Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XL, Germany and Berlin, 1969–1972

168. Memorandum From V. James Fazio of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹

Washington, undated.

SUBJECT

• Trip Report

On January 27–28, 1971 I met twice with Ambassador Kenneth Rush and once with Mr. Egon Bahr in Bonn, Germany. The meetings were mutually exclusive and to the best of my knowledge, neither the embassy nor foreign office personnel were aware of the subject matter of the private meetings.

I met first with Ambassador Rush shortly after my arrival Wednesday afternoon, January 27.² The Ambassador read the letter³ with great interest and asked me to clarify some of the technical channels involved and the types of information requested. He said he would make plans to leave for Washington as soon as possible and asked if I could meet with him again on Thursday when he would give me his final plans and any comments he might wish to make.

I advised the Ambassador that his reason for returning should be palatable to the Department and in no way connected to you. His preliminary reaction was to come back to discuss with Secretary Laird a possible replacement for General Polk, USAREUR. We decided that perhaps a different reason could be better rationalized.

When I met with the Ambassador on Thursday, he said that he had received a call from his friend John Mitchell. He now plans to return to the States in order to discuss some possible political appointments with the Attorney General. While in Washington, the Ambassador would attempt to have the Department set up an appointment with the President for normal consultations and/or a courtesy call. If the President’s schedule does not permit this, he will have State set up an appointment with you.

The Ambassador plans to leave Bonn on Tuesday, February 2 and hopes to depart Washington no later than Thursday evening February 4. The Ambassador is scheduled to meet with Abrasimov on Monday, February 8 and would like to be in Bonn the preceding weekend for briefings.

Due to several unforeseen events, I did not meet with Mr. Bahr until Thursday, January 28. Mr. Bahr read the letter with great interest and he said that the letter clarified several points of confusion. He said he had received a call the previous day from a Mr. Naumberger (phonetic) who identified himself as one of your associates and said that you had asked (Naumberger) to call Bahr and tell him you wished an early meeting. Bahr said he then received your call regarding the possibility of attending the Apollo launch and when you asked if he (Bahr) received your message, he thought you meant the phone call. Bahr said the letter now put things in their proper perspective. He then suggested that rather than have the Vice President issue an invitation directly to him, perhaps it would be more inconspicuous if the invitation could be issued by NASA to Mr. and Mrs. Ehmke—who would decline—and name Bahr as their representative. In any event, Bahr was to leave for New York Friday, January 29 and was to get in touch with you Friday night.⁴

General Comments: You may want to discuss with Ambassador Rush the confidence he has in his principal advisors. The top two— Minister/DCM Russell Fessenden and the Chief of the Political Section Jonathan Dean—have been in German affairs most of their careers. I’m sure that they could make a convincing case to the Ambassador on recommendations they favor. I am also sure that State would use the DCM level for any private correspondence they would want to exchange.

This is just a possibility and you may want to solicit the Ambassador’s private views on this.

The Ambassador asked that his best wishes be conveyed to you and the President and hoped he could get together with you, possibly for dinner.

Attachment

Washington, January 25, 1971.

Letter From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the German State Secretary for Foreign, Defense, and German Policy (Bahr)⁵

Dear Egon:

I have asked the bearer of this letter, who is a member of my personal staff, to present it to you personally, to remain with you while you read its contents and then to retrieve the letter for my personal files so that you will not be burdened with the need to safeguard it. Mr. Fazio is also prepared to convey to me whatever oral or written response you consider appropriate.

Recent events involving the future status of Berlin confirm the essentiality of your travelling to Washington as soon as possible so that I can discuss the matter with you in a frank and secure atmosphere. On our side, the information which I will share with you is known only to the President and myself. Therefore, it is important that you find some pretext for an early visit to Washington which is not related in any way to the real purpose of your visit.

I would anticipate that prior to your arrival you will discuss this communication privately with the Chancellor, with the view towards obtaining his authority to represent him in our discussions, on the Berlin question.

I must emphasize again that the fact and contents of this message and the actual motive for your trip to the United States should be shared with no one but the Chancellor and that the pretext for your visit avoid any implication which might lead to suspicions here as to its actual purpose. I am very sorry that it has become necessary to impose upon you in this way but I am confident that you recognize that it would be impossible for me to find a credible pretext to visit the Federal Republic. Hopefully, you enjoy greater flexibility in justifying a trip.

I look forward to seeing you at your earliest opportunity.

Warm regards,

Henry

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 60, Country Files, Europe, Egon Bahr, Berlin File [3 of 3]. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Haig initialed the memorandum. For published accounts of the Fazio trip, see Kissinger, White House Years, p. 807; and Bahr, Zu meiner Zeit, p. 354.
2. Kissinger discussed the Fazio trip in a telephone conversation with Attorney General Mitchell, a personal friend of Rush, on January 26. According to a transcript, Mitchell reported: “We have completed the call overseas and it’s taken care of.” Kissinger: “My man [Fazio] will be there tomorrow.” Mitchell: “I told him [Rush] I anticipated seeing him.” (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 365, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File)
3. The letter to Rush from Kissinger is, after the first paragraph, identical to the attached letter to Bahr, printed below. The first paragraph reads: “Events associated with our future efforts regarding a possible Berlin settlement make it essential that you find some non-related excuse to visit Washington before but also reasonably close to February 9. During your visit, the two of us could arrange a private meeting at which I will be able to share with you some extremely important and sensitive information known only to the President and myself. I am sure you recognize the importance of holding the fact and contents of this message and our subsequent meeting strictly to yourself. As a related matter and because of the great importance of the Berlin issue, the President has asked that until further notice you provide to him, through me, copies of any communications or inquiries with policy implications which you receive by any means, cable, letter, etc., as well as any responses that you provide to such inquiries. Please provide this data through [less than 1 line not declassified] back channel, directly to me at the White House, on an exclusively eyes only basis. Knowledge of this separate channel should be kept exclusively to you, [less than 1 line not declassified] and the absolute minimum number of traffic technicians.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 59, Country Files, Europe, Ambassador Rush, Berlin, Vol. 1 [2 of 2])
4. In a January 29 memorandum to Haig, McManis noted that, according to Fazio who had just returned from Germany, “Bahr is to arrive in New York tonight and will call HAK.” (Ibid., Box 60, Egon Bahr, Berlin File [3 of 3]) For a record of the meeting between Kissinger and Bahr on January 31, see Document 172.
5. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only.