On 3 November 1949, the German weekly Die Zeit publishes an interview with German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, in which he expresses the necessity of Franco-German cooperation.
On 1 May 1950, Jean Monnet sends a lengthy memorandum to Robert Schuman in which he draws the French Foreign Minister’s attention to France’s role in finding a European solution to the German problem.
In June 1948, following the London Conference attended by representatives from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the French Communist Party (PCF) criticises the Allies’ decision to promote the reconstruction of West Germany and accuses the French Government of supporting this recovery policy which, in the long term, threatens to result in Germany regaining its military and industrial strength.
‘In response to Adenauer’s proposal, Marianne turns a beautiful but cold shoulder.’ On 7 March 1950, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer grants an interview to American journalist Joseph Kingsbury-Smith in which he raises the idea of a Franco-German union. On 13 March 1950, German cartoonist Fritz Meinhard illustrates the lack of interest from the French authorities in this German proposal. France, depicted as a young Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap, remains indifferent to the advances of Federal Chancellor Adenauer, who is holding a bouquet of flowers, preferring to devote itself entirely to another suitor, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin.
On 21 March 1950, Konrad Adenauer refers to the interview that he gave to US journalist Kingsbury-Smith on 7 March in which he proposed a union between France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The German Chancellor considers Franco-German reconciliation to be an essential element for the reconstruction of Western Europe.
On 1 February 1952, Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, sends a letter to Johannes Hoffmann, Prime Minister of the Saar, in which he confirms the details of the representation and defence of the Saar’s interests in the institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
On 15 November 1957, the Saarland Economic Promotion Corporation publishes a promotional insert in the Bulletin of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) presenting the Saar as an ideal location for industrial development.
