198. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Molotov, Palais des Nations, Geneva, July 19, 19551
SUBJECT
- German Unification
The Secretary sent the following Memorandum to the President on July 19th2 concerning a conversation he had with Molotov:
“A talk with Molotov in the buffet makes it clear to me that he at least hopes that the Conference will drop entirely the matter of German unification and leave Adenauer without any hope on this [Page 398] subject except such hope as he may derive from his prospective visit to Moscow.
“On the other hand, it is our policy, and it is Adenauer’s hope, that we will get established here the principle that there should be an early unification of Germany and a directive to a future meeting of the Four Foreign Ministers to find a European security framework which will make German unification possible.
“Unless we can accomplish this latter result, our Conference here will, I think, be a failure. I think that it should be possible to get the principle of unification adopted and to get it remitted for study at a future meeting of Foreign Ministers along the lines of the draft resolution which I showed you this afternoon.
“Perhaps you will have a chance to drive this home to Zhukov, as what you say to him will carry more weight than all else that can be said around the conference table.”3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/7–1955. Secret. Drafted by Dulles. This conversation took place following the Third Plenary Session.↩
- On another draft of this memorandum is a handwritten notation which indicates that it was handed to President Eisenhower on July 20. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 517)↩
- See Document 203.↩