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201696293
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Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams
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document
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1
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id
201696293
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document
title
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams
citationUrl
collections
Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration)
State Department Briefs Files
subjects
Schuman, Robert, 1886-1963
Gruber, Karl, 1909-1995
Erhardt, John G. (John George), 1889-1951
Bruce, David Kirkpatrick Este, 1898-1977
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201696293
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29
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1949-11-29
month
11
year
1949
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nara-archive
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1
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a61cfaa17dfcbfc1
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON
November 29, 1949
SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS
GERMANY
Our Consul in Bremen forwards a report which he considers
authoritative, at least of the kind of information which
the Soviets are currently giving top officials of the eastern German
republic, to the effect that war which will carry the Soviets to the
channel coast is expected in the spring of 1950. To support this
campaign the report asserts that an army of 600,000 Russians has been
assembled on the new Polish frontier and in Thuringia province, and
that the Soviets are operating at least two of the former German
rocket bases.
AUSTRIA
The French government has approached both the US and UK
with a proposal that the three western powers maintain
their present positions on the two articles of the Austrian treaty
dealing with UN property, displaced persons and refugees until the
USSR has agreed to the organization of an Austrian army prior to the
entry into force of the treaty. We have informed the French repre-
sentative in Washington that we take a very serious view of this
development, which would mean unforeseen delay in the Austrian treaty
negotiations, and we have instructed Ambassador Bruce to raise this
question urgently with Foreign Minister Schuman. We do not believe
that the army issue should be injected in any way into the treaty
negotiations and consider that the current French position violates
the tripartite agreement of last September to raise the question of
an Austrian army with the Soviets only at the time of signing the
treaty. Our representative in New York believes that one of the
French motives may well be the indefinite postponement of the Austrian
treaty which he understands has been recommended by French officials
in Vienna.
Meanwhile our Minister in Vienna reports that the Austrian
Foreign Minister is now of the opinion that the question of an
Austrian army should not be raised with the Soviets at all, even at
the time of signature of the treaty, since such an approach might
result in greater Soviet restrictions on Austria's freedom of action
than would otherwise be the case. Our representatives believe that
the final decision on this must hinge on the question of whether it
appears likely that an adequate Austrian security force can be trained
in the 90 days between treaty ratification and the withdrawal of
occupation troops.
DECLASSIFIED
E.O.
State Dept
C
By NLT- He
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