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  4. Document 208

208. Memorandum of Conversation0

Washington, September 1, 1960, 10 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • Berlin Situation

PARTICIPANTS

  • The President
  • The Secretary of State
  • Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Livingston T. Merchant
  • Colonel John Eisenhower

Following a meeting on another subject, the President raised the question of Berlin, with particular respect to the East German threats to curtail civilian traffic.1 The Secretary described briefly the circumstances noting that there was some conceivable justification for the GDR claiming that by reason of their character the Conventions in question were provocative. The Secretary then described the public statement which the Department had made a day or so ago, pointing out the responsibility for free access rested on the Soviets and not the GDR and also refuting the claim that West Berlin lay on GDR soil.2 The Secretary assured the President that we were following the situation closely but that so far there had been no interference with our own access. He reminded the President that we have detailed contingency planning to cover developments in a situation like this.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9–160. Secret. Drafted by Merchant.↩
  2. On August 29, the German Democratic Republic issued a directive that shut off East Berlin to West German citizens for the duration of convention of former POWs and refugees being held in West Berlin September 1–4. For text of the directive, see Documents on Germany, 1944–1985, pp. 715–716.↩
  3. For text of this statement, August 30, see Department of State Bulletin, September 19, 1960, p. 439. For text of the Western Commandants’ letter to the Soviet Commandant protesting the directive, August 31, see ibid., pp. 439–440.↩