page_title: Stalin Note
section_title: Political background
hierarchical_section_title: Stalin Note / Political background
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. ADN-ZB/Illus-Rudolph Zum 70. Geburtstag J.W. Stalins am 21.12.49 UBz: Mit diesem Stalinbild und seinem darunter stehenden Ausspruch ist der Eingang des Berliner Verlages geschmückt.
context_page_description: The Stalin Note, also known as the March Note, was a document delivered to the representatives of the Western allied powers from the Soviet Occupation in Germany on March 10, 1952. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin put forth a proposal for a reunification and neutralization of Germany, with no conditions on economic policies and with guarantees for "the rights of man and basic freedoms, including freedom of speech, press, religious persuasion, political conviction, and assembly" and free activity of democratic parties and organizations.
  James Warburg, member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, testified before the committee on March 28, 1952 and observed that the Soviet proposal might be a bluff, but it seemed "that our government is afraid to call the bluff for the fear that it may not be a bluff at all" and might lead to "a free, neutral, and demilitarized Germany", which might be "subverted into Soviet orbit".
context_section_description: After the end of the World War II, Germany was divided into what became eventually a Western and an Eastern Zone. By 1949, Germany had a parliamentary democracy in the West, called the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG – natively BRD, commonly "West Germany"), and a communist state in the East, called the German Democratic Republic (GDR – natively DDR, commonly "East Germany"). Opportunities for reunification of these two halves appeared unlikely from the Western standpoint. The SED feared losing power if free elections were held. At that point in history, Germany had not yet signed a peace treaty for World War II because of the animosity between the three Western Powers and the Soviet Union. It would not sign one until the Two Plus Four Agreement in 1990.
  At the beginning of 1950, the United States began negotiations for a peace treaty with Japan, which would also grant them military bases in Japan over a long period of time. This may have had an influence on Stalin's decision to support North Korea's invasion of South Korea; however, this alleged influence has not been proven. The Korean War (1950–1953) surprised the US and formed a deeper rift into the Cold War.
  In discussions about the reunification, East Germany stressed the importance of a peace treaty, while West Germany focused on the importance of free elections for all of Germany. Chancellor Adenauer did not believe that reunification was possible under the given conditions. He and his administration pursued a course that allied the FRG with the Western Bloc, particularly in relationship to military policy. Specifically, Adenauer felt that the FRG should maintain an army, which could be integrated into a larger West European military force. A European Defence Community Treaty was signed in May 1952, after the rejection of the Stalin note, but the proposed European Defence Community never came into being, due to rejection of the treaty by the French National Assembly.
  Stalin and the GDR condemned the EDC despite the fact that the GDR had created a pseudo-military force called the Kasernierte Volkspolizei. The Stalin notes can be seen as a way of drawing out the propaganda efforts of East Germany so that the reunification would fail.
  On September 15, 1951, the East German government offered to discuss holding elections at a meeting with West Germany. However, the West German government refused to hold talks with the SED because this would have meant the actual recognition of East Germany as an equal country. Contact was always maintained through the Western Powers. Instead, West Germany wanted a commission of the United Nations to check whether or not free all-German elections were possible.
  Due to the endeavors of the Western Powers, this commission met in December 1951. East Germany refused to let them enter, however. In their opinion, the possibility of free elections should be investigated by a commission of the four Occupying Powers.
caption: "Hitlers come and go, the German people and the German state remain." A quote by Stalin on the post-Nazi development of Germany, depicted on a stele in Berlin.
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