Extracts from a confidential report from William Warnock
to Seán Murphy (Dublin)
(Confidential)

[matter omitted]

Herr von Brentano was extremely cordial during our conversation, which lasted for about fifteen minutes, but he did not allow the conversation find its way into any controversial channels. He did say, however, that, in view of the firm belief of the Government of the Federal Republic in the necessity for maintaining a united front of the nations of Western Europe, members of the Government parties had in public speeches shown restraint in references to recent events in the Near East. They regretted the action taken by the British and French in Egypt. They felt, however, that their main task should not be to criticise, but rather to attempt to recover as quickly as possible the ground which had been lost. If disunity in Western Europe were allowed grow the only people who would gain from it would be the Communists and their sympathisers.

[matter omitted]

A few days afterwards, I was received by Professor Walter Hallstein,¹ the Secretary of State of the Foreign Office. The position of Secretary of State does not correspond exactly with that of the Secretary of an Irish department. The Secretary of State is entitled, for example, in the absence of his Minister to speak in Parliament, not alone to answer questions but also to take part in debates on matters of policy. It is for that reason by no means clear that, if the Government were to go out of office tomorrow, their successors would be prepared to leave the present Secretaries of State of the various ministries in their present assignments.

I remarked to Professor Hallstein that I had read in the newspapers that several prominent politicians had spoken in favour of limited contacts, confined mainly to commercial affairs, with the Eastern European ‘satellite’ countries and I asked him if he could give me any indication of the Government’s views in that connection. He answered that it would undoubtedly be an advantage for the Federal Republic to have some kind of relations with those countries but that the advantage would be on the political rather than on the economic side. He did not think that under existing conditions much trade could be carried on with Eastern Europe, as countries in that part of the world no longer had any separate economic life. They were merely links in the chain of the economy of the USSR into which they had been forcibly incorporated.

Because of recent happenings in Poland and Hungary, people in those countries might well feel encouraged to strive for some measure of political independence. The Government of the Federal Republic has an interest in knowing what the feeling of the peoples behind the Iron Curtain really is. The real difficulty in making contact with the ‘satellite’ governments is that they all recognise the so-called German Democratic Republic as a sovereign state. The Government of the Federal Republic has made it quite clear since its establishment that it will have nothing to do with the puppet government of the Soviet Zone. It could not, therefore, send diplomatic representatives to the capitals of countries whose governments had full relations with the rulers of the Soviet Zone. I gathered, nevertheless, that it is not impossible that ways and means of making contact with the ‘satellite’ countries might, at some time, be considered by the Federal Government.

Professor Hallstein said that they had entered into diplomatic relations with the Government of the Soviet Union last year because they realised that it would be impossible to achieve German unity without Russian consent. The Russians had been glad to send an ambassador to Bonn. The first Ambassador, Mr. Sorin,² met with disappointment everywhere. He endeavoured to appeal to the people over the heads of the leading politicians of both the Government and the Opposition, but he had been constantly snubbed by all. The Ambassador was particularly disappointed at the attitude of the German Socialist Party. The Socialist Party was never averse to the establishment of relations with the Soviet Union, but seeing what has happened to Socialist parties in Central and Eastern Europe, they have been uncompromising in their hostility to Communism. Any hopes the Ambassador may have had that a Socialist government in the Federal Republic might be favourably disposed towards Russia were rudely dashed. Mr. Sorin was recalled after a short time. His successor, Mr. Smirnow,³ who arrived a few weeks ago, seems to be making a better impression.

Professor Hallstein emphasised that the Government always had in mind the interests of the Germans living in the Soviet Zone. For that reason they are careful not to do anything which might cause serious economic difficulties for the Zone. In some cases, they have even asked the Western Powers to relax their embargo on the export of certain materials to Communist controlled countries, so that trade with Eastern Germany may not be disturbed. He did not see any immediate prospect of re-unification. The Soviet Government seemed to think that it would be dangerous for them to make any concessions in Eastern Germany. No doubt they felt that if a more democratic form of government were allowed operate in their zone, other peoples behind the Iron Curtain would expect to receive similar concessions, and the international position of the Soviet Union would be appreciably weakened.

I had an excellent impression of Professor Hallstein and look forward to meetings with him in the future.

[matter omitted]

Germany is for me a very changed place as compared with the country which I knew during my period of duty in Berlin from 1938 to 1944.⁴ Symptomatic of the great outward change is the fact that the few grey-clad soldiers of the new Bundeswehr whom one sees in the streets are looked at by passers-by almost with amusement. How deep the changes have gone I cannot, of course, say. I have been very struck, I must say, by the determination of the Government to check as far as possible outbursts of anti-British or anti-French feeling. The American Ambassador, Dr. James Conant, said to me the other day that the week following the Anglo-French intervention in Egypt has been his worst in Germany since the rejection by the French two years ago of the plan for a European Defence Community. The Ambassador praised the Chancellor highly for his patience and steadfastness in pursuing his ideal of a united Western Europe.