DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation
Date: March 11, 1949
Subject; Germany
Participants: The French Ambassador The Secretary of State
Copies to:
At the conclusion of the Atlantic Pact meeting this afternoon the French Ambassador handed me the attached Aide Memoire. He said that the Department has suggested to the British and French Governments that there should be talks between the three Governments on questions relating to Germany and that these talks should be at a level below the Foreign Ministers.
The Ambassador said that in this Aide Memoire Mr. Schuman accepts this idea, but suggests that he, Mr. Bevin and I have a short series of talks while they are here in connection with the Atlantic Treaty. Following these, deputies should carry on the conversations and the agenda of these further talks could either be worked out in New York during the Assembly meeting or, I believe he makes some alternative suggestion which now escapes me.
The Ambassador also said that there were many questions which needed immediate settlement regarding Germany, such as the Humphrey Report, the prohibited and limited industries, the boundaries of certain of the German states, etc. He thought that these discussions had bogged down and asked me to look into the matter to see whether some of these could not be disposed of before Mr. Bevin and Mr. Schuman came over here. In the course of this part of his talk, he said that Ambassador Douglas had been trying to link together the discussion of the Humphrey Report with the discussion of prohibited and limited industries. I told the Ambassador that my impression was that the opposite was true. He did not appear to know which was right. In any event, I told him I would look into this matter also.
D.A.
S:DA:DHM