Evening star., 1946-12-30
u. 5. Expected 10 Fight
Plan 10 Revise West
Frontiers Of Germany
BY the Associated Press

BERLIN, Dec. 30.-Reliable dip
lomatic sources predicted today that
proposals for revision of Germany'S
western frontier, except for cession
|of the Saar to France, would be
strongly opposed by the United
States at the forthcoming German
peace treaty negotiations.
It is expected, these sources said,
that the United States will not only
oppose Frances claims to the
Rhineland but will reject more mod
est border changes proposed by
Holland and Belgium unless the
countries concerned can present sat
isfactory proof that the people OF
the area concerned genuinely de-
sire" a change.
The position of the United States
and others on the German boroer
settlements is being outlined among
the four major Allied powers here
for presentation to the Foreign Min
isters Council when it convenes IN
Moscow in March.
May Follow Byrnes Outline.
The American position, it was un-
derstood here, will be essentially the
same as that outlined by Secretary
of State Byrnes in his Stuttgart pol
icy speech last September, although
it is being prepared in more detali
to meet the complex claims against
Germany expected to develop at the
coming negotiations.
At Stuttgart, Mr.. Byrnes declared
the United States does not consider
the eastern borders of Germany as
decided and announced opposition
to any claims against Germany In
the west-except for the French
claim to the Saar. He further quail
flied this by saying that in return
for the Saar, France should read
Just her reparations claims"
There have been strong indica-
tions during the past week that
Russia will support the United
States position with regard to Ger
many's western frontiers. Soviet
supervised and sponsored newspa-
pers in Berlin recently have
launched bitter attacks against the
French for the new customs control
they have established over the Saar,
and also have criticized Dutch and
Belgian claims for border revisions.
French May Back Dutch.
Should Denmark and Czecho-
slovakia make any territorial claims,
the American position would be the
same, sources here said.
France not only is expected to
support the Dutch and Belgian
claims for border revisions in the
West but also is expected to oppose
any suggestion by the United States
that portions of the former Reich's
agricultural areas in the East, now
occupied by Poland, be returned to
Germany.
Informed sources said yesterday
that the United States probably
would urge that the agricultural
areas of Pomerania and Branden-
burg, now occupied by Polish troops,
be restored to Germany, leaving Po-
land in possession of the rich for
lIlCi SCi Iildu lIlOuoIi ldl ICSlOll VI
Silesia, the half of East Prussia,
which the Poles now occupy, and the
once Free City of Danzig.
British Sympathetic to U. s.
The American position was said to
be that Germany cannot be self
sustaining with, the loss of Is per
cent of her best agricultural land,
and that such a loss would only pro-
vide talking point for new war
Britain is understood to be SYM
pathetic to the American view with
regard to Germany's eastern frontier,
but has been noticeably silent con-
corning the situation in the west.
The positions of the four major
powers will be made clear in recon-
mendations to the Allied control
bodies here, who are preparing sta
tistical surveys of each claim for
presentation to the Foreign Minis
ters in March.