728 Foreign Relations, 1958-1960, Volume IX



276. Memorandum of Conversation


                                          Washington, July 11, 1958.

SUBJECT
    United States Army Personnel Held in Soviet Zone of Germany
PARTICIPANTS
    Ambassador Menshikov, Soviet Embassy
    Mr. Robert Murphy, Deputy Under Secretary
    Mr. Anatoli G. Myshkov, Second Secretary, Soviet Embassy
    Mr. Charles G. Stefan, EE

    Mr. Murphy stated that we were still awaiting a Soviet response to
the aide-memoire concerning the American helicopter and its crew in
East Germany which had been handed to Soviet Charge Striganov by
Mr. Herter on July 3, 1958. 1 Mr. Murphy observed that public opinion in
the United States is becoming increasingly concerned about the failure
of the Soviet Government to honor its agreements and about the pro-
longed and unjustifiable detention of the crew of the U.S. Army helicop-
ter held in East Germany. We cannot accept the patently erroneous
contention of the Soviet Government, expressed in the Soviet note of
July 2,2 that the Soviet authorities have no responsibility in this case.
The
United States Government continues to hold the Soviet Government re-
sponsible for seeing that the men are returned without further delay.
    Mr. Murphy stated that the continued detention of the men and
their prolonged separation from their families was inhumane. The atti-
tude shown by the Soviet Government and by the local German authori-
ties in the Soviet zone of Germany is difficult to reconcile with the
frequent Soviet protestations of desire for better understanding and a
relaxation of tensions. Mr. Murphy then observed that we have noted
the Soviet statement that arrangements for the return of the men and the
helicopter should be discussed with the German authorities in the So-
viet zone. However, we would like the Ambassador to remember the
action already taken by American military authorities in Germany in
this regard. The Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet forces in Germany


    Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762B.5411/7-1158. Confidential.
Drafted
by Stefan on July 15 and initialed by Murphy.
    1 During his conversation with Striganov on July 3, Herter repeated the
U.S. concern
about the military personnel and tasked the Soviet Union with living up to
its agreements,
particularly since the press conference on July 2 revealed that Soviet forces
had custody of
the soldiers at one time. A memorandum of this conversation and a copy of
the aide-
m~moire presented to Striganov are ibid., 762B.5411/7-358. The aide-m~moire
is printed
in Department of State Bulletin, July 28, 1958, pp. 147-148.
    2 For text, see ibid., p. 148.