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forth. In some negotiations we have had with them over the last few weeks, they have been
willing to come further on that. Our hesitation on the matter relates to two things; First, that
you can't trust Franco, and that if they are able if Franco is able to sell $50 million worth
of shares Of this company in Spain in the next period of time, he may very well sell it to
pro-German interests. It seems doubtful that he would be able to dispose of it to the
Spaniards, so that is the first thing. The second thing we can't document too well, but I think
it is more pronounced in my mind than in the minds of the Foreign Funds and legal people.
I don't think we can really trust Behn either.
Mr. White: I'm sure you can't.
Mr. Coe: We have records here of interviews, going far back, that some of your men had
with Behn Klaus was one in which Behn said that he had had conversations with
Goering with the proposition that Goering was to hold I.T. &T.'s property in Germany, and
as you recall, I.T. &T. here did try to purchase General Aniline and make it an American
company thereby and that was part of the deal which Behn told State and our lawyers very
frankly he had discussed. He thought it was perfectly all right protecting property: That was
before we entered the war,
H. M., Jr.: I don't remember that,
Mr. Coe: The man in charge of their properties now is Westrick who you recall came over
here and was mixed up with Texaco. They tried in every way to cook up deals earlier to
escape. They are tied up with top German group and etc. On the other hand, Colonel Behn
has been used several times as an emissary by the State Department, and I believe he is
personally on very good terms with Stettinius. We have heard from State on this letter
saying they have no objections. We proposed to you earlier the letter which I sent in to
you suggesting that you ask State, if in view of our safe haven objectives, they still said yes.
I am confident from talking with them on the phone the last day or two, they will write back
and say yes, they still think it is a good deal.
H. M., Jr.: This is the position I am in. As you gentlemen know I am overextended now and
I can't go into this thing personally, and I think that we are just going to have to throw the
thing in the lap of the State Department, and if they want to clear it, all right. I just haven't
got the time or the energy to fight them on that basis.
Mr. Coe: Then we ought to license it now.
Mr. White: First you ought to get a letter. I agree with the Secretary on this point of view
that this fellow Behn is not to be trusted around the corner. There is something about this
deal that looks suspicious and has been for the last couple of years we have been dealing
with him. However, it is one thing to believe that and another thing to defend that before the
pressure that will be brought in here that they are trying to deprive this company of the
business deal, but I think that what we might do is get the State Department on record that
in view of a safe haven project they don't think that there is any danger that any of these
assets I would cite some of them, spell the letter out. Get them down on record and even
make them a little frightened and hold out or they will at least have had the record and you
will have called their attention to these dangers. This fellow Behn hates our guts anyway.
We have been standing between him and deals for 4 years, at least.
H. M., Jr.: Follow what White said. Something along that line. "Dear Mr, Stettinius; I am
bothered about these things due to the following facts, and I would like you to advise me
whether we should or should not .... "
Mr. White: "In view of the danger that German assets may be cloaked here, the future "
and let him come back and say, "No," and we'll watch him.
Mr. Coe: We said we wanted to give Acheson something Monday.
H. M., Jr.: And if you get that ready for me by tomorrow morning, I'll sign it. Mr. Coe:
O.K.
Source: United States Senate, Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration
of the Internal Security Act. Committee on the Judiciary, Morgenthau Diarty
(Germany), Volume 1, 90th Congress, 1st Session, November 20, 1967,
(Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967), p. 320 of Book
828. (Page 976 of U,S. Senate print.)
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