Office of the Historian

740.5/9–1454

President Eisenhower to Prime Minister Churchill 1

top secret
Washington, September 14, 1954.

Dear Winston: Your report on the progress of Anthony’s tour is very helpful to me.2 It is encouraging to know that the Benelux [Page 1192] people are thinking along constructive and realistic lines. We will look forward to the more detailed account of your proposals which Anthony has promised to send Foster at the end of his tour.

In the meantime, we are trying to pull together some useful ideas to contribute with respect to both the plan for German membership in NATO and a course of action in the unhappy event that the French refuse to go along. I feel that you and we should agree on this latter point as soon as possible since I am not certain that anything less drastic will bring the French to their senses.

With kindest regards,

D[wight] D. E[isenhower]
  1. This message was transmitted to London in priority telegram 1485, Sept. 14, with Instructions that it be personally delivered to Churchill.↩
  2. This is a reference to Churchill’s letter of Sept. 12, p. 1179.↩