227. Editorial Note
On May 29, the Soviet Foreign Ministry transmitted a note to the U.S. Embassy protesting the building of a tunnel from the U.S. Sector in Berlin into the Soviet Zone of Germany for the purpose of tapping into major Soviet communication lines. This followed the discovery of the tunnel on April 22 and protests by the Soviet Commandant in Berlin and the Commander of the Soviet occupation forces in Germany. The United States did not reply to these protests and took the position that it had not authorized the construction of the tunnel. For a detailed account of the construction of the tunnel and its use, see David C. Martin, Wilderness of Mirrors (New York, 1980), pages 75–89. Documentation on the discovery of the tunnel and the Soviet protests is in Department of State, Central File 762.0221.