79. Letter From Secretary of State Dulles to Chancellor Adenauer 1
Dear Mr. Chancellor:
[Here follow four paragraphs concerning the prospects for ratification of the Paris Accords in the Federal Republic and in France.]
I believe that Sir Anthony Eden, you, and I are in complete agreement as to the dangers of any four-power conference before ratifications are completed and effect has been given to the Paris accords. It appears obvious that the Soviets would like to use the prospect of such a conference for the purpose of impeding ratification. On the other hand, any invitation at this time which made a conference expressly conditional upon completion of ratifications, would almost surely be rejected with more threats and warnings to confuse public opinion. I am thus convinced that we should bide our time on this. In my opinion, the Soviets adjust their tactics to facts, and when the fact of increased Atlantic solidarity and strength is confirmed by the adoption of the Paris accords, I foresee for the first time the possibility of fruitful discussions. In face of the long record of Soviet threats from the Marshall Plan to the present day, which they have customarily made to prevent the conclusion of any agreement that promised to strengthen Europe’s independence, I do not for a moment believe that the possibility of a further conference is foreclosed, but merely that it will take place on a more propitious basis. The Soviet leaders obviously regard it as in their interest to protest in advance, but they cannot fail to accommodate themselves in the end to the facts of Europe’s renewed vitality, security and confidence when our measures have been accomplished.
I am thus confident and determined that new efforts can and shall be made on behalf of German reunification and a lasting peaceful settlement of both the German and Austrian questions. These remain, as stated in the tripartite Declaration at London, fundamental goals of our policy.
In subordinating so much to the question of ratification at the present time, you will understand my thought that this is necessary to enable us to resume the progress toward greater European unity of which the EDC held so much promise. The form in which this goal might be realized is perhaps of less importance than the objective and the will to go forward. These have been embodied in the policies of the Federal Republic under your leadership with inspiring vision and courage. I know that there are many statesmen in Europe and [Page 123] broad elements of the population in all walks of life who will not let the efforts of recent years be lost. I have not ceased to believe that the full stature of the European nations, in the face of common threats and common problems, will be realized in the measure in which they infuse their political life with greater unity, and that this alone will enable them to safeguard their rich national heritages of freedom and culture and to continue to exert their proper influence in the world today.2
With warm personal regards,
Yours sincerely,
P.S. You may be interested in the marked portion (page 3) of a speech which I made day before yesterday.3
- Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Konrad Adenauer. Drafted by Kidd.↩
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On January 30, Chancellor Adenauer replied to this letter, writing in particular about the proposed four-power conference:
“A decisive problem, however, remains the relations with the Soviet Union, and here I am particularly thankful to know that we agree, as you write in your letter, that new efforts on behalf of German reunification and a lasting, peaceful settlement of the German and Austrian question can and must be undertaken. I am of the opinion that a Four Power conference should under no circumstances be sought before the treaties enter into force. Like you, I expect that negotiations with the Soviets can only have a certain chance of success if the Western alliance system has become an established fact. On the other hand, however, it seems necessary to me that we promptly, that is, immediately after the treaties enter into force, call a study group to London in which representatives of the governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Federal Republic undertake a basic exchange of views on the solution of the major problems, particularly reunification and a system of collective security. Only a careful preparation will give us the opportunity, after the treaties enter into force, to undertake initial diplomatic exchange of views with the Soviet government which can finally lead to a Four Power conference.” (Ibid.)
↩ - No copy of this speech was found attached to the source text. Presumably reference is to Dulles’ speech to the Young Women’s Christian Association in New York on January 11; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, January 24, 1955, pp. 123–125.↩