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

740.00119 Control (Germany)/10–345: Telegram

The United States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State

Berlin, October 3, 1945—7 p.m.
[Received 7:20 p.m.]

680. At the request of General Clay, I made a visit to Munich last week for the purpose of investigating the newspaper reports and other criticisms which had been developing regarding the Bavarian Government’s alleged failure to de-Nazify. Most of the newspaper agitation was inspired by Victor Bernstein of PM,⁴ Ray Daniell of New York Times, Ed Morgan of Chicago Daily News and Carl Levin of New York Herald Tribune.

It has been apparent for some time past that General Patton⁵ and members of his staff might not be in sympathy with some features of our policy, especially de-Nazification. At the same time, it has been difficult for Frankfurt and Berlin often to ascertain the facts, due to lack of adequate reporting by the Bavarian Military Government detachment. With our small staff, we have not been able to cover the situation as I would have liked. Recently Parker Buhrman has been assigned to Munich and is rapidly becoming acquainted with the details of the situation.

I spent 3 days in Munich and after conversations with Patton and Military Government officers, as well as with representatives of the Social Democrat, Communist and Christian Socialist Union (formerly the Bavarian Volkspartei) groups, I recommended that Minister President Schaeffer be relieved⁶ and that immediate action should be taken to improve and strengthen the composition of the Bavarian Government. I suggested that the number of Departments be increased from 5 to 8 or possibly 9. As it has been constituted, it was not representative nor adequate to meet its responsibilities. There have been recently only 3 so-called Ministers in office—that is, Fritz Schaeffer, former Minister President who acted also as Minister of Finance; Karl Lange, Minister of Economics; and Albert Rosshaupter, Minister of Labor. The latter is a Social Democrat; Schaeffer and Lange, Bavarian Volkspartei. I had conversations with these three, as well as with Bruno Goldhammer, ostensibly the leader of the Bavarian Communist group, Joseph Mueller, leader of the Left Wing of Bavarian Volkspartei now called the Christian Social Union, and Wilhelm Hoegner, Social Democrat. After these conversations, I had intended to recommend Rosshaupter as successor to Shaeffer, on the ground that he is the senior member of the Socialist Democratic group with an excellent record, including a long and painful internment in Dachau. General Eisenhower, however, decided in favor of Hoegner. Rosshaupter, it seemed to me, was more eager to form a working coalition of the three Bavarian groups, whereas Hoegner thought that the Communist element would not as yet be prepared to assume the responsibility of office. Before my departure from Munich, Hoegner at my request promised that he would try to include respective elements from the three groups in proportion to their apparent relative popular strength. Goldhammer informed me that he doubted that his committee would be willing to have any of its members participate in the government unless we would agree to postpone the communal election in Bavaria, the target date for which is January 1; he stated the opinion that this date is far too early to permit of satisfactory organization of party activities which up to the present have been limited to the Stadtkreis level. He urged that party activity on a state basis be authorized immediately and hoped that the Communist groups would be permitted to function under a title such as Bavarian Communist Volkspartei.

Hoegner demonstrates eagerness to carry out our policies and vigorously to prosecute the policy of de-Nazification. As the Department is aware, Hoegner left Germany in June 1933 and thereafter resided in Austria and Switzerland. He was assisted returning to Munich from Zurich by the OSS on June 6, 1945.

My investigation revealed that some newspaper versions of the attitude and activities of the Bavarian Government were exaggerated. Schaeffer told me, and this seems to be borne out by the facts, that he personally had examined and approved some 5,000 questionnaires relating to Bavarian public officials, and that our Military Government detachment on review of these had only disapproved one. As the Department is also aware, Schaeffer was never a member of the National Socialist Party and, in fact, had been incarcerated himself by the Nazis in Dachau. A detailed report will be made by mail regarding the record of the recent Bavarian Government, and I shall here only mention the fact that during its tenure 49887 Bavarian Nazi officials were removed from office. It seemed to me that the public relations officers of the Third Army had failed to bring out more affirmative information about the accomplishments of the Military Government, and a more serious effort along these lines will be undertaken in the future. I also emphasized that a greater burden should be laid on the Bavarian Government in the execution of our policies and that it be given greater facilities and authority. In the judicial field, I urged that it was particularly necessary to promote the organization of the courts and the prosecution of certain arrest categories. Hoegner has manifested a particular interest in this field, and it is believed that his performance will be satisfactory. As the Department is undoubtedly aware General Patton is being relieved of the command of the Third Army. He will be replaced by Lieutenant General Lucien Truscott.

Murphy

4. New York newspaper.
5. Gen. George S. Patton, Commanding General, U.S. Third Army, occupying the Eastern Military District in Germany. Announcement had already been made of General Patton’s transfer to command of the U.S. Fifteenth Army in Germany.

6. In telegram 536, September 15, 9 p.m., from Berlin, Mr. Murphy reported General Clay’s initial reaction at a U.S. Group Control Council, Divisional Directors’ meeting that morning to the news of Fritz Schaeffer’s resignation. “He [Clay] had just received telephone news prior to the meeting that Schaeffer had resigned as Minister President of Bavaria. Schaeffer had done a good job and he did not know exactly the reasons for his resignation, but Schaeffer was a conservative, opposed to holding any elections for a period of two years, and had criticized the difficulties caused Bavarian Administration by the progress of our denazification program.” (740.00119 Control (Germany)/9–1545)

   Subsequently, however, in telegram 57, September 21, 11 a.m., from Frankfurt, Mr. Murphy related that, although G–5, USFET, had been prepared to accept the resignation, the Third Army had apparently “patched matters up.” He said that USFET had sent a representative to examine the entire question of Schaeffer’s staying on. (740.00119 Control (Germany)/9–2145)