Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III

740.00119 Control (Austria)/9–2945: Telegram

The United States Military Commissioner for Austria (Clark) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff ²³

[Vienna,] September 29, 1945.

War Series PV 7803. My views with respect to the extension of the authority of the Renner government are as follows:

The position taken by the representative of the United States on the Allied Council for Austria should rest on, (1) the basic interests of the United States, and (2) our international commitments. With respect to (1), our interests reside in the reestablishment of a free and independent Austria and in making a success of four-power international cooperation in Austria. With respect to (2), our international obligations are to be found in the Moscow Declaration, the EAC protocol on control machinery,²⁴ and in the Potsdam Communiqué. Specifically, the EAC protocol provides that one of the primary tasks of the Allied Council is to secure the establishment as soon as possible of a central administrative machine, and the Potsdam Communiqué stated that the Soviets, British and the United States agreed to examine the question of the extension of authority of the Austrian provisional government to all of Austria after the entry of American and British forces into Vienna.

In my opinion there is no disagreement at this time among the four occupying powers, with the possible exception of the British, on the proposition that an Austrian central administrative machine is an urgent necessity. This same view is strongly supported by Austrian public opinion. The question presented is whether to utilize the Renner government as such a machine.

In favor of such action it may be stated that:

(1) The Renner regime is made up of officials of the Socialist, Communist and Peoples Parties, the three democratic political groups in Austria.

(2) The consensus of opinion is that it commands the confidence and sympathy of the people to as great an extent as would any other non-elected group.

(3) Insofar as can be judged from here, it would be as acceptable to foreign public opinion as any other non-elected group.

(4) By and large, it is composed of patriotic and able men, several of whom have demonstrated capacities of leadership and gained national and provincial reputations prior to the annexation. All are free of any Nazi taint.

(5) Although hurriedly constituted in April 1945 and of a coalition character, it has to date maintained admirable unity in its ranks.

(6) With some exceptions, its legislative record is good and the vision and force displayed under extremely adverse conditions in planning for Austrian reconstruction commendable.

(7) Its friendly relations with the Soviets place it in a favorable position, more so probably than any Austrian government that could be formed at this time, in the matter of the reestablishment of historical and traditional ties of all kinds with Czechoslovakia and the Danubian area generally.

(8) From the first day of its existence it openly proclaimed its intention to submit to modification through consultation with the western provinces at the earliest practical date.

(9) In harmony with No. 8, it has within the past few days successfully held a Laender Conference, composed of eight delegates from each of the nine Austrian provinces. These delegates represented the three democratic political parties and the provincial government of each province. The Conference, therefore, as nearly represents an expression of the peoples’ will as could be had without the holding of an election.

(10) Among the principal results of the Laender Conference were the following:

(a) Expression in a resolution of a desire for speedy recognition of the Renner government.

(b) Of seven new appointees to the Cabinet (two Cabinet posts and five Under Secretaries) the Peoples Party obtained five, the Socalists one, and the Communists one. This meets, in a way, the previous complaints of the western provinces, where the Peoples Party formerly predominated, that they should have more representation in the government.

(c) Every province in the U.S., British and French zones is represented through these new appointments.

(d) The controversial matter of having the police under a Communist Minister of Interior was settled through a formula establishing two new agencies. First, a commission will be appointed with jurisdiction in all questions of public safety composed of two members of the Peoples Party, two Socialists, and one Communist. It is to be headed by a new Under Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior from the Peoples Party. The commission functions in agreement with and under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Interior (Communist), and its decisions must be unanimous. Incidentally, this latter provision follows the standard practice of the Renner government which requires unanimous decisions at Cabinet level. The members of the commission have the right of appeal to the Political Cabinet.

Second, three-man advisory councils will be created with one member from each of the democratic parties. These councils, of which there will be nine, will act in an advisory capacity to the security offices (Sicherheitsdirektionen) in each of the nine Austrian provinces.

(e) It suggested November 25 as the date for a national election for the provincial diets and a Nationalrat. The preparations for and supervision of such elections are to be entrusted to the previously mentioned five-man commission acting under the chairmanship of the new Under Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior (Peoples Party). Its decisions must be unanimous; in case of disagreement the Political Cabinet decides.

Against the utilization it may be argued that:

(1) The Renner government was formed and has up until the present functioned under Soviet control, whether nominal or otherwise. It is thus suspected of being unduly susceptible to Soviet influence. However, it did resist Soviet pressure for an Austro-Soviet oil contract.

(2) Although Communist strength in Austria was always negligible and no Communist ever was appointed or elected to any high office, it contains three Communists of Cabinet rank, two of them holding powerful and important posts, namely Interior and Education.

(3) The police being under the Communist Minister of the Interior has caused some concern and it may be argued that the new commission and the three-man advisory councils are no guarantee of the removal of such dangers as may exist. This question is being given further study. Apropos of the matter of influencing elections, which is frequently mentioned in connection with control of the police, there are various ways this could be done in Austria today without requiring any help whatsoever from the police. For example, favoritism in such matters as automobiles, gasoline, travel permits, food and clothing rations, and glass for shattered window panes.

(4) The Laender Conference only changed the government by adding new people and new offices to it. None of the old appointees were removed. (The Minister of Agriculture, a non-controversial figure, resigned on account of ill health, and was replaced by a member of the same party.)

(5) The Under Secretary counter-signature device was retained. This has been objected to abroad but, in spite of the administrative difficulties involved, it has worked well in Austria, providing as it does effective intra-party check.

To sum up, the Renner regime in its composition and on its record is probably as satisfactory from all standpoints as any other group that could be formed. Given the urgent need of an Austrian central administrative machine to facilitate the work of the Allied Commission, it is my considered opinion that the United States should agree to the extension of the authority of the Renner government throughout Austria providing we can satisfy ourselves that the present police set up will permit free elections to be held. The United States should couple such agreement with a definite undertaking on the part of the Renner government to hold a national election for a new government before the end of 1945. This will insure that within three months the Austrian people can have a government of their own choosing, and this very fact renders less important any objections that may be had to the United States taking an affirmative position on the utilization of the Renner regime.²⁵

In a following cable I will set forth the British position.²⁶

Clark

23. A copy of this telegram was sent for information to the Secretary of State.
24. The agreement between the Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of the French Republic on control machinery in Austria, signed at a meeting of the European Advisory Commission in London on July 4, 1945, is printed in Conference of Berlin (Potsdam), vol. i, p. 351. For documentation regarding the agreement on control machinery, see ibid., pp. 347–356; ibid., vol. ii, pp. 668–685; and ante, pp. 1–160 ff. passim.
25. In telegram 268, September 30, from Vienna, Mr. Erhardt reported that he fully concurred in General Clark’s views as set forth in this telegram (740.00119–Control (Austria)/9–3045).
26. War Series PV-7824, September 30, p. 617.