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J. 333305-MONO-State Galley 201 UNCORRECTED GALLEY PROOF people wanted to organize their forces for new aggression. The military effectiveness of Germany under the cumbersome Bismarckian constitution might illustrate this observation. It remains to be remarked that the traditional democratic groups in Germany have generally favored a greater unification of the Reich 4. Steps in Political Reconstruction-While the character of devel- opments in Germany cannot be foreseen, the Department of State believes it desirable to formulate a tentative and general policy toward the political reconstruction of Germany. It therefore recom- mends that the process be begun, when military necessities permit, by the establishment of democratic self-government in local communi- ties rather than by the reconstitution of a national federal govern- ment. Decision as to when local governments could be joined into provincial units and when the provincial units could form a Reich government would, under this plan, depend on the success with which the Germans took the several steps in building sound institutions and developing reliable political leaders. The Department of State believes that, in this process of positive reconstruction, external influence should be limited to the encourage- ment of popular self-government and should not be exerted to deter- mine the precise form of government to be established. At the same time it is a dictate of security that the victor powers, and after them the international organization, should reserve the right, and be pre- pared to intervene in Germany to prevent the re-emergence of danger- ous nationalistic activities and to hold Germany to the observance of the obligations imposed by the peace settlement and by the post-war security system. III. Frontier Settlements The Department of State believes that in establishing the post-war boundaries of Europe it should be the policy of this Government to seek a solution of each dispute based on the merits of the specific problem and on the relation of that problem to the whole settlement. The Department believes the chief criteria to be (1) the most reason- able prospect of general acceptance and stability and (2) the maximum contribution to the orderly development of general international order. A. Recommendations In the light of such considerations, the Department of State submits the following recommendations with respect to the frontiers of Germany: 1. That the Danish-German frontier should remain unchanged. 2. That the water-boundary between the Netherlands and Germany should be moved from the western shore of the Ems Estuary to the main channel and that subsequent consideration be given to any Netherlands claims on German territory as compensation for damage to Netherlands soil. 3. That the Belgian-German frontier should be returned to the 1920-1940 line. 4. That Alsace-Lorraine should be returned to France. 5. That the present administrative boundaries be maintained as the frontier between Austria and Germany. This recommendation would restore the pre-1938 frontier except for a small area in the Sonthofen district which was transferred to Bavaria for administrative convenience and which should remain in

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    "ocrText": "J. 333305-MONO-State\nGalley 201\nUNCORRECTED GALLEY PROOF\npeople wanted to organize their forces for new aggression. The\nmilitary effectiveness of Germany under the cumbersome Bismarckian\nconstitution might illustrate this observation. It remains to be\nremarked that the traditional democratic groups in Germany have\ngenerally favored a greater unification of the Reich\n4. Steps in Political Reconstruction-While the character of devel-\nopments in Germany cannot be foreseen, the Department of State\nbelieves it desirable to formulate a tentative and general policy\ntoward the political reconstruction of Germany. It therefore recom-\nmends that the process be begun, when military necessities permit,\nby the establishment of democratic self-government in local communi-\nties rather than by the reconstitution of a national federal govern-\nment. Decision as to when local governments could be joined into\nprovincial units and when the provincial units could form a Reich\ngovernment would, under this plan, depend on the success with which\nthe Germans took the several steps in building sound institutions and\ndeveloping reliable political leaders.\nThe Department of State believes that, in this process of positive\nreconstruction, external influence should be limited to the encourage-\nment of popular self-government and should not be exerted to deter-\nmine the precise form of government to be established. At the same\ntime it is a dictate of security that the victor powers, and after them\nthe international organization, should reserve the right, and be pre-\npared to intervene in Germany to prevent the re-emergence of danger-\nous nationalistic activities and to hold Germany to the observance of\nthe obligations imposed by the peace settlement and by the post-war\nsecurity system.\nIII. Frontier Settlements\nThe Department of State believes that in establishing the post-war\nboundaries of Europe it should be the policy of this Government to\nseek a solution of each dispute based on the merits of the specific\nproblem and on the relation of that problem to the whole settlement.\nThe Department believes the chief criteria to be (1) the most reason-\nable prospect of general acceptance and stability and (2) the maximum\ncontribution to the orderly development of general international\norder.\nA. Recommendations\nIn the light of such considerations, the Department of State submits\nthe following recommendations with respect to the frontiers of\nGermany:\n1. That the Danish-German frontier should remain unchanged.\n2. That the water-boundary between the Netherlands and Germany\nshould be moved from the western shore of the Ems Estuary to the\nmain channel and that subsequent consideration be given to any\nNetherlands claims on German territory as compensation for damage\nto Netherlands soil.\n3. That the Belgian-German frontier should be returned to the\n1920-1940 line.\n4. That Alsace-Lorraine should be returned to France.\n5. That the present administrative boundaries be maintained as\nthe frontier between Austria and Germany.\nThis recommendation would restore the pre-1938 frontier except\nfor a small area in the Sonthofen district which was transferred to\nBavaria for administrative convenience and which should remain in"
}