Allen Dulles: “The Present Situation in Germany”

In both private meetings and public speeches and television appearances, Allen Dulles remained remarkably consistent: He perceived the Soviet Union as a major threat to world peace—specifically to the stable relations that ought to have prevailed between the United States and its former enemies, especially Germany. In “The Present Situation in Germany,”—remarks delivered as part of an off-the-record meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations—Dulles describes the difficulties faced in rebuilding a shattered Germany. He acknowledged the need to punish those Germans whose actions led to or perpetuated the war, but he also believed that Germany could not be reformed without the cooperation of its citizens, who had to be turned into good allies with a stake in world peace. Thus, the Soviet Union was a threat not only because it challenged and attempted to subvert U.S. supremacy in international relations but because the Russians sought to rule through coercion, not cooperation. They wanted to dominate Eastern Europe, turning countries into Soviet satellites rather than reaching compromises and means of accommodation with neighboring nations. To Dulles, Europe could prosper only if Germany were restored to robust health as a sovereign power.