Conant Warns U.S. to Stand Firm in Berlin

U.S. High Commissioner for Germany James B. Conant '14 warned Soviet Russia yesterday that the United States will defend Berlin as an "unshaken outpost of the Western world."

He also appealed to East Germans to "stand firm," promising that some day a united, free Germany will be created.

Speaking in German in a special broadcast to Soviet-occupied East Germany, Conant replied to mounting Communist threats to re-impose the Berlin blockade. His statement represents the first official pronouncement on the German situation by the Eisenhower administration.

The High Commissioner pledged the United States to resist any Communist Berlin. "The new administration in Washington will not abandon Berlin. We shall continue to fulfill our duties and maintain our rights," he said.

Terming the East German government "a puppet regime backed by Soviet arms," Conant denounced East German Communist leaders. He accused them of establishing concentration camps, burning books, and destroying academic freedom.

"The refugees who are daily crossing from the East zone to the West provide tragic evidence of what all Germany could expect if Germany were united on Soviet terms," he said.

Conant also announced that he will confer with West Berlin's Mayor Ernst Reuter and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer during the next few days. Their discussions are expected to center about West Germany's growing refugee problem.