762A.5 MSP/10–2653: Telegram
No. 591
The Director of the Berlin Element,
HICOG (Lyon) to the Office of the United States High Commissioner for
Europe, at Bonn1
priority
560. 1. Reuter’s death has been blow to West Berliners and boon to Soviet Germany.
2. Our action in Trieste has caused some apprehension here among certain Berliners who fear it is handwriting on wall for Berlin.2
3. Even to indicate that our financial assistance would terminate during next fiscal year (when pipeline will empty if no extra funds are allocated) would raise fears in West Berlin and lend substance to Soviet propaganda.
4. Continuation of US aid to Berlin permits us to support Berliners in their efforts to attain financial assistance from Federal Republic; also allows us to talk to Federal Republic about Berlin with some degree of authority. Termination our aid would remove this advantage.
5. Battle for Berlin is not yet won though there are some signs of victory on horizon.
Consequently, trust I am correct in believing that Department’s 1289 of October 23 to Bonn, repeated Berlin 2713 indicates that Department [Page 1371] likely to support proposal contained Bonn’s Tousfo 323,4 since ending of pipeline flow would be subject for alarm among West Berlin officials who need our moral and economic support at this time.5
- Repeated to Washington; the source text is the copy in Department of State files.↩
- On Oct. 8 the United States and the United Kingdom announced that they would withdraw their troops from Zone A of Trieste at an early date.↩
- Telegram 1289 reported that the Department of State had sent a letter to FOA outlining the political considerations that would affect the aid requirements for fiscal year 1955. (762A.5 MSP/10–2353)↩
- Supra.↩
- On Oct. 27 the Department of State informed Bonn that it was supporting the pipeline argument on both economic and political grounds. (Telegram 1326 to Bonn, 762A.5 MSP/10–2653)↩