"Stalin's Note" is the western name of the diplomatic document ( note ) of the USSR , dated March 10, 1952, on the unification of Germany .
The “ Stalin Note” also known as the “March Note” or “Peace Note” , issued on March 10, 1952, put forward by the USSR , which invited all occupying powers ( Great Britain , France , the USA , the USSR) to immediately and with the participation of the German government begin the development of a peaceful agreement with Germany, the draft of which was attached. The USSR was ready to agree to the unification of the country, to allow the existence of the German army, military industry and the free activity of democratic parties and organizations, but on condition that Germany did not participate in military blocs .
This led to the “Battle of the Notes” between the Western powers and the Union, as a result of which the West actually rejected the Soviet proposal, insisting that a united Germany should be free to join NATO .
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Western powers saw in the Union’s actions aggression, expressed in an attempt to impede the process of West European integration of Germany, as well as the threat that a free and demilitarized Germany could be “drawn into the Soviet orbit ”.
The Stalin Note, also known as the March Note, was a document handed over to representatives of the Western Allied Powers (the United Kingdom , France and the United States ) from the zone of Soviet occupation on March 10, 1952. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin put forward a proposal to reunite and neutralize Germany without any conditions for economic policy and with guarantees of “human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, the press, religious beliefs, political convictions, the activities of democratic parties and organizations.”
James Warburg , a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , speaking to the committee on March 28, 1952, noted that the Soviet proposal could be a bluff, but "our government is afraid to call it a bluff because of fear that it might not turn out to be it" and lead to “free, neutral and demilitarized Germany,” which could be “thwarted into Soviet orbit." This led to an exchange of notes between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, which ultimately ended with the requirement of Western countries to grant a united Germany the right to freely join the European Defense Community and be remilitarized, which was rejected by Stalin.
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Western allies at the time called this step of Stalin aggressive actions that tried to stop the reintegration of West Germany. Subsequently, however, disputes arose about whether the chance of reunion was missed. Six years after the exchange, two German ministers, Thomas Dehler and Gustav Heinemann , accused Adenauer of not exploring the possibility of reunification.
Political Background
After the end of World War II, Germany was divided into western and eastern zones. By 1949, Germany had parliamentary democracy in the West, called the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany - originally BRD, usually “ West Germany ”), and a communist state in the East, called the German Democratic Republic (GDR, usually “ East Germany ”). The possibility of reunification of these two halves arose illegally from a Western point of view, because Stalin and the East German Communists did not want to allow free elections in the GDR. The SED was afraid to lose power if free elections were held. At that time in history, Germany had not yet signed a peace treaty on World War II because of hostility between the three Western powers and the Soviet Union. He will not sign it until the “ Two Plus Four Agreement ” in 1990.
In early 1950, the United States began negotiations to conclude a peace treaty with Japan , which would also provide them with military bases in Japan for a long period of time. Perhaps this influenced Stalin’s decision to support North Korea when it attacked pro-American South Korea . The Korean War (1950-1953) surprised the United States and led to a dull split in the Cold War .
In discussions of reunification, East Germany emphasized the importance of a peace treaty, and West Germany emphasized the importance of free elections for all of Germany. Chancellor Adenauer did not believe that reunification was possible under the given conditions. He and his administration adhered to a course linking the Federal Republic of Germany with the Western bloc, especially regarding military policy. In particular, Adenauer believed that Germany should support an army that could be integrated into larger Western European armed forces. The Treaty of the European Defense Community was signed in May 1952 after the rejection of the Stalin note, but the proposed European Defense Community was never created due to the rejection of this treaty by the French National Assembly .
Stalin and the GDR condemned the creation of the EOS, despite the fact that the GDR created its own paramilitary forces under the name “ Kasernierte Volkspolizei ”. Stalin's notes can be seen as a way to drag out propaganda activities for East Germany so that the reunion does not take place.
On September 15, 1951, the government of the German Democratic Republic proposed to discuss the holding of elections at a meeting with the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the West German government refused to negotiate with the SED, because that would mean de facto recognition of East Germany as an equal country. Contact was always maintained through the western powers. Instead, West Germany wanted the United Nations Commission to check if free, all-German elections are possible.
In connection with the efforts of the Western powers, this commission met in December 1951. However, East Germany refused to let them in. In their opinion, the possibility of free elections should be explored by a commission of four occupying powers.
See also
- Berlin Wall