of equipment to be removed from the Western Zones on account of reparations must be determined within six months from now at the latest.

6. Removals of industrial capital equipment shall begin as soon as possible and shall be completed within two years from the date of the determination specified in paragraph 5.^† Until the determination of the general volume of equipment to be removed, deliveries will be carried out as advance deliveries in regard to such equipment as the Allied Commission on Reparations and the Control Council shall decide to be available. The delivery of products covered by 4(a) above shall be made by the U. S. S. R. in agreed instalments within five years of the date hereof. The determination of the amount and character of the industrial capital equipment unnecessary for the German peace economy and therefore available for reparation shall be made by the Control Council under policies fixed by the Allied Commission on Reparations, with the participation of France, subject to the final approval of the Zone Commander in the Zone from which the equipment is to be removed.

‡7. The Soviet Government will make no claim to securities of Corporations in Western Zones, to German external assets, nor to German gold.

1. Reserved by Soviet Delegate. [Footnote in the original.]
2. Reserved by Soviet Delegate. [Footnote in the original.]
3. Reserved by the U. K. Delegation. [Footnote in the original.
4. Reserved by Soviet Government. U. S. and U. K. Delegations would accept an oral assurance instead of this clause. [Footnote in the original.]