115. Diary Entry by the Ambassador to Germany (Bruce)0
[Here follows a description of other activities.]
Looking back on this past week in Paris, I consider it a great success. At the tripartite meeting,2 the United States, France and the U.K. agreed to revise the contingency orders to avoid any recognition of the GDR. This resulted from a position taken in Washington with the approval of the National Security Council and President Eisenhower. At the same meeting, it was agreed that the question of the military reaction to any Soviet or East German move regarding Berlin would be further discussed between the Governments. The Ambassadors in Bonn of the three powers were instructed together with their military advisers to work out new access procedures. The feeling was unanimous not to accept the substitution for Soviet authority of that asserted by the GDR.
At the Council meeting,3 Dulles’s pronouncement of American readiness, if necessary, to resort to a general war in the face of aggression, had a tremendous effect. We can now continue our policy toward Berlin with the unanimous backing of our European allies.
- Source: Department of State, Bruce Diaries: Lot 64 D 327. Secret.↩
- Presumably the entry was written in Bonn.↩
- See Document 108.↩
- See Document 112.↩