Evening star., 1945-07-02
Americans Push Plans
To DecentraIize Reich
As Troops Near Berlin
By the Associated Press.

PARIS, July 2.-Plans looking to-
ward the complete decentralization
OF Germany were mapped today by
the American group of the Allied
Control Council as American occu-
patton troops moved toward Berlin
preliminary to the Big Three meet
Ing there later this month.
Dispatches from Frankfurt said
members of the United States con-
troll group were going to Berlin with
the American troops and within 10
days would be in a position to place
their proposals before the represen-
tatives of Russia, Britain and France.
The American program for decen-
tralization of Germany-both po-
litically and economically-calls for
breaking Germany down into a
number of lander" or military i'm
potent districts.
Work already has begun on break
ing up the American Western Reich
district-one of two military areas
over which the American Army will
have control-into three "landers." Z"
American regional commanders will
assume control over all German
governmental agencies within their
own region.
Program to Be Set Up.
AdviceS from Frankfurt said
similar policy was expected to be
carried out throughout Germany as
soon as ssae program can be adopted
by the quadripartite Control Coun-
Gil in Berlin.
I'VE are certain that Russia, Brit
ain and France feel a great deal of
sympathy for the policy of decen-
tralization," one member of the
American group of the Control
Council was quoted as saying.
1t was expected here that the
movement of American troops to
Berlin would be completed by July
and that the withdrawal of forces
of the Western Allies from areas
allotted to the Russians would be
finished at the same time.
A dispatch from Magdeburg dis
closed that Red Army troops already
had occupied that center of Ger
many's synthetic oil industry on the
Elbe River 80 miles southwest of
Berlin following the withdrawal of
American and British forces.
While there was no official an
nouncement concerning the identity
of the American force en- route to
Berlin, it was understood that it
was the I'd Armored Division. The
S2d .Air-Borne Division was ex-
pected to follow, or perhaps take
over the assignment later.
British Send Desert Rats.
The British were sending their 7th
Armored desert Rats Division to
Berlin and French force also was
on the move. A press party of more
than 100 was prepared to leave Paris
for Berlin tomorrow.
The move toward Berlin coincided
with an announcement that $4,000
American troops already have re-
turned to the United States and
that $4,000 more will be added to
this total by the end of July. The
number sent direct to the Pacific
remains military secret.
An authoritative source, mean
while, said formal dissolution of
Supreme Allied Headquarters await
ed only Gen. Eisenhower's return
from the United States. SHAEF'Sl
operations now are broken into sep
arate Army activities which later
will be correlated through the Allied
Control Council, on which Gen.
Eisenhower will sit with representa-
tives of Soviet Russia, Great Britain
and France.
NEW YORK, July 2 (P.-Press
Wireless, Inc, said today it had set
up a mobile transmitting station in
Berlin to send news and pictures to
the United States. This indicated
that at least the vanguard of the
American forces moving toward Ber-
lin had reached the city.