Posted on 05 November 2015
The private papers of Max Kohnstamm deposited in 2001 at the HAEU have been digitised and have been added to the collections available for consultation on the website of the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU).
Max Kohnstamm (1914-2010) was a Dutch Diplomat and lifelong collaborator of Jean Monnet. He was a member of the Dutch delegation in the negotiations on the Schuman Declaration in 1950, and he would become the first secretary of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, under the presidency of Jean Monnet. Mr. Kohnstamm was Vice President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe from 1955 to its dissolution in 1975. In October 1956 he became the General Secretary of the 'Comité des trois sages' (Committee of the Three), a working group established by the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and of Euratom, charged with elaborate proposals for a European atomic energy production programme. In this context he was in charge of cooperation with the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Max Kohnstamm was directly involved in the creation of a European University, which led to the setting up of the European University Institute in Florence, of which he was the first president from 1975 to 1981. Max Kohnstamm was member of the 'Bilderberg-Group' and the 'Trilateral Commission'.
The collection is composed of 49 files which relate to the acceleration of the implementation of the Treaty, the Franco-German relations and the creation of the European University Institute, amongst other subjects. Max Kohnstamm's work for the Action Committee for the United States of Europe is also well documented, including the discussions around 'Multi-Lateral Nuclear Force' (MLF).The records consist mainly of notes prepared by Mr. Kohnstamm, such as memos for the attention of President Jean Monnet during his years at the High Authority. The collection also includes the originals of Max Kohnstamm's diaries written between 1953 and 1967.
The documents are in French, English, German and Dutch.
Direct Access: Max Kohnstamm fonds