Editorial Note

On February 6, in a speech at the opening of a new Amerika Haus at Stuttgart, McCloy told the German people of his trip to the United States. He noted the great concern felt there over the reemergence of nationalist groups in Germany, indicated the unanimity with which the Western Powers regarded Germany, and expressed the view that those who blamed other peoples and countries for postwar German difficulties did incalculable harm.

McCloy then spoke of United States policy. “The German people,” he said, “should be enabled to develop their political independence along democratic lines in close association with the free people of Western Europe. They should be integrated into a free Europe.” The United States would give full support to the development of the Federal Republic of Germany and to the democratic forces in Germany. McCloy then stated:

“The future of Germany is not a local national question. It is an integral part of a great world problem. It requires maturity of thought and expression as well as stability of action. Germany can readily acquire a position in the world by giving the sign of a regenerated spirit, a spirit to which free peoples all over the world would quickly respond.”

For the full text of his speech, see Department of State Bulletin, February 20, 1950, page 275.