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Abstract

Among the permanent points of contention between the United States and Great Britain, on the one hand, and the United States and France, on the other, was the rebuilding of German heavy industry and control of the Ruhr region, which was important to the economy of all of Western Europe on account of its economic power and rich coal deposits. Over the course of 1947, the French relented on their original demand that the Ruhr region be separated from Germany, but they insisted on having a say about its future status.

The Western Allies on the Desired Level of Industry in their Zones of Occupation (August 28, 1947)

Source

1. Tripartite talks between representatives of the French, United Kingdom and United States Governments relating to the level of industry in the combined Anglo-American zones of Germany and to the management and control of mines in the Ruhr took place in London between the 22nd and 27th August 1947. They have enabled the United Kingdom and United States Delegations to explain their governments' plans and the French Delegation to set forth the views of the French Government concerning these problems. The three delegations were able, as a result of the conversations, to arrive at a more complete understanding of their respective points of view.

2. The three delegations agreed that the measures about to be taken should not result in priority being given to the rehabilitation of Germany over that of the democratic countries of Europe. They consider it necessary that German resources should contribute to the general rehabilitation of Europe.

3. The three delegations recognize that disarmament, demilitarization and democratization of Germany remain indispensable to security and that the plans envisaged for the Anglo-American zones do not prejudice such guarantees in this respect as may be established in the future.

4. In particular, the United Kingdom and United States Delegations explained that the plan for the management and control of the Ruhr mines which had been communicated to the French Delegation does not prejudge the future status of these mines, and that it would not constitute an obstacle to the adoption of such measures as might be judged necessary to prevent the Ruhr from again becoming an instrument of aggression, or to the adoption of such measures as might be established to assure to other countries access to its products. The French Delegation took note of these explanations and reserved the position of its government with regard to the arrangements for the management and control of the mines.

5. The French Delegation set forth the main reservations it wished to make relating to certain figures in the United Kingdom-United States level-of-industry plan, particularly as regards machine tools and basic chemical products and the capacities retained in certain other industries.

6. The United Kingdom and the United States Delegations pointed out that the capacities had been carefully estimated by normal methods and that the fixing of the capacities enables a programme to be established for the identification of plants and equipment for removal as reparations as soon as practicable.

7. The three delegations agreed that the measures about to be taken by the United Kingdom and United States commanders-in-chief do not prejudge quadripartite decisions of the Council of Foreign Ministers in respect to the level of industry for Germany as a whole or such industrial limitations as may be imposed by the peace settlement.

8. The French Delegation emphasized the importance which its government attached to having assurances, relating to the progressive character of German rehabilitation mentioned in paragraph 2 above, embodied in a concrete agreement with special reference to the distribution of Ruhr coal and coke, those resources being essential to European heavy industry. The French Delegation has asked that there should be an adjustment of the present arrangements to permit of a greater proportion of coke in the present export allocations and that there should be a review of the sliding scale agreement for Ruhr coal and coke exports with a view to extending it beyond the present figures. On the understanding that the coal available for consumption in the Anglo-American zones of Germany as a result of the present sliding scale would not be diminished, the United Kingdom and United States Delegations have agreed that the French proposals should be discussed forthwith in Berlin.

9. The United Kingdom and United States Delegations stated the reasons why they could not postpone the publication of the plan for the level of industry in the Anglo-American zones of Germany until the conclusion of the discussions referred to above, and informed the French Delegation that the plan would be published in Berlin on August 29th.

10. The French Delegation took note of this statement and gave the reasons why, for its part, it could not withdraw its objections pending a satisfactory outcome of the proposed discussions.

Source: Communiqué on Discussions between Representatives of the United Kingdom, United States, and French governments in London, Relating to the Level of Industry in the Combined Anglo-American Zones and the Management and Control of the Ruhr mines (August 28, 1947), in United States Department of State, Germany 1947–1949: The Story in Documents. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, p. 356; reprinted in Beata Ruhm von Oppen, ed., Documents on Germany under Occupation, 1945–1954. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1955, pp. 238–39.