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DOCUMENTS ON GERMANY, 1944-59              71
adopted in the Bundestag on 14th September and now endorsed by the
Federal Government. This resolution requests the occupying powers
to arrange for the holding, in all four zones of occupation, of elections
to an all-German parliament.
3. The resolution should be considered in conjunction with the state-
ment made on the same day in the Bundestag by t+he Chancellor in the
name of the Federal Government, the text of which I also enclose.
You will observe that the Federal Chancellor there repeats the sug-
gestion, originally made by him on 22nd March, for the holding of
free all-German elections on a democratic basis.
4. The Federal Government is a government freely elected by the
people and is recognized by my government as entitled to speak for
Germany. The documents transmitted to you with this letter reflect
the predominant will of the German people. I, therefore, commend
them to your attention and to your government as pronouncements of
the German people in respect of grave matters affecting their future
and that of their country.
5. As regards the elections to be held in the Soviet Zone on 15th
October, the communique published on 19th September, 1950, in New
York by the three Foreign Ministers of the United States, Great
Britain and France shows that my government shares the opinion of
the Federal Governnment. The single list elections will deny to East
Germany democratic parliamentary government and those democratic
processes under which German unification can become a reality. The
Soviet Union is committed under the Potsdam and other international
agreements to the establishment of democratic government in Ger-
many and to German unification and must bear full responsibility for
obstructing the accomplishment of these objectives. The procedures
under which these "elections" will be held are in direct contrast
with
the traditional requisites of free democratic elections. For this rea-
son neither my government, nor the Federal Republic, nor the German
people can recognize them as capable of conferring on the East Ger-
man regime either legitimacy or any claim to represent the German
people now living in East Germany.
6. On account of the great public interest shown in the subject
matter of this communication, I shall make a copy of it available to
the press following its receipt-by you.
Draft Election Law of the Volkskammer of the German
Democratic Republic, January 9, 19521
PREAMBLE
In accordance with the desire of all patriotic Germans to overcome
the disastrous division of Germany, it is necessary to bring about
an understanding between the representatives of Eastern and Western
Germany. We must jointly solve the great task of restoring the unity
of Germany, of guaranteeing to our nation a quiet, peaceful life, and
of giving other nations the assurance that their peaceful work will
I Ibid., vol. II, pp. 31-37.