pay no normal taxes-a fact which has so far deprived the Austrian Government and people of fully half a billion Schillings of revenue. They live outside the law; they ignore all Austrian social security legislation. They drain off Austrian natural and industrial wealth to the East-billions of Schillings' worth within the last 4 yearsand bring back nothing in return. It is imperialism of the crudest sort. It is not only a monopoly, but a colonial monopoly, gutting the central part of Europe, and this in the year 1951.

I find that the antiquated Soviet charges of Austrian army formations have been well aired in past Allied Council meetings. I believe the U.S. High Commissioner aptly presented the U.S. viewpoint in the Allied Council meeting of April 28 last year. The fact that 5 years after these spurious assertions were begun finds Austria without a single soldier gives ample proof of the counterfeit nature of these empty allegations. I need only refer the Soviet Element to the speech made by Foreign Minister Gruber last Saturday for a very effective reply to these charges. The training of the gendarmerie, to which the Soviets objected, is only that which any modern police force receives. The Soviet disappointment at the existence of an efficient police and gendarmerie is understandable, since these law enforcement agencies constitute the principal obstacles to the promotion of internal disorders so necessary to the objectives of Soviet puppets whose loyalty lies not with Austria.

I would like to discuss the kind of peace that reigns in the Soviet zone. In the last 6 years, the Soviet zone and sector of Vienna have been the scene of hundreds of abductions of Austrian citizens, all of whom have vanished without known charge or trial into the darkness of the interior.

Is it "peace" when an Austrian police inspector, Marek, is suddenly and secretly whisked away-and when 3 years pass before the Soviet Element casually admits his abduction? Or take the case of Paul Katscher, also seized and deported back in 1948. He died in captivity that same year. How do we know? Because the Soviet Element finally got around to admitting it-2 years later. In the Soviet zone last month, a tank company of the Soviet army went out for a shoot and casually blasted a terrified little village named Breitenbrunn.

I was struck with the peculiar similarity of General Sviridov's statement and that made by the Soviet Element on January 16, 1948. From a close comparison, they appear to be the same barren tirade. Yet in spite of all the dire predictions of Austria's military might, we find 31⁄2 years later a country completely devoid of national military forces, and instead, devoting its energies entirely to peaceful pursuits. Such cannot be said of Austria's eastern neighbors who, under the compulsion of the U. S. S. R. and against their own wishes, are now engaged in an intensive rearmament, contrary to the peace treaties to which they acceded.1

1 Treaties of Feb. 10, 1947, with Rumania (TIAS 1649; 61 Stat. pt. 2, p. 1757); Bulgaria (TIAS 1650; 61 Stat., pt. 2, p. 1915); and Hungary (TIAS 1651; 61 Stat., pt. 2, p. 2065).

U.S.S.R. CHALLENGED TO ACT ON AUSTRIAN TREATY

General Sviridov's statement is replete with inaccuracies, misleading statements, and baseless allegations, designed for the sole purpose of trying to further frustrate a good Austrian people who have been subject to Soviet obstructionism and delaying tactics for the past 6 years. The Austrian people are fed up with the occupation. They want the occupying forces to leave the country, and they should leave, and they should have left a long time ago. If there is one iota of sincerity in the Soviet statements, then I challenge them to meet with the Western Powers at the earliest possible moment to conclude the State Treaty so that all of the occupying forces may withdraw from this country forthwith. We are sincere in this statement. It is now up to the Soviets to prove their sincerity, and make it possible for the hundreds of prisoners of war and the kidnapped Austrians to return to their families.

The United States has full confidence in the Austrian Government and the Austrian people, and it is committed to the policy of cooperating with them in rehabilitating their country and in reestablishing their independence and sovereignty, which was promised to them as long ago as the Moscow Conference of 1943. We will not deviate one moment from this policy.

51. SOVIET CHARGES AGAINST AUSTRIA: Instruction From the Secretary of State to the United States Representative on the Allied Councii,2 May 20, 19543

The attention of the world is concentrated primarily on the Geneva conference and Indochina at this time. Because of that, I wish to express my strong feeling that recent events in Austria should not go unnoticed. The preservation of the authority of the freely elected Austrian Government throughout Austria, in accordance with the Allied Control Agreement, is, I believe, a matter of serious concern to all of us who live under similarly elected democratic governments. As you have reported, the Soviet High Commissioner in Austria on May 17 peremptorily summoned the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of Austria to his headquarters and there delivered a lengthy and virulent condemnation of the Austrian Government. This condemnation, which is clearly without foundation, included accusations of hostile and subversive actions against the Soviet occupation. The accusations also included those of failure to comply with the provisions of the Allied Control Agreement and violation of the decisions of the Allied Council. Moreover, the Soviet High Com

See the Allied declaration of Nov. 1, 1943; A Decade of American Foreign Policy, p. 11.

2 Charles W. Yost.

Department of State Bulletin, May 31, 1954, p. 824.

Agreement of June 28, 1946; A Decade of American Foreign Policy, pp. 614-620.

missioner intensified the allegations, which the Soviet Foreign Minister made officially at the Berlin conference as an excuse for refusing to grant Austria her long-promised independence, of Austrian plans for remilitarization and for an Anschluss with Germany. Perhaps most revealing of all were the charges against Mr. Helmer, the Austrian Minister of the Interior, and the threat that should the Austrian Government fail to take corrective action, then the Soviets themselves will be forced to take appropriate measures.

now

These efforts are clearly meant to intimidate the government of a free people. The Soviets had already made plain at Berlin that they intend to remain in Austria indefinitely. They are threatening to strengthen and expand their control in their zone of occupation. I was gratified to note that the formal charges of the representatives of the Kremlin were denied by the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor in the best tradition of the courageous Austrian post-war Government coalition. If there have been Austrian expressions of dissatisfaction over the nine-year occupation of a liberated country, surely the Soviet Government should find them neither surprising nor a threat to its own security.

The Soviet High Commissioner gave the appearance of speaking on behalf of the Allied Council. I know of no foundation for the Soviet charges, but in order to remove any possible Soviet misunderstanding of the United States attitude towards its latest actions, I, therefore, instruct you to request at the next meeting of the Allied Council consideration of the Soviet allegations and threats. The Allied Council has not only powers in Austria but responsibilities toward her government and people.

Any threat of further limitation to Austrian independence is a matter of grave concern not only to the Austrian Government but also to the other three occupying powers. Indeed such a threat could not but be a cause of concern to the entire free world.

52. AUSTRO-AMERICAN RELATIONS: Joint Communiqué, November 26, 1954 2

The visit of the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Julius Raab, to Washington has provided a most welcome opportunity for high officials of the United States to become personally acquainted with the Chancellor and to review with him the international situation as a whole. Matters of mutual interest to the governments of Austria and the United States were discussed. These discussions which began with the Chancellor's talk with the President of the United States

1 See Mr. Molotov's statement of Feb. 12, 1954; Foreign Ministers Meeting: Berlin Discussions, January 25-February 18, 1954 (Department of State publication 5399; 1954), pp. 180-183.

2 Department of State Bulletin, Dec. 13, 1954, p. 910.

and Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, on November 22 have been cordial, informative, and constructive.

The prospects for a Treaty for Austria were reviewed and it was agreed that both governments would continue with determination to work together for a State Treaty which would provide for the withdrawal of all occupation troops from Austria at an early and fixed date. It was noted that the United States, Great Britain, and France had on November 18 [19] submitted to the Secretary General of the United Nations a report of their efforts to achieve an Austrian Treaty.1

The Chancellor reviewed the political and economic situation existing in Austria today. The stability and progress achieved by Austria, in spite of the devastations of war and the burdens imposed by the continued occupation of the country, were recognized by the representatives of the United States as being a remarkable and concrete proof of the courage, resourcefulness and fortitude of the Austrian coalition government and its people. The Chancellor outlined his plans and hopes for the further development of Austria's hydroelectric potential for the mutual benefit of Austria and neighboring states. Further development of these plans will be followed with great interest by United States authorities.

The Chancellor held useful conversations with the Departments of State and of Defense on the question of further alleviating the burden of occupation by the release of requisitioned housing presently held by the United States authorities in Austria. Plans to this end now under consideration in the Department of Defense were reviewed.

The question of claims by American citizens against the Austrian government stemming from the Nazi occupation of Austria was discussed. It was agreed that a prompt and just settlement of these claims should be sought.

The discussions held during the Chancellor's visit re-emphasized the friendly relationship which exists between the governments of Austria and the United States. By this visit the ties which link the people of Austria to the people of the United States have been further strengthened.

53. AUSTRIAN NEUTRALITY: Note From the Secretary of State to the Austrian Ambassador,2 December 6, 1955 3

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of Austria and has the honor to acknowledge receipt of the note of the Embassy of Austria dated November 14, 1955, informing him that the Austrian Parliament approved on October 26,

1 See infra, pp. 1877-1881.

2 Karl Gruber.

Department of State Bulletin, Dec. 19, 1955, p. 1012.

For the full text of the Austrian note, see ibid., pp. 1011-1012.

415900-57-vol. 2

1955, the federal constitutional law relative to the neutrality of Austria, which entered into force November 5, 1955.1

The Secretary of State has the honor to inform the Austrian Ambassador, in compliance with the request expressed in the note under acknowledgement, that the Government of the United States has taken cognizance of this constitutional law and recognizes the perpetual neutrality of Austria as defined therein.

D. NEGOTIATIONS WITH OTHER NATIONS REGARDING GERMANY, 1950-1952

54. STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES HIGH COMMISSIONER,2 FEBRUARY 28, 1950 3

3

I have on two recent occasions in Berlin stated that the political unification of Germany on the basis of free all-German elections is a major objective of United States policy.

The aspiration of the Germans for unity and freedom is now challenged by the Communists of the Soviet Zone, who offer the device of a so-called "National Front" as a means to "democratic unity." Elections in the East Zone now scheduled for October 15 are proclaimed as affording an opportunity of expressing the people's will. But only one kind of freedom will be permitted expression at these elections: freedom to vote for a single list of candidates selected in advance only by the Party elite which executes dictates of the Soviet Union. In contrast to this travesty, the people of Western Germany enjoy the political freedoms so conspicuously absent in the East: the right to engage freely in party activity and the right to vote freely for any candidate.

We understand the universal German urge for unification and condemn the exploitation of that feeling by dishonest devices such as the

1 The constitutional law provided as follows:

"Article I

"(1) For the purpose of the lasting maintenance of her independence externally, and for the purpose of the inviolability of her territory, Austria declares of her own free will her perpetual neutrality. Austria will maintain and defend this with all means at her disposal.

"(2) For the securing of this purpose in all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory.

"Article II

"The Federal Government is charged with the execution of this Federal Constitutional Law."

2 John J. McCloy.

3 Documents on German Unity, vol. I (Frankfurt, 1951), p. 147.