762.00/3–1154
No. 238
Memorandum of Conversation, by the
Director of the Office of German Affairs (Lyon)1
Subject: Visit of Members of SPD to Acting Secretary
- Participants: The Acting Secretary
- Mr. Cecil B. Lyon, GER
- Mr. Richard Straus, GER/P
- Prof. Dr. Carlo Schmid, Vice President of Bundestag
- Mr. Fritz Erler, Member of Bundestag
- Mr. Willy Brandt, Member of Bundestag
- Dr. Guenter Klein, former Member of Bundesrat
After an exchange of pleasantries, the Acting Secretary said that, of course, the question which was uppermost in every German’s mind was unification. This was the all important problem in Germany and we must never lose sight of it. We must reiterate the necessity for a unified Germany on every occasion. We must insist, if necessary, on future conferences to try to attain this end. The Acting Secretary said that the Berlin Conference had indicated that the Soviets were not prepared to do much for Germany in this connection at the present time. The Acting Secretary thought that one of the most revealing aspects of the Conference was the brutal disregard for German public opinion both in East Germany and West Germany which the Soviets had displayed. The Soviets had so obviously aimed at French public opinion that they had paid no heed whatsoever to Germany. General Smith also said that while he had not ever been optimistic that the Conference would contribute very much to amelioration of the German situation, he had hoped that it might result in something for Austria. However, here, too, the Soviet treatment of the Austrians had been brutal in the extreme. All this should not deter us in our determination, however, to press forward on every occasion towards the goal of German unification.
The Acting Secretary said that he was concerned about the possibility of food shortages in the Satellite countries and Eastern Germany, that our reports from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland indicated prospects for poor harvests, and if there were to be food shortages we would have to do everything we could to help the starving people.
Dr. Schmid concurred in this and added that he was apprehensive that the people in Eastern Germany might become so discouraged that they might resort again to a repetition of the uprising of June 17.2 He feared the outcomes of any such action. The Under Secretary said that that was a possibility about which we, too, were worried for while we wish to keep up the courage of those in the East, premature uprising could result in unnecessary bloodshed [Page 567] and slaughter and this we could not have happen. It was indeed a serious problem of which we were very much aware.
Dr. Schmid next said that while he was entirely against having any relations or any discussions whatsoever between the German Federal Government and the Pankow regime, he did think it might be possible for the Four Occupying Powers to authorize purely technical discussions on a very low level between East and West Germans.
General Smith asked whether the Soviets would permit this and said that we would have no fear of this since we had no fear of having anyone see what we were doing in West Germany. General Smith indicated that the question should be explored.
Dr. Klein emphasized the importance of free communications between Eastern Germany and West Berlin and how important for the morale of the East Germans this was. He also said that we should constantly reiterate our determination to remain in Berlin.
General Smith concurred and said that the more East Germans who went to West Berlin, the better, and added that this seemed to be a time when we must constantly repeat certain important facts.
Mr. Brandt emphasized the need for more than mere propaganda and suggested that one way of indicating the continued interests of the Western powers in Berlin would be to assure continued economic aid.
The Acting Secretary also said that the Saar reports were promising.
- Members of the Bundestag had arrived in the United States on Mar. 2 for a 45-day study of Congress.↩
- For documentation on the uprisings in East Germany on June 17, 1953, see Documents 713 ff.↩