GERMANY’S FUTURE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25088, 21 January 1947, Page 7

GERMANY’S FUTURE

Danish Memorandum To Treaty Discussions “EARLY RETURN OF NORMAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS” (N.Z. Press Association-Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, January 20. Copenhagen correspondent of “The Times” says that IL a’foreign Minister (Mr Rasmussen) at the Foreign Press Association s dinner on Sunday gave the main lines of the Danish memorandum to the London conference of the Foreign Ministers deputies on the treaties for Germany and Austria. The Minister said Denmark considered that common civil democratic freedoms and rights for all Germany’s inhabitants explicitly must be guaranteed for the non-German population within the Reich. It must be laid down that there must be no political discrimination against non-Germans, and statutes were desirable to guarantee to non-Germans the right to maintain schools in all categories. The Kiel Canal must remain open to the ships of all nations. Endeavours must be concentrated on preventing Germany from rebuilding her production of machinery which could be used as a basis for aggression. In all fields where security points were not decisive the possibility of German participation in Europe’s economic life must not be unnecessarily hampered.

Administrative apparatus should be created, making possible the early return of normal economic relations between Germany and her neighbours. It was important that no I economic discrimination should be applied in relation to Germany’s contracting parties, and that equal general access to the German area should be granted to all States.

Denmark hoped that it would be possible to procure indemnities from Germany’s running production, to provide gradual help in the economic reconstruction of the formerly occupied countries.

It was now becoming a matter of, urgency that more than 200,000 German refugees should return to Germany, because it was an unreasonable burden for Denmark to house, feed, and guard a refugee crowd equalling 5 per cent, of her whole population or corresponding to 2,000,000 German refugees in France, 2,500,000 in Britain, or 8,000,000 in the United States.

AUSTRIAN MISSION TO LONDON

The Vienna correspondent of “The Times” says that the Austrian Foreign Minister (Mr Gruber) with seven experts, including members of the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, will leaVe for London on Wednesday with members of the three Austrian political parties. The Austrian People’s Party delegate has not yet been announced, but the Socialists are sending Herr Kuref, Burgomaster of Linz, and the Communists are sending the writer and philosopher, Ernst Fischer, who returned to Vienna with the Red Army and was Education Minister in the Provisional Government.

The Austrian Legation in London has stated that the secretary-general of the Council of Foreign Ministers has invited representatives of the Austrian Government to state their views on January 29 before the Foreign Ministers’ deputies. Reuter’s diplomatic correspondent says that special deputies for Austria have sent letters to the small Powers inviting them to state their views on the treaty early next week. It is expected that Jugoslavia will be heard first and Austria next. Austria originally was not to have been heard until after the smaller Powers, including the Dominions.