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U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman Press Statement

Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman
April 29, 1999

Release of Foreign Relations Volume on
Germany and Berlin, 1964-1968

The Department released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, volume XV, Germany and Berlin. This volume, part of the ongoing official published record of American foreign policy, presents the documentary record of U.S. policy toward Berlin and Germany during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. During this period Germany adopted a more activist and more European policy and searched for a new relationship with the Soviet Union and the states of Eastern Europe that would lay the groundwork for eventual reunification. The documentation demonstrates how, in supporting this new German policy, the United States reinforced some of its own major policy objectives, including improving relations with the Soviet Union, "bridge building" to the East, a reduction of tensions over Berlin, continued European integration, and the reorganization of Western defenses.

German reunification continued to be an overriding goal of both German and U.S. policymakers. The volume documents the lowering of tensions over Berlin, Allied discussions on possible approaches to the Soviet Union, and differences among the Western Allies over German reunification and Berlin. In 1966 Willy Brandt became German Foreign Minister and expanded and intensified his contacts with Soviet representatives in Berlin. The documents presented in the volume demonstrate that the Johnson administration was generally favorable to initiatives that would reduce Cold War barriers between the two Germanies.

Another major U.S.-German issue was the bilateral negotiation of the level of German "offset" payments in order to reduce the burden on the United States of stationing U.S. troops in the Federal Republic. The final agreement on offset costs in the fall of 1967 reinforced the relationship that had been solidified during President Johnson’s visit to Germany to attend the funeral of Konrad Adenauer. The volume contains extensive documentation of the talks he held with senior German officials.

Two other questions assumed importance in 1967 and 1968. The first was the long and ultimately successful U.S. effort to persuade Germany to agree to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union finally negotiated in July 1968. The second was the crisis in Czechoslovakia, which led to the military intervention of Warsaw Pact forces in that country in August 1968. West German and U.S. officials agreed on the need to condemn the Soviet action, not only to show disapproval of the incursion but also to warn the Soviet Union about the dangers of trying to increase pressures on Berlin.

Historian's Announcement
Summary

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