ANDRE' FRIBOURG'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH ZONE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R001000600009-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 1999
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: October 31, 1947
• Content Type: IR

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s ~ ( 11r Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00
K*tl4@d I
OR THE ii USE
1NTELLICEP':CE tN
35888
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE f-,,ROUP
9
COUNTRY Geri - (French Zone)/'r ne
SUBJECT Andre? Fribourg` v Visit
to the French Zor3
25X1A6a
ORIGIN
DATE:
DIST. 31 Octa'r 1947
PAGES 2
SU PPLEM "NNT
l. About 10 September 1947, Andre Fribourf.,, a French journalist
representing FiUaro and several other V#+ hers, visited the French
.one to rite contact with a number of Garman p~.Lifiical ?er; alittea0
By 19 Septcmber, he had spoken with the CPU leaders Bocen, a
former Minister-President, and Haberer in Koblen2; the secretary
of Dr. Lchriitt, .cishop of ?.',ainz; a director of I:C Farben and a
high-ranking Catholic priest (names nc? gd.ven) in Ludwigshafen;
Leibbrand, the Social Demacrat Minister of Econorr:y; and Ginter
Markscheffel, Editor-in-C :ief of the Scc:irl Democratic paper
Freiheit In Mainz. 25X1X6
2. In his conversation with Me.rks cheffel l
typical of all the conferences, Fribourg 'promulg;ated the
following:
a. The purpose of his trip was to arr :. ge with German political
leader.+ a German-French modus-viven i which would make
unnecessary the merging of the Frer oh lone into the Anglo a
Americ?n Bi-lone,,
b., Influential French political circle: admitted that in the
past French policy in Germany had teen mistaken, inprectica1P
and incompetent, and felt that the First problem was to remedy
the situation immediately.
ea. A tri-zonal merger is not the solut.on but s being forced
by the Americans only because "they want to cu; the throats
of Germans as well as French." Only rapid decisions by
courageous French and German politicians could still save
the situation.
d, The practical solution, presented ty Fribourg: with the backing
of French authoritative circles, i4 f'or France to rebuild
French "one economy corpletely by fishing all raw materiels
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4.
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required for the purpose. Half of tho products would be at the
disposal of the. German economy for horse consumption and expo$ t;
the other half would go to Frvrice for reparations. Fribourg
maintained that a majority of the Gerrian political leaders he
had consulted commended this plan.
e. Fribourg explained that the Anglo-American combination, because
of the thwarting of its cherished tri--zonal plans, night not
permit the export of the amount of Rvhr coal indispensable for
the functioning of such. a project. To avoid this danger,
Fribourg proposed t`s,at Switzerland (arid intimated that
it would corply)buy the necessary coal from tree Anglo-
Americans and resell it to German industry in French oecupioa
?"drtteriberg and Baden.
According to Fribourg, his plan is part of a larger scheme to prevent
the for..iat1on of a western bloc, to which the Anglo-Americans are
allegedly aspirin,.. The first step in this direction is to prevent
the Tri--lone from materializing.
Fribourg repeatedly affirmed that his mission
was approved by General Of the Army Koenig and made frequent
allusions to influential French political circles. 25X1X6
1'inister 1.idault and his following.
1 ribo,.xr ; indicated Foreign
Document No. 0
NO CHANGE in C1a s. p
17 rQ:C7,
Class.
Auth : D '.
Date: ia7820
OTHER THAN STATE. WAR OR NAVY DEPART.
MENTS EXCEPT BY PERMISSION OF THE
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE.
REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART 8'
PROHIBITED BY LAW. IT MAY NO
TH OOCJIAENT CONTAINS I NFOEMAT I ON
A/ 0 THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THE
UNITED S WITHIN THE MEANING OF
THE ESPIONA T. SO U.S.C. 31 AND
32, AS AMENDED. TRANSMISSION .OR
THE REVELATION OF I TENTS IN ANY
MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZE, SON 19
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