ABSTRACT
In 1952, Retinger began a yet more grand enterprise, the bringing together on a regular basis of prominent people from both the United States and Europe. This informal arrangement appealed to Retinger's history and personality more than a large, public body which the European Movement had become. As Valerie Aubourg noted, Retinger's informal discussions with exile politicians during the war encouraged him to attempt a similar means to a greater end. A number of preparatory meetings were held so that "concerns" could be "accommodated" "in privacy", by holding "off-the-record" discussions. At the beginning of 1952 Van Zeeland and Paul Rykens, old friends, met with Retinger. They were to be the "three European Fathers" of the Bilderbergs. There was a second meeting, held in strict secrecy, equally preliminary, at Zbigniew Morawski's home in Paris; Morawski was the step father of Retinger's secretary, Pomian. The principal agenda item was again to improve European-American relations by bringing together elites.
