740.00119 Control (Hungary)/7–347
The Chief of the United States Representation on the
Allied Control Commission for Hungary (Weems) to
the Chargé in Hungary (Bigelow)1
secret
[Budapest,] 24 June 1947.
Dear Mr. Bigelow: Acknowledgment is made of
your note of 14 June 1947 with reference to the Department of State’s
request for certain information in regard to misuse of the Allied
Control Commission by the Soviet Representation.2
In this connection I would like to call your attention to the fact that,
while the Allied Control Commission has been of assistance to American
nationals in various matters, in my opinion it has had very little
effect on the control and direction of the Government of Hungary. This
is the principal matter concerning Hungary, in which the American
Representation has had no voice whatsoever. The Soviet Chairman and the
Soviet Minister, Mr. Pushkin, have directly and through the Communist
Party of Hungary, taken unilateral actions daily in this regard. On
major Hungarian Government decisions, approval—formal or informal—of
Soviet authorities’ had to be obtained. This included cabinet
appointments and appointments at least of that of state secretaries and
diplomatic representatives. It also includes agreements with other
governments, such as trade, air and various types of other international
agreements. Matters concerning the Hungarian Army under
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the Armistice Agreement and the Allied
Control Commission Statutes were also subject to Soviet Allied Control
Commission supervision. These various matters have been handled without
consultation of or any reference whatsoever to the British and American
Representatives. They have been handled in such a way that it was not
possible to place them on the agenda of the Allied Control Commission.
They have been accomplished by the Soviets secretly by personal
interview with various Hungarian Ministers and state officials and have
succeeded because of fear of the Soviet Occupational Forces. This fear
can be defined as fear of loss of governmental position or fear of loss
of personal liberty through arrest by Soviet authorities or Hungarian
Communist-controlled police on trumped-up charges. Before the crisis,
which ended in the resignation of Mr. Nagy and Mr. Gyöngyösi and others,
two ministers lost their positions due to the Soviet interference. Many
Smallholder deputies have been expelled from the Smallholders Party on
Communist Party insistence. The opposition party newspaper was
suppressed by the Communist-controlled Trade Union Council. Members of
the Smallholders and other persons in public life expressing
anti-Communistic views have disappeared and finally through conspiracy
charges, the character of the entire government has been changed. The
Smallholders Party was not given a chance to elect a prime minister, for
which they had the right, being holders of an absolute majority. In turn
they were given a recommendation to accept as prime minister one of
their party having thus only nominally and for outward appearance the
post of prime ministry, a minority party is in control of Hungary.
I consider these unilateral actions on the part of the Soviets as far
more important than the specific instances of misue and unilateral
actions by Soviets which are listed on the inclosure herewith.
Sincerely yours,
Geo. H. Weems
Brigadier General, U.S. Army
Memorandum by the Chief of the United States
Representation on the Allied Control Commission for Hungary
(Weems)
[Enclosure]
secret
[Budapest,] 24 June 1947.
Subject: Instances of misuse of Allied Control
Commission by arbitrary exercise of authority by Soviet element of
the Allied Control Commission for Hungary.
It is pointed out that unilateral action on the part of the Soviet
element of the Allied Control Commission, or in the name of the
Soviet High Command, has been the normal procedure. It should be
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noted, however, that the
terms of the Armistice Agreement with Hungary give broad authority
to both the Chairman of the Allied Control Commission and the Soviet
Occupational Forces.
The cases listed below indicate the means by which the Soviet element
of the Allied Control Commission has been able to circumvent the
desires of the American and British Representations.
- 1.
- 14 May 1945 information received from Hungarian sources
revealed additional Soviet demands for factories, machinery
and commodities as reparations under Article 12 of the
Armistice Agreement. These demands had been made by the
Russians in the name of the Allied Control Commission
without consulting the American or British Representations.
General Key informed the War Department by cable 19 May 1945
and by letter-courier to Chief of Staff inclosing demands
and related documents of the History of the Mission from
1945 to July 1946; also a letter to the War Department
informing them of Soviet failure to observe the Statutes of
the Allied Control Commission.3
- 2.
- The question of the size of the Hungarian Army during the
Armistice period was raised at a meeting on 15 November
1945, when it appeared that instructions had been issued by
the Soviet staff giving authority for the Hungarian Army to
be of a certain size, and this had been done without
consulting either the British or United States
Representatives. The Chairman, Marshal Voroshilov, was
understood to say that this had been done in error, and he
then proceeded to have a report read out giving a mass of
figures regarding the proposed Hungarian Army. He then asked
the British and American Representatives to agree, and,
quite naturally, they asked for time to examine the figures.
However, the Chairman would not agree to this and said that
he proposed to give instructions for the proposed
organization to be effective immediately.4
- 3.
- Early in 1946 both the American and British
Representatives urged that an investigation should be made
into the serious economic situation in Hungary, but this was
refused.
- 4.
- In August 1946 the question arose concerning the purge of
Fascist and Reactionary organizations, etc., resulting from
a letter passed to the Hungarian Government by the Deputy
Chairman of the Allied Control Commission. The explanation
was that the information was passed at the request of the
Soviet High Command. Allied Control Commission meetings of
15 July, 24 July and 15 August refer to the matter.5
- 5.
- In the fall of 1946 permission was given by the Soviet
element of the Allied Control Commission for the formation
of the Hungarian Freedom Party without consulting the
Americans or British.6
- 6.
- Early in 1947 the Hungarian police were ordered in the
name of the Allied Control Commission to suppress the
publication of Count Ciano’s Diary. At first the Acting
Chairman attempted to explain that it probably was caused by
a member of his staff calling the police headquarters and
inquiring about the publication of this book. At later
meetings of the Allied Control Commission it was clearly
evident that the Soviet element of the Allied Control
Commission had ordered a suppression of this book. Sviridov
stated he was opposed to its publication and would refer the
matter to Marshal Voroshilov for decision. No action has
been taken nor is any expected.
- 7.
- The Soviets’ actions in regard to air agreements are well
known. Sviridov’s stand has been that only the Occupational
Forces who control the air fields can permit the Hungarian
Government to negotiate air agreements. Notwithstanding, the
Soviets have formed the Maszovlet Company, Hungarian-Soviet
civil air company. The Soviets have also permitted the
Hungarian Government to negotiate agreements with certain
other countries but not with the United States or
Britain.
- 8.
- In early 1947 Sviridov stated he had personally given
approval to the Hungarian Government to resume diplomatic
relations in the name of the Allied Control Commission and
without prior discussion with British or Americans. He
stated he did not consider this “a principal
question”.
- 9.
- Request was made in May 1947 through the Chairman of the
Allied Control Commission to make certain visits to
Hungarian Army units. Sviridov replied “the statutes of the
Allied Control Commission do not give the right to your
officers to visit parts and units of the Hungarian Army. On
these grounds the Command of the Occupational Forces cannot
give approval to visit one of the Hungarian Divisions”. This
is clearly contrary to paragraph 1 (d) of the Armistice terms and paragraph 6 (d) of the Statutes of the Allied
Control Commission.
- 10.
- In a meeting of the Allied Control Commission 18 June 1947
the Acting Chairman stated that the Hungarian Minister for
Defense had no topographical section and had no map-making
equipment. It was further stated that the Minister of
Defense reports that all maps were taken out by Szálasi’s
regime. It is known that a large quantity of maps of varying
scales are stored in the Hungarian Army Map Service
building.
- 11.
- The Soviets have taken over certain properties claimed by
American interests. A specific instance is that of eight
hundred seven (807) patents, property of German subsidiaries
of IT&T. The Hungarian section of the mixed
Soviet-Hungarian Reparations Commission informed the Soviets
of the American Legation’s letter of 12 December 1946
setting forth our claim. The Soviet section nevertheless
insisted upon taking over the patents.
- 12.
- In spite of the provisions of the Armistice terms and the
Statutes of the Allied Control Commission, the Soviets have
not permitted free movement of the American element of the
Allied Control Commission in Hungary. Hungarian nationals
are permitted free movement.
- 13.
- In spite of repeated protests the Soviet Occupational
Forces controlled the MAORT Oil Company throughout practically the
entire period of the Armistice. Control by Russian
authorities was not released until 1 March 1947. Likewise
they have used storage plants of the Vacuum Oil
Company.
- 14.
- The Soviets have failed to transmit to the American
Representation data of interest to the United States
Government as provided in paragraph 6 (a) and paragraph 6 (c) of
the Statutes of the Allied Control Commission. The minutes
of the meeting of the Allied Control Commission 18 June
19477
give full account of British and American views in regard to
documents passed to the Hungarian Government by the Acting
Chairman in the case of Béla Kovács.
