Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 1

EUR files, lot 59 D 233, “Chiefs of Mission Conference—1953”

No. 308
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Merchant) to the Acting Secretary of State¹

top secret

Washington, November 6, 1953.

Subject:

• Clarification of a Misunderstanding regarding the Conclusions of the Ambassadors’ Meetings in Luxembourg and Vienna

In a memorandum to the Secretary dated October 24 (Tab A),² the President remarked, on the basis of a memorandum to him from C.D. Jackson (Tab B),² that it seemed strange that there was a difference of opinion between officials here and abroad regarding the East Berlin riots. Mr. Jackson had misinterpreted a sentence in a report of the Ambassadors’ views regarding psychological warfare and had concluded that they thought the United States had instigated the riots of June 17.

The attached memorandum to the President clarifies this point and refers to several excerpts from the minutes of the meetings which describe the riots as spontaneous and not the result of outside instigation.

We have passed to the officials who prepared the report on psychological warfare the President’s commendation contained in the first paragraph of his memorandum to the Secretary.

Recommendation:

That you sign the attached memorandum to the President and the letter to C.D. Jackson.³

[Attachment 1]

Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State to the President⁴

top secret

[Washington,] November 6, 1953.

Subject: Clarification of Conclusions on Psychological Warfare at the Chiefs of Mission Meetings in September

In your memorandum to the Secretary dated October 24, you expressed concern over the diverse opinions regarding the East Berlin riots of June 17. I believe this apparent divergence can be traced to an ill-chosen word in the following sentence in the summary of the Ambassadors’ views on psychological warfare:

“The East Berlin riots of June 17 and American psychological warfare operations related thereto caused serious difficulties with our principal allies. …”⁵

The operations referred to occurred after June 17; this would have been clear if the word “subsequent” had been used instead of “related”.

In order to conserve your time we sent you only the summaries of the two meetings. I am sending to C.D. Jackson a complete set of the full minutes which show that the officer reporting on the Berlin riots stated that they were “a perfectly spontaneous development” and were “caused by the pressure of events and not by outside instigation.”

We have passed on to the participants in the September Chiefs of Mission meetings your words of commendation and encouragement for their efforts.

Walter B. Smith

[Attachment 2]

The Acting Secretary of State to the Special Assistant to the President (Jackson)⁶

top secret

[Washington,] November 6, 1953.

Dear C.D.: I am enclosing a copy of a memorandum to the President which clarifies a statement in the psychological warfare paper prepared during the Luxembourg Chiefs of Mission meeting in September. I am sorry that an ambiguously worded sentence caused the President to gain the impression that there was disagreement in the U.S. government as to the true nature of the East Berlin riots.

I am also enclosing a full set of the minutes of the Luxembourg and Vienna meetings⁷ which I believe will show that there is complete agreement among us regarding the events in East Berlin and East Germany.

W.B.S.

1. Drafted by Millar and Trulock.
2. Not printed here, but see supra.
2. Not printed here, but see supra.
3. According to a notation on the source text, the memorandum to the President and the letter to Jackson were signed by the Acting Secretary and delivered to the White House on Nov. 7.
4. Drafted by Millar and Trulock. The source text was stamped “A true copy of the signed original. Nov. 6, 1953.”
5. Ellipsis in the source text.
6. The source text was stamped “A true copy of the signed original. Nov. 6, 1953.”
7. Not attached to the source text. For information concerning these minutes, see footnote 5, Document 306.