As a companion to Keelan’s article and my interview, I thought it would be informative to give some information regarding the people whom we know attended the 1955 Bilderberg meeting. Of course, we don’t have as much information regarding participants as today, as in 1955 in Britain, for example, people were probably more concerned about the fact that rationing was still taking place, rather than investigating the second meeting of a group of which they could never conceivably have heard.
Thus, the following are only the participants that we know about, but it is an informative list nonetheless.
Prince Axel of Denmark – also attended in 1957 and 1966.
Ralph Flanders – US senator. Many things could be said about Flanders, but I will simply state that he served as a director of the Federal Reserve from 1941 – 44, and subsequently served a two year term as president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1944 – 46. Also attended in 1966.
Alfred Gruenther – former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. Also attended in 1957 and 1966.
Paul G. Hoffman – Hoffman was an American automobile company executive, statesman and global development aid administrator. From 1966 to 1972 he was the first administrator of the United Nations Development Programme when it was founded.
George F. Kennan – from Wikipedia: “George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904–March 17, 2005) was an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as “the father of containment” and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. He later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers. He was also a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as ‘The Wise Men.’”
Kennan is most notable in my eyes for the following:
“A 1949 United States State Department study written by George F. Kennan, now declassified, gives clear indication of a possible direction of US foreign policy that has been all too closely followed. It explains that in the second half of the twentieth century the Third World was to “fulfil its major function as a source of raw materials and a market for industrial capitalist societies”. The Third World was to be “exploited” (Kennan’s words) for the reconstruction of Europe and Japan. Kennan even suggested that Europe might get a psychological lift from the project of “exploiting” Africa”.
That was a quotation from my book, but it is also referenced in What Uncle Sam Really Wants by Noam Chomsky, pp. 7.
Paul H. Nitze – from Wikipedia: “Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 – October 19, 2004) was a high-ranking United States government official who helped shape Cold War defense policy over the course of numerous presidential administrations”. Also attended in 1957, 1958, 1963 and 1966.
Dean Rusk – former United States Secretary of State. Also attended in 1957 and 1966.
John Sparkman – former US senator, also was a representative of the United States at the United Nations. Also attended in 1966.
Clement Davies – former leader of British Liberal Party, and was the leader at the time he attended Bilderberg. Also attended in 1954 and 1957.
Hugh Gaitskell – former leader of the British Labour Party, and was elected leader after his attendance of the 1955 Bilderberg meeting.
Reginald Maudling – former British Chancellor of the Exchequer. From Wikipedia: “He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955 (note: my emphasis)”. Also attended in 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1978.
Max Brauer – German politician and the First Mayor of Hamburg. Also attended in 1954, 1958, 1963, 1964 and 1966.
Fritz Erler – German SDP politician. Also attended in 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964 and 1966.
Kurt Georg Kiesinger – former Chancellor of West Germany. Also attended in 1957 and 1966.
Carlo Schmid – former Vice President of the Federal Parliament of West Germany. From Wikipedia: “Carlo Schmid (3 December 1896 – 11 December 1979) was a German academic and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Schmid is one of the most important authors of both the German Basic Law and the Godesberg Program of the SPD. He was intimately involved in German-French relations and served as “Federal Minister for the Affairs of the Federal Council and States” from 1966 to 1969”. Also attended in 1958, 1963, 1964 and 1966.
Denis de Rougemont – From Wikipedia: “Denis de Rougemont (September 8, 1906, Couvet – December 6, 1985, Geneva) was a Swiss writer and European federalist (note: my emphasis), who wrote in French”. Also attended in 1954 and 1956.
Antoine Pinay – former Prime Minister of France. Also attended in 1954, 1963, 1964 and 1966.
Guy Mollet – From Wikipedia: “Guy Mollet (French pronunciation: [ɡi mɔlɛ]; 31 December 1905 – 3 October 1975) was a French Socialist politician. He led the French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO) party from 1946 to 1969 and was Prime Minister in 1956–1957”. Also attended in 1954, 1957, 1963 and 1966.
Maurice Faure – From Wikipedia: “Maurice Faure (born 2 January 1922) at Azerat, Dordogne is a former member of the French Resistance and a former minister in several French governments. He was a deputy in the French parliament from 1951 to 1983 and a Senator from 1983 to 1988, representing Lot and served for many years as Mayor of Cahors. Faure was appointed to the Constitutional Council of France by President François Mitterrand. As secretary to French foreign minister, he co-signed the Treaty of Rome for France in 1957, thus helping to create the European Union (note: my emphasis).
Paul van Zeeland – former Prime Minister of Belgium. Also attended in 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1966.
Amintore Fanfani – former Prime Minister of Italy. Also attended in 1956 and 1966.
Herbert Tingsten – from Wikipedia: “Herbert Lars Gustaf Tingsten (17 March 1896 – 26 December 1973) was a Swedish political scientist, writer and newspaper publisher. He was a professor of political science at Stockholm University from 1935 to 1946, and executive editor of the newspaper Dagens Nyheter from 1946 to 1959. During his time as executive editor of Dagens Nyheter, Tingsten argued for Swedish membership in NATO. He also supported Israel”. Also attended in 1954 and 1956.
Thomas Clifton Webb – From Wikipedia: “Sir Thomas Clifton Webb KCMG (8 March 1889 – 6 February 1962) was a New Zealand politician and diplomat. He served as the country’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom between 1955 and 1958”.
Walter Hallstein – From Wikipedia: “Walter Hallstein (17 November 1901 – 29 March 1982) was a German politician and professor. He was one of the key figures of European integration after World War II, becoming the first President of the Commission of the European Economic Community, serving from 1958 to 1967. He famously defined his position as “a kind of Prime Minister of Europe (note: my emphasis)”. Also attended in 1958 and 1966.
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan – From Wikipedia: “Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, KCSI (February 6, 1893 – September 1, 1985) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat, international jurist, and scholar of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, known for drafting the Pakistan Resolution, first foreign minister of Pakistan, for his representation of Pakistan at the United Nations, and serving as a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Prior to the partition of India in 1947, Zafarullah Khan drafted the Pakistan Resolution and presented the Muslim League’s view of the future boundaries of Pakistan to Sir Cyril Radcliffe, the man designated to decide the boundaries between India and Pakistan. Upon the independence of Pakistan, Zafarullah Khan became the new country’s minister of foreign affairs and served concurrently as leader of Pakistan’s delegation to the United Nations (1947–1954). From 1954 to 1961, he served as a member of the International Court of Justice at The Hague. He again represented Pakistan at the United Nations (1961–1964) and served as president of the UN General Assembly in 1962 to 1963. Returning to the International Court of Justice in 1964, he served as the court’s president from 1970 to 1973”. Also attended in 1956.
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay – From Wikipedia: General Hastings Lionel “Pug” Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC (21 June 1887 – 17 December 1965) was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952 to 1957 (note: my emphasis)”.
Terence Airey – From Wikipedia: “Lieutenant-General Sir Terence Sydney Airey, KCMG, CB, CBE (9 July 1900 – 26 March 1983) was an officer in the British Army. In August 1956, he was appointed delegate-general of the European Foundation of Culture, which sought to revive the idea of Europe as a single cultural community (note: my emphasis)”. Also attended in 1966.
Colin Gubbins – Head of the British military organisation the Special Operations Executive (SOE). From Wikipedia: “[After the Second World War Gubbins] remained in touch with people in many of the countries he had helped to liberate, and was invited by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands to join the Bilderberg group”. Also attended in 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964 and 1966.
Otto Wolff von Amerongen – From Wikipedia: “Otto Wolff von Amerongen (August 6, 1918 – March 8, 2007) was an influential German businessman, who chaired Otto Wolff AG, one of the largest trading groups in West Germany.
His father was industrialist Otto Wolff, his mother Elsa von Amerongen. On his father’s death he became a board member and co-proprietor of his father’s business, the Otto-Wolff-Konzern. In 1942, during World War II, he was sent to Portugal to handle import-export business for the firm. He was briefly interned following the Allied invasion of Germany but was given responsibility for re-establishing the company’s export business in 1947. On the 1966 flotation of the business, Wolff won Amerongen became Chairman of the board, a position he retained for the next twenty years.
He held positions on the boards of other major firms. In 1971 he became a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey, later Exxon. From 1955 he was Chairman of the German East-West Trade Committee, and served as Chairman of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1966 and 1990”.
Also attended in 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, and then from every year from 1977-2001 apart from 1981.
Martin Waldenström – Swedish industrialist, and apparent expert on company law.
I think we can safely describe that as quite a significant meeting! We know for a fact from the 1955 Bilderberg minutes that the following issues were discussed at the meeting:
- The re-unification of Germany.
- The possible break-up of the Soviet Union.
- European unity in general.
- The creation of a single European currency.
- The creation of a single European political authority.
- The ascension of Germany into the European Common Market (Edward Heath, who later took Britain into the European Common Market, attended Bilderberg numerous times, and some of the minutes are available for these meetings. The 1963 Bilderberg minutes describe Britain’s entry into the Common Market as inevitable, even though this didn’t occur until 1973).
- A push for general European economic integration.
- The deregulation of European markets and the removal of protectionist measures that allow a country’s national products to be favoured over foreign competitors (this has had a profound effect on the huge power that we see inherent in multinational corporations today).
- A more prominent role for NATO.
- The utilisation of nuclear weapons, and how the public could be “psychologically prepared” for this.
- The possibility of threatening the Soviet Union with the utilisation of atomic weapons (possibly citing the fact that the United States had already used them at Hiroshima and Nagasaki).
- The benefits of joining a united NATO military to be promoted to young people across Europe.
It should be quite clear from this what the modus operandi of Bilderberg was from day one, the significance and prominence of the people that attended, and how much of the Bilderbergers agenda has come to pass.
