U.S. Considers Retaliation for Soviet Slaying of Major

The United States is considering some form of diplomatic retaliation against the Soviet Union for shooting to death an American military officer in East Germany, the White House said today.

Spokesman Larry Speakes said: “We are considering some steps involving U.S.-Soviet relations, but until they’re finalized, I can’t be specific. . . . I can’t spell them out, but there could be a number of diplomatic-related steps we could take.”

Discussions on a U.S. response are being held in the State Department and the National Security Council, he said.

Meanwhile today, Administration officials acknowledged that Maj. Arthur D. Nicholson Jr. was taking photographs of Soviet military equipment in what had been a Soviet restricted area in East Germany before he was killed by a Soviet sentry.

No Justification

The senior State Department and Defense Department officials reiterated, however, there was no justification for the shooting of Nicholson near the East German town of Ludwigslust, 100 miles northwest of Berlin, on Sunday.

The officials, who spoke on condition that they not be named, said Nicholson was outside a Soviet military building taking photographs, through a window, of military equipment.

The building had been designated as a restricted area by the Soviet military, but that restriction was lifted Feb. 20, they said, and Nicholson and his companion, Sgt. Jessie Schatz, had a right to take photographs of what was inside the building.

They said they believe that the Soviets have destroyed the film.

Not ‘Spying,’ U.S. Says

The officials said the two American members of the military liaison mission at Potsdam, East Germany, were not in a restricted area when they conducted the mission, but 300 yards from one. They denied that the Americans were “spying.”

“Yes, there is a certain cat-and-mouse connotation or quality to their operations, but in no way are they considered spies. They are accredited personnel, and deliberate violence against them is against the rules,” one senior official said.

The United States and Soviet Union had offered differing accounts of what occurred Sunday, but both agreed that Nicholson was shot and killed by a Soviet sentry and that Schatz was apprehended. (Story on Page 20.)