Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson and the Acting Secretary of Defense to President Harry S. Truman

Cy. white House SECRET COPY NO. 2 OF 20 COPIES July 30, 1951 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Definition of United States Policy on Problems of the Defense of Europe and the German Contribution It seems to us desirable that you should determine certain general principles which will guide United States policy in bring- ing about most effectively and most rapidly German participation in the defense of Western Europe without arousing European antago- nisms which would militate against continued European cooperation in the defense effort. It is a basic assumption that a German military contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense force in Europe is necessary. This contribution cannot be secured until existing German and French objections have been harmonized. The Germans will not adopt the necessary amendment to their Constitution and the necessary legislative action authorizing military contributions until they are assured that they are to have a position of political equality and of nondiserimination in military matters. From their point of view, this requires the restoration of a large degree of sovereignty. The French will not cooperate in the essential pro- gram of restoration of sovereignty to Germany until agreement is reached on certain limitations controlling German rearmament in order that they may secure what they regard as adequate safeguards for the future. At present, the French and German demands conflict with each other and produce a stalemate. By the very nature and interrelation of these two sets of demands, the stalemate cannot be broken unless simultaneous progress is made toward meeting them. In the long run, the problem can best be solved in terms of more general Continental European arrangements. Due to the British attitude and the consequent attitude of certain European peoples such as the Dutch, satisfactory progress in terms of an increased measure of DECLASSIFIED F.R. er U.S. 1951 Vol. TIT NET PAGE F49 or two 729 By NLT- HC NARS, Date 9-29-13 TOP SECRET - Nif tablet