COMPLETE DISARMAMENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 4 August 1945, Page 5

COMPLETE DISARMAMENT

NAZI LAWS TO BE ABOLISHED

POTSDAM DECLARATION ON GERMANY COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS London, August 2. In connection with the setting up of a Council of Foreign Ministers by the “Big Three” conference at Potsdam, the report states that the council will "be empowered to invite other members to participate in discussions when matters directly concerning them are under discussion. Other matters from time to time may be referred to the council by agreement between member Governments. Whenever the council is considering a question directly interesting a State not represented on the council such State should be invited to send representatives to participate in a study of that question. The council may adapt procedure to a particular problem under consideration. It may in some cases hold its own preliminary discussions before participation of other interested States. The council in other cases may convoke a formal conference of the States chiefly interested in seeking a solution of the particular problem. The three Governments, in accordance with the conference’s decision, each addressed an identical invitation to the Chinese and French Governments to adopt this text and join in establishing the council. The conference also considered the position of the European Advisory Commission jn the light of the agreement to establish a Council of Foreign Ministers. It noted with satisfaction that the Commission had ably discharged the principal tasks by furnishing recommendations for the terms of Germany’s unconditional surrender, for the zones of occupation in Austria and Germany, and for inter-Allied machinery in these countries. It felt that further 'work of a detailed character for co-ordination of Allied policy for the control of Germany and Austria would in future be dealt with by the Allied Control Council in Berlin and the Allied Commission in Vienna. It accordingly agreed to recommend that the European Advisory Commission be dissolved.

Allied Armies Will Occupy the Whole of Germany.

The conference reached an agreement on the political and economic principles of co-ordinated Allied policy towards defeated Germany during the period of Allied control.

The purpose of this agreement i* to carry out the Crimea declaration on Germany. German militarism and Nazism will be extirpated. The Allies will take, in agreement together now and in the future, other measures necessary to assure that Germany never again will threaten her neighbours or the peace of the world. It is not the intention of the Allies to destroy or enslave the German people.

The Allies intend that the German people shall be given an opportunity to prepare for the eventual reconstruction of their life on a democratic and peaceful basis. If their efforts are steadily directed to this end it will be possible for them in due course to take their place among the free and peaceful peoples of the world. TEXT OF AGREEMENT The text of the agreement is as follows, under the heading the political and economic principles to the treatment of Germany in the initial control period: (1) Political principles: In accordance with the agreement on control machinery in Germany, supreme authority in Germany shall be exercised on instructions from the respective Governments by the command-ers-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and France, each in his own zone of occupation and also jointly in matters affecting Germany as a whole in their capacity as members of the Control Council. (2) As far as ie practicable there shall be uniformity of; treatment to the German population through Germany. (3) The purposes of the occupation whereby the Control Council is guided.

tice under a law of equal rights for all citizens without distinction of race, nationality or religion.

The report notes that the conference j had 13 meetings and that it ended to- | day. It states: “Important decisions and agreements were reached and views were exchanged on a number of questions, and consideration of these matters will be continued by the Council of Foreign Ministers established by conference. President Truman, Generalissimo Stalin and Mr Attlee leave this Conference which strengthened the ties between the three Governments and extended the scope of their ' collaboration and understanding, with renewed confidence that their Governments and people, together with other United Nations, will ensure the creation of a just and lasting peace.” The diplomatic correspondent of the | Press Association notes that this is a very different method of making peace from the one pursued at the end of the last war. At Versailles the victorious nations got together and dealt with the future of Europe without the preliminaries that are associated with peacemaking this time. The Council of Foreign Ministers, which has now been set up, will meet from time to time, and this will mean a series of little peace conferences at which peace will be negotiated in regard to a certain area and the conditions especially concerned. Eventually, the correspondent states, it may be necessary to hold a wider assembly in the form of a United Nations gathering to give sanction to settlements made earlier. TO BE DUMPED INTO NORTH SEA OVER MILLION TONS OF EXPLOSIVES (Rec. 10.40 a.m.) London, August 3. Over a million tons of German explosives, including bombs, torpedoes, j mines and shells useless for weapons being used in the war against Japan, and 4500 tons of chemical warfare ammunition are being dumped in the North Sea as part of the Allied disarmament plan. Explosives are reaching Wilhelmshaven from all parts of Germany. The Allies are using obsolete ships to carry the explosives to sea and dump them in areas where there is no danger to shipping. JAPANESE REFERENCE New York, August 3. The Domei News Agency noted that the Potsdam communique “conspicuously failed to make any reference to the Pacific or the war against Japan. The ‘Big Three’ failure to produce anything bearing on the Pacific war was contrary to all the predictions of British and American propagandists.”

Clause I: Complete disarmament and demilitarisation of Germany, elimination of control of all German industry usable for military production. To these ends under clause (A) all German land, naval, air forces, S.S., S.A.. S.D.. the Gestapo and all their organisations. staffs, and institutions, including the General Staff, the Officers’ Corps, the Reserve Corps, military schools, war veterans’ organisations and all other military and quasi-mili-tary organisations, all clubs and associations serving to keep alive Germany’s military tradition shall be completely and finally abolished in such 9 manner as to permanently prevent a revival and reorganisation of German military Nazism. Under clause (B) all arms, ammunition, war implements and all specialised facilities for their production shall be held at the Allies disposal or destroyed, and the maintenance and production of all aircraft, arms, ammunition and war implements shall be prevented. Clause II: To convince the German people that they have suffered a total military defeat and cannot escape the responsibility for what they brought on themselves since their own ruthless warfare and fanatical Nazi resistance destroyed German economy and made chaos and suffering inevitable. Clause III: To destroy the Nazi Party and its affiliated supervised organisations, to dissolve all Nazi institutions and ensure they are not revived in any form, to prevent all Nazi and militarist activity and propaganda. Clause IV; To prepare for the eventual reconstruction of German political life on a democratic basis and for the eventual peaceful co-operation n international life by Germany. ABOLITION OF NAZI LAWS The report adds that all Nazi laws which provided the basis of the Hitler regime or established discrimination on the grounds of race, creed or political opinion shall be abolished. No such discriminations, whether legal, administrative or otherwise shall be tolerated. War criminals and those who participated in the planning or carrying out of Nazi enterprises involving or resulting in atrocities or war crimes shall be arrested and brought to judgment. Nazi leaders and influential Nazi supporters, high officials, Nazi organisations and institutions and any other persons dangerous to the occupation or its objectives shall be arrested and interned. All members of the Nazi party who have been more than nominal participants in their activities and all other persons hostile to the Allied purposes shall be removed from public and semi-public office and from positions of’ responsibility in important private undertakings. Such persons shall be replaced by persons who by their political and moral qualities are deemed capable of assisting in developing genuine democratic institutions in Germany. German education shall be so ocntrolled aa to completely eliminate Nazi and militarist doctrines sad make possible the successful development of democratic ideas. The judicial system will be reorganised in accordance with the principles of democracy and jus-