Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation, lot 64 D 199, “April 1954”
No. 239
Memorandum of Conversation, by the
Acting Public Affairs Adviser in the Office of German Affairs
(Straus)
Subject: Current Problems Concerning Germany
- Participants: The Acting Secretary
- Ambassador Dr. Heinz L. Krekeler, Chargé d’Affaires of the German Federal Republic
- [Mr. Richard Straus, GER/P]
- Mr. Cecil B. Lyon, GER
- Dr. Thomas Dehler, Chairman of the Free Democratic Party
- Mr. Rudolf Eickhoff, Member of the Bundestag
- Dr. Richard Jaeger, Member of the Bundestag
- Mr. Adolf Cillien, Member of the Bundestag
- Mr. Horst Haasler, Member of the Bundestag
- Mr. Kurt-Georg Kiesinger, Member of the Bundestag
The members of the Bundestag were received by the Acting Secretary, General Walter Bedell Smith, on Monday, April 12, at 3:30 p.m. Following words of general welcome and inquiries about the forthcoming trip, the Acting Secretary and the German visitors discussed three major problems: 1) the problem of German reunification, 2) the Saar problem and 3) the so-called “new look” in U.S. military policy.1
The Acting Secretary assured the German visitors that the U.S. had not lost sight of the need for continued efforts at German reunification and that as the West continued to increase its strength, negotiations from a position of strength may become possible which could then lead to peaceful German reunification. He indicated that this was a long process and not something that can be done immediately, but that it was necessary that none of us lose courage and that we continue to build strength in the West of which EDC is such a major part.
As to the Saar, the Acting Secretary recognized that it constituted a difficult hurdle in the way of European integration but felt that if both parties, France and Germany, “give until it hurts,” this hurdle also could probably be overcome.
Asked about the “new look” defense policy, the Acting Secretary indicated that this “new look” was indeed not new but an adjustment in military policy to take the changed situation into account. As to the hydrogen bomb, the General indicated that the United States would continue to seek a workable system of control and inspection for both conventional and atomic weapons. He mentioned in this connection the US–Soviet talks on President Eisenhower’s plan for the peaceful use of Atomic energy.
The German delegation took the opportunity of the interview to express Germany’s thanks for the post-war U.S. aid program which to such a large extent had been responsible for Germany’s recovery.
- For documentation on the “New Look” in NATO, see vol. v, Part 1, pp. 482 ff.↩