Office of the Historian

272. Memorandum From the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Read) to the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)1

Washington, June 16, 1968.

SUBJECT

  • Berlin Situation, June 15

The autobahn remains quiet with traffic lighter than normal due to a three-day German holiday and no abnormal delays currently being experienced by travelers to and from Berlin.

There are continuing unconfirmed rumors that Chancellor Kiesin-ger may visit Washington, Paris and London in the near future to seek support. The President is considering sending the Chancellor a special message of support on the Day of German Unity, June 17.2

The British and French called in the Soviet Ambassadors yesterday and made strong representations concerning the East German measures. The Soviet representatives took the line that the East German measures were “routine” and did not affect Allied access.

The Berlin Task Force met for two hours this morning to consider further developments and to examine proposed countermeasures. The BTF supported calling a special meeting of the NATO Permanent Representatives in Brussels for June 18 or 19, when the other NATO countries will be informed of the developments. This will be especially useful if their support is solicited for countermeasures in the trade and travel field.

In Bonn preparations are going ahead on a written tripartite legal protest, to be delivered in Moscow, against the violation of quadripartite agreements. We expect the drafts to be submitted to the three governments for approval on June 17. The Bonn Quadripartite Group is giving intensive study to countermeasure proposals. The FRG has proposed that it impose special levies on East German truck and barge traffic in the FRG, payable in hard convertible currencies—a suggestion in which we have concurred and suggested even further strengthening.

The Bonn Quadripartite Group has also agreed, with our concurrence, to propose in NATO that East Germans seeking to travel in the West (outside the FRG) be required to pay fees in hard currencies for their travel documentation—a service which had been rendered without fee in the past. We are maintaining a 24-hour watch in the Operations Center of the Department.

NWDavis 3
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Germany, vol. 15. Secret. A notation on the source text reads: “C[op]y sent Ranch at 3:30 PM 6/16.”↩
  2. For text of the President’s message, see Department of State Bulletin, July 8, 1968, p. 44.↩
  3. Davis signed for Read above Read’s typed signature.↩