Why didn't Adenauer and the western powers accept the 1952 soviet proposal?

[buritobr]

In 1952, Stalin offered the possibility of a German unified state. This state could have a capitalist economy, a multi party democracy (the communist party should be legal), like Austria. The soviets requested only no military, no missiles and no NATO affiliation.
Stalin didn't support a communist Germany. He was not the creator of the German Democratic Republic in 1949. The german communists wanted to create that state.

Why didn't Adenauer, the USA and the UK accept the 1952 proposal?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

France saw as its most desirable future one in which France and Germany were closely linked both economically and militarily. It saw this as the best way to avoid yet another war with Germany, and a way to counterbalance the weight of the Soviet and Anglo-American Unions. Stalin's offer would have derailed that.

Save that Mama Merkel ended up in charge instead of Marianne, things went largely as France hoped.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Well the main thing was that there was a Cold War going on at the time which meant (amongst other things) that there was a total lack of trust on all sides and so any proposal like this was always a nonstarter. But you also need to note that Adenauer hated Prussia, Prussians and (especially) their city, so it isn't as though he'd have jumped at such a proposal even if it was regarded as entirely genuine in all respects.

[The Mikado]

I'm not sure how this proposal succeeds with both Ulbricht and Adenauer probably vehemently opposing reunification on these terms, even if Washington and Moscow agreed.

And yes, this offer was probably honest on the Soviets' part, at least during the short window it would've been possible (1952-54). Stalin and Beria viewed East Germany as a leech that was taking more resources than it could contribute and viewed a neutral, non-NATO aligned Germany (pushing NATO bases west of the Rhine or south of the Alps) to be a huge gain. Post-Khrushchev it was dead, dead, dead, though.

[Simfan34]

I've always had the impression that the "neutral united Germany" this proposal would have created would have been akin to the outcome of a "Morgenthau Plan-lite": politically isolated, economically marginalised, and militarily impotent. The plan would have only worked if each side could be sure that the other did not have more influence over Germany than they, which would have precluded significant trade or political cooperation between Germany and either one of the two camps.  This Germany would have to be cut off from the Western and Eastern Blocs,  a kind of "enforced neutrality".

The result would have been a large buffer-cum-pariah state in the middle of Europe, which, at best, would be limited in its relations to those "non-aligned" countries deemed acceptable by both sides; its closest "partner" would have most likely been Yugoslavia. Living standards would probably be below those of the real-world DDR-- in short, the outcome would have probably been pretty bleak. I don't think the proposal, after some consideration, would have remained as attractive to the West Germans as it did at first.

[buritobr]

Morgenthau Plan predicted two states
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenthau_Plan