| General Mark Clark entertained the allied leaders of the occupation forces in Austria on Sept. 5, 1945, with a reception tour of Berchtesgaden, and an evening of entertainment. The 4 allied leaders look over Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler’s (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) home. From left to right are: General Mark Clark; General Alexis Zheltov, deputy to marshal Ivan S. Koniev, Russian occupation leader; Lieutenant General Marie Emile Béthouart of French forces in Austria and Lieutenant General Sir Richard L. McCreery. Representatives of the Allied Commission for Austria United States Army General Mark W. Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984), Commander in Chief of US Forces of Occupation in Austria; Soviet Red Army Colonel General Aleksei S. Zheltov, Member of the Military Council, Central Group of Forces, and Commissar to Marshal Ivan S. Koniev (December 28, 1897 – May 21, 1973), Allied High Commissioner for Austria; French Army General Antoine Béthouart (December 17, 1889 – October 17, 1982), Chef des Forces Françaises en Autriche; and United Kingdom Royal Army Lieutenant General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery (February 1, 1898 – October 18, 1967), General Officer Commanding, British Forces of Occupation in Austria. They stand in front of a sign, “Hitler’s Home,” that was a popular venue for souvenir photographs for Allied soldiers. A Military Policeman with a Thompson submachine gun is behind them. Note the graffiti on the wall of the burned-out Berghof. General Mark W. Clark has gone down in the annals of the Cold War as 1 of its biggest personalities, but he did not fall out with the Russians or abandon the idea of co-operation until early 1946. He revived the Salzburg Festival in August 1945, and his French opposite number General Béthouart was helpful in procuring Joseph Calvet’s (October 8, 1897 – May 3, 1984) Quartet and Jacques Février (July 26, 1900 – September 2, 1979). He hoped to bash McCreery’s and Koniev’s heads together and make the British agree to go up to Vienna, but the British remained as stubborn as ever and Koniev cried off. Clark entertained in style, lodging his guests at his Headquarters in Schloss Klessheim (called Schloss Claessens by Béthouart) like Hitler before him. Clark was pleased with Klessheim, and was under no illusions about its previous role as a guesthouse for visitors to Berchtesgaden. It had been “wonderfully modernized and furnished with art treasures, mostly stolen from France.” The festival was a useful way of bringing the Allies together and impressing them with American hospitality. He invited them all for August 19. Koniev sent Clark’s nemesis, Zheltov, in his place. Zheltov wanted to see what was left of Berchtesgaden, and they visited it in 1 of Hitler’s own cars. Clark recalled the encounter in his memoirs. “By this time the Russians were showing signs of being ready for the first meeting of the Allied Council; there were hints that Konev’s illness was about over. Thinking it might be a good idea to get the four High Commissioners together informally prior to the Council meeting, on August 19, I invited Koniev, General McCreery, the British High Commissioner, and Lieutenant General Béthouart, the French High Commissioner, to be my guests at the Salzburg Music Festival.” “It turned out that Koniev’s recovery had not progressed that far, or perhaps there was another delay in the arrival of instructions from Moscow; in any case he sent his deputy, Zheltov, and the four of us were able to discuss the whole situation informally. There were some rough spots to get over, but Zheltov seemed cooperative and jovial. I had arranged to take the commissioners to Berchtesgaden on a sightseeing trip, and I made a point of riding there with Zheltov in one of the big bulletproof automobiles that had belonged to Hitler. En route I told him that I was eager to meet Koniev, and that I sincerely regretted that illness had prevented the Soviet commander from attending our informal gathering. Zheltov seemed to appreciate my position and gave the impression that something might be done about it.” “That night I entertained my guests at a dinner at American Headquarters. I toasted the heads of our four governments and said that I anticipated a pleasant association with the high commissioners. I recalled my friendship and battle association with McCreery in Italy and remarked that I had known Béthouart during the exciting pre-invasion days of North Africa. I added that although I had not had the pleasure of working with the Red Army, I was happy that in Austria I would have the opportunity of serving with the commander who had led an important part of that army so brilliantly to victory.” “The others spoke briefly, but I noticed that Zheltov was stiff and formal. I didn’t think much about it until some hours later when General Alfred M. Gruenther (March 3, 1899 – May 30, 1983) came to my quarters and said he had been talking to Zheltov, who was much upset as a result of my remarks. “‘He says that you emphasized your previous relations with McCreery and Béthouart,’ Gruenther told me. ‘He takes that as a sign that there is an Anglo-French-American bloc which is united against the Russians in dealing with Austria. He says he doesn’t like it.’ I told Gruenther to get Zheltov into my office the next morning as early as possible. When they arrived, I wasted no time in speaking my mind.” “‘Your attitude is completely unjustified,’ I said. ‘There is no bloc against Russia, and if there were the United States would not participate in it. The Americans here will side with the Russians whenever our policies coincide, and we intend to do our best to make our policies coincide.’” Once Zheltov stood up abruptly while I was talking, and I thought for a moment he was going to decide that he was insulted. He made a move as if to walk out, but after a moment’s hesitation decided to stay. By the time I was finished, he seemed to be satisfied, but it was only temporary. The pattern, I was soon to discover, was always the same. The Russians were always suspicious, always looking for an ulterior motive in our words and actions. It seemed to me that they were suffering from a combination of guilt and persecution complex.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0882.jpg |
| Image Size | 315.19 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1600 x 1187 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 19, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Berchtesgaden |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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