Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Central and Southeastern Europe, Volume XXVI

90. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the German Ambassador (Krekeler) and the Secretary of State, Department of State, Washington, February 11, 1957¹

Washington, February 11, 1957

SUBJECT

• Talks with Sandys

Ambassador Krekeler said he had been asked by Chancellor Adenauer to make inquiries as to what position the United states had taken during the discussions with Mr. Sandys² regarding the proposed reduction of British forces in Germany. Specifically, he asked whether the U.S. had agreed or disagreed with the British proposals or had agreed, but asked that they be carried out over a substantial period of time.

The Secretary said that he had not participated in all the conversations and that it might be well to raise this question with other officials of the Government who had. To the extent to which he had participated in the discussions, the Secretary said he had made the following points to Mr. Sandys.

1. The U.S. recognized the serious financial condition in which the United Kingdom finds itself and did not feel it possible to urge military expenditures which might be very serious from the standpoint of the British economy. He did not believe a reduction in British forces on the Continent should be predicated on unsound military concepts or that we should press SACEUR to adopt military views which he considered unsound in order to justify a reduction.

3. Anything which the British do should be done in a gradual way in order to avoid a shock to NATO and should, as far as possible, be synchronized with the development of new weapons and consequent increases in firepower, as well as the build-up of German forces.

The Secretary made clear that we had not agreed with any specific proposals made by the British. He said that in fact no specific proposal had been given to US.

1. Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Reinstein on February 12. Krekeler and Dulles also discussed Bulganin’s February 5 letter to Adenauer, the Chancellor’s forthcoming visit to the United States, support of visiting forces in Germany, overseas territories and the Common Market, economic aid to Poland, disarmament, and the proposed four-power working group. Separate memoranda of the discussion of these topics are ibid.
2. For documentation on Sandys’ visit to the United States, which ended on February 2, see vol. XXVII, pp. 683 ff.