Chapter 385 – Britain and France are allies

France had always wanted to annex the Saarland, though it couldn’t do it on its own as a nation.

So it had been seeking the support of Britain and the United States, or at least making sure that one of them supported itself.

Britain actually supported, or at least understood, France’s annexation of the Saarland for some time after the war. But the United States has been against it!

There were so many external conditions for the current Paris conference, which currently came to say that the French Republic and the Italian Communist Party were both the number one parties in their countries. Among the single parties, France has the support of twenty-five percent of the French voters. The Italian Communist Party is a little stronger, with more than one-third of the electorate in favor of it.

Because of the cold winter of 1946-1977, there were food shortages and shortages of goods in Europe. So the situation in Europe was really not optimistic at the moment.

But this does not include Britain, because two wings have flown together, in British India adhering to the original intention that famine will not occur for three consecutive years, to maintain the food supply within the United Kingdom, but also by the way to support the two wings of the other wing of the German British occupied territories.

At such a time when the production of goods is more useful than money, but also caused the United States-occupied areas and the Soviet-occupied areas of many people fled to the British-occupied areas.

It can be said that the cold winter from the end of last year to the beginning of this year rather distanced the British-occupied zone from the other occupied zones.

In 1947, the gross product of the U.S.-occupied zone was thirty-four percent of what it was before the war, and this was still the result of the U.S. spreading money.

And the British-occupied zone had exceeded eighty percent of its pre-war level. Never mind whether it was the opening up of British India that took away the entire surplus value of the twenty million or so Germans in British Occupation, the British Empire had colonies to receive anyway.

In fact in a sense Britain’s two-winged plan was a no-money version of the Marshall Plan.

Take away all the residual value of German industry in the British-occupied areas, lowered prices in exchange for raw materials in British India, the British mainland mediation, so that the British-occupied areas of industrial recovery at the same time, the incidentally sucked a mouthful of other occupied areas around.

British-occupied area of the Germans is certainly white hard work for a year nothing left, but at least did not starve to the stomach.

Other occupied areas of the Germans are not necessarily, the Americans in the U.S.-occupied areas to spread the dollar, but also can not level the U.S.-occupied areas compared to the pre-war thirty-four percent of the total value of industry, and the British-occupied areas of eighty-four percent of the total value of industry gap.

The British-occupied area was originally the richest part of Germany, Germany in addition to the existence of the gap between the development of the East and the West, there is also a gap between the North and the South, from the history of Germany’s North was exceeded by the South, is the seventies before and after the oil crisis.

And at this point in time, the gap between the south and north of Germany is still quite obvious, plus the north of Germany is a plain, the south is mountainous, the north of the agricultural conditions than the south to be stronger.

Otherwise, how the United States before the end of the war, thinking of occupation zone replacement with Britain, are not without reason.

So from the Ministry of Finance to get the economic data, plus from the prime minister where to get the use of the French annexation of the heart of the Saarland, Allen Wilson took the opportunity to develop a plan.

This plan can be called, Britain and France Coal Community, British-occupied areas have an industrial base, including the Saarland French-occupied areas have important resources for industrial production, Britain and France can be divided up Germany’s coal and iron resources.

In fact, it is the original intention of France to form a community in history, after the failure of annexation of the Saarland, with a framework to legally allow Germany’s coal and iron resources to serve France.

The Saarland is the second only to the Ruhr industrial zone in Germany’s current remaining territory, and if the U.S. must impose additional harsh conditions on Britain, the planned follow-on step would be the merger of the British and French occupation zones.

The question of the status of the Saar was raised by the French at the Moscow Conference in the spring, and France once more put forward a plan for the disposition of German territory, advocating that the inhabitants of the Saar should be given separate citizenship, that the Saar should be placed under the responsibility of a French high commissioner for internal affairs, and that the Saar should be represented by France for foreign affairs.

The Ruhr area, on the other hand, should be separated from Germany and given to the Four Powers and the Three Low Countries for joint administration. In response to this proposition, the Soviets expressed their opposition to the Saar portion but agreed to the Ruhr portion.

The U.S. Marshall, on the other hand, expressed his support for the French Saar plan and his opposition to the Ruhr dispositions, i.e., the political separation of the Saar from Germany, the incorporation of the Saar into the French economic and financial system through a monetary union and a customs union, and that the Saar territories were “no longer to be placed under the control and protection of an international agency”.

The attitude of the United States and the Soviet Union at the Moscow Conference in the spring was simply that the Soviet Union was opposed to French annexation of the Saar, but that the Ruhr could be turned from a British-occupied area into a condominium. The Soviet Union was against Britain.

And the attitude of the United States was to support the Saarland program, but to oppose the Ruhr area for condominium.

With regard to this unsuccessful French plan to betray Britain, some of the aims were eventually achieved, such as a certain degree of acquiescence by the United States in the French move to annex the Saar in order to preserve the Ruhr, which it had been fiercely opposed to.

In May, following the Moscow Conference, France drew up the Saar constitution, which was formally introduced in October and ratified by the Saarland Assembly just before the wedding of Crown Princess Elisabeth, and which provided for the political separation of the Saarland from Germany, the integration of the tariff and monetary system into the French economy, and the responsibility of foreign affairs and defense by France.

The French commissioner to the Saarland was given great power to prohibit any legislation that jeopardized the constitution or the customs union between France and the Saarland. The franc also became the legal tender of the Saarland. The customs barriers between France and the Saarland were abolished, while a customs barrier was erected between Germany and the Saarland.

At the Foreign Office the six months of disputes surrounding the Saarland were reviewed and the diplomatic direction of the original history. Alan Wilson searched for a point of insertion, knowing that this was the time when France was closest to annexing the Saarland, and arguably just short of doing so.

If at this point in time Britain renewed its willingness to understand France’s claim to the Saarland, as it had in 1945 and 1946, there was at least a 50-50 chance that it would succeed.

The plan for this share, then, is simply that France must stand with Britain at the Paris Conference.

Given the current situation in Western Europe, which can be characterized as a knee-jerk collapse of a number of countries, Britain, itself recovering far beyond its historical contemporaries, is even more of a stalwart in this situation.

If France can stand firmly with Britain so that the United States does not impose numerous additional conditions on its economic aid to Europe, then it is not impossible for Britain to support France’s claim to the Saarland, but likewise France will have to give assurances that in the unlikely event that it fails to achieve its goal, the French-occupied zone must be merged with the British-occupied zone immediately.

In addition to this plan of merger for the record, it is not as if there is no common language of negotiation with the Americans, one must say the Soviet Union. At this point in time, in fact, Eastern Europe was recovering far more rapidly than Western Europe.

At a time when everyone was having a very hard time and the landlord’s family had nothing left to lose, it was a matter of who was being more fair. Obviously in this perspective, the Soviet system was significantly fairer than the old imperialism, and the United States, which represented the new imperialism.

Britain, too, was determined to implement rationing, and with colonies to supplement it, the current situation has emerged.

The recovered Britain likewise needed the aid of the United States, but this aid could be asked for another reason, that is, Britain helped the United States to stabilize the situation in the Western European countries and prevented the outbreak of revolutions in these countries.

In how to say, now the British Empire also has eight hundred thousand troops, the world’s second largest navy is here.

Can play a role in maintaining the stability of Europe, this acceptance of assistance is not a request, but a kind of help, as an auxiliary force to help the United States to stabilize the situation in Europe.

Since it is not a request but a help to maintain European stability on the basis of cooperation, Britain does not owe the United States.

After formulating the plan, Alan Wilson went to the Foreign Office with the plan, and in the ensuing time, answered the questions of the permanent undersecretary of the Foreign Office as well as Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, giving answers.

In the final analysis, the biggest problem in Britain now was not that there was anything wrong with production; industrial indicators had been fully restored. The biggest problem is that of wartime debt, especially from the United States.

If the United States does not force the debt, Britain’s current economy will not be a problem, take out a part of the aid to buy American goods can be negotiated, as for the opening of the exchange rate control of the pound can not be negotiated, the economy is not a problem, but the power of the dollar has been much more powerful than the pound.

“Talking to the French about the Saarland? Use it to get the U.S. to treat the U.K. more fairly?” Ernest Bevan, still looking a little less energized from an earlier illness, asked the question breathlessly.

“France unsuccessfully sold out our Ruhr once, now it can be turned around and use the Saar to whet the French appetite for siding with us.” Alan Wilson replied unhurriedly, “The soldiers in the Saarland are only a foot in the door, the Americans have softened their attitude after the Moscow conference and the French will dare to do so if we give them our support. Use the support on the Saarland issue to make sure that this time they are on our side when it comes to American aid.”

“Of course we will have to see what the Americans offer, if the aid issue is not so harsh. Another solution to the Saarland problem can also emerge, and that is the establishment of the Anglo-French Coal and Iron Community, where the two countries share Germany’s coal and iron resources, and anyway, it is still more advantageous for us to have Germany’s industrial zone in the British-occupied zone.”

Ernest Bevan’s heart breathed a sigh of relief, it turned out not to be really supportive of the French annexation of the Saarland, “If the French were promised at the beginning, how would it end afterward?”

“The Americans bribed us to oppose the French annexation of the Saar.” Alan Wilson said without thinking, “We in Britain would have refused, but the Americans offered too much money.”

“You do fit in very well at the Foreign Office.” Ernest Bevan nodded, “The draft of the joint French negotiations against the Americans is finalized, as for the Coal and Iron Community as a filing to appease France afterwards.”

“Yes, Minister.” Alan Wilson nodded, “Then I would like to make a trip to the British occupied territories to gather some materials for negotiation preparations and will be in Paris before the meeting begins.”

“Of course, but don’t keep our French allies waiting.” Ernest Bevan smiled.