Office of the Historian

235. Telegram From the Embassy in Germany to the Department of State1

Bonn, December 11, 1961, 11 p.m.

1403. Following (our unofficial translation) message from Chancellor Adenauer to President just received. (Original being air pouched)

“Bonn, 11 Dec 1961

Dear Mr President:

You will have read the communiqué concerning the talks which President de Gaulle and I held in Paris on Dec 9.2 The press reactions are not very positive, if for no other reason than that our press spokesmen said little; however, the result of the conversations is considerably better.

I spoke in complete privacy with President de Gaulle in the morning and in the afternoon of the 9th on each occasion for about two hours. The first portion, in the morning, was very difficult. In the afternoon we then achieved agreement, and indeed with the result that a conference with the Soviets about Berlin should be held, if it is established—preferably through diplomatic channels—that such a conference offers a prospect for agreement. President de Gaulle also declared himself agreed that France would drop its reserve, which it has hitherto displayed in talks of the Western powers, including talks on Berlin.

I believe that this is a relatively good result, and I am sure that the talks in Paris were very useful and valuable. It was not to be expected that President de Gaulle would publicly agree with our views immediately. [Page 660] His change in opinion should obviously become perceptible to public opinion, including that of his country, without causing sensation.

President de Gaulle and I also spoke about European questions and about NATO affairs. We parted in close understanding.

I believe that we should now for the time being await Khrushchev’s reaction to my conversation with Amb Smirnov.3

I have just received your letter of December 9,4 for which I sincerely thank you. From my talks with you, Mr President, and with General de Gaulle, I have become certain that the West will weather the endurance tests which lie before it, as long as we remain aware that Western solidarity is our most powerful weapon.

I shall see Ambassador Dowling tomorrow and I shall inform him about one or more further details of my Paris visit.5

With kind regards, As ever, Yours, K. Adenauer”

Dowling

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 651.62A/12-1161. Secret; Niact; Eyes Only.↩
  2. For the Chancellor’s account of the meeting with de Gaulle and text of the communiqué, see Erinnerungen, 1959-1963, pp. 118-133.↩
  3. Adenauer had written to Kennedy on December 7 about his meeting with Smirnov on that day. (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204)↩
  4. This brief letter thanked the Chancellor for his report on the meeting with Smirnov. (Ibid.)↩
  5. Dowling transmitted a report on his meeting with the Chancellor in telegram 1407 from Bonn, December 12. (Ibid., Central Files, 651.62A/12-1261)↩