Show action taken upon officers request truman pays tribute gen lucius D clay stormy petrel of american administration in berlin was relieved of hil hi post as military commander li ir germany the action was taker at the generals own request CLAY who has been widely ariti cited for his apparent soft attl atti tude toward german war crimi nals notably in the case of else elsa koch the witch of buchenwald frequently asked to be relieved ol 01 notorious german horror camp had hac his command he said he wanted tc return to his home in marietta ga and go cat fishing 11 clays leaving would open the way for appointment of the first civilian high commissioner tor for germany something the army has been wanting for a long time PRESIDENT TRUMAN in making the announcement clay was to leave said the general deserved the thanks of the american people for his execution of one of the toughest tasks and accomplishments of american history it was no secret that the president and dean acheson secretary of state were trying to persuade john J mccloy to take the assignment in berlin mccloy mccroy is now head of the international bank for reconstruction and development a position which carries a tax free annual salary pending the appointment of a civilian commissioner president truman announced military government deputies and two generals would carry on clays work the united states britain and france have agreed to arrangements for turning over civilian control to the germans when a provisional government is established for the western zones meanwhile hope continued tor for an end through four power negotiations of the berlin blockade by the russians |