PAGE 4.-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH
Sir Nevile Henderson
INSTALMENT 5
ON January 12, 1938, the German Press announced that Field Marshal von Blomberg had been married on the previous day
to a certain Fraulein Eva Gruhn, with Adolf Hitler and General Goering us gole witnesses of the ceremony.
*
41
I had been dining the night before at the Ministry of Pro- paganda, and our host, Herr Funk-then Under-Secretary of that Ministry, and to-day Minister for Economics and President of the Reichsbank -had announced the fact at the end of dinner to some sixty guests, including many Cabinet Ministers, military officers, and Nazi officials.
All learnt the news with amaze- ment, and everyone at once asked who Fraulein Gruhn was without flading anyone to answer.
Speculation continued to centré In that question until it gradually become publle property that she was inscribed on Himmler's police records as an attractive lady, but of the lighter virtues.
I have never felt quite certain
in my own mind that this news was not a calculated plot on the part of that scheming chief of the Gestapo.
He must, at feast, live known what was going on, even if ter
and Goering did not, and it was furthermore very much in his personal interests, and those of the extremists, to climinate
Blomberg,
In any case, the shock of this disclosure to Hitler's personal feel- ings and publle prestige was im- Not only was Blomberg mense. ong of his most trusted advisers, but also one of his most intimate and possibly most beloved friends.
And this lacrt friend had de eelved him! On discovering the truth, Hitler's first step
was to endeavour to persuade the Marchal
to allow the marriage to be dissolved, on the ground that he had been inveigled into it under false
pretences,
Blomberg's refusal 10 agree to this
course
shools Hitler's faith in
YESTERDAY Sir Nevile-Britain's pre- war Ambassador in Berlin-told you how in spite of Anglo-German "friendship' talks” some sort of violent action by the Nazis seemed inevit- able, and how he finally sent to the British Govern- ment a secret warning of Germany's store of arms. TO-DAY he tells you how European history was reshaped by a...
Field Marshal and Frau Blomberg in Singapore on their
honeymoon
MARRIAGE
that caused a
wall facing the window. On my left on a small stool was Dz. Schmidt taking notes.
On his left again, in a semi- circle, Hitler himself in an am chair, and next to him and facing me, Herr von Ribbentrop.
I began with a statement of my object in asking to see the Chan- cellor. It was not, I said, to sug- gest a bargain (Kuh-handel or "cow-deal"), an accusation which the German Press always made against us when we suggested any- ling. but to create a basis for friendship.
1.M. Government. I said, did not underestimate the difficulties to be overcome, but were convinced that
HITLER BRAINSTORM
the loyalty of his followers both
to himself and to Germany. But
worse was to follow.
Bomberg had probably nevèr, as 100 pestical Marshat and as subservient to the Nazi civilians. been very popular with the Army chicls.
General who
dared criticise
Incidentally, he was equally un- Nazi extremists popular with the
as not being one of themselves and interference in military matters.
Without waiting for Hitler to find his own way out of the impasse, Generul the Commander-in-chief. von Fritsch, supported by other Generals, notified the Fuchirer that Army discipline could not tolerate the retention of Blomberg, married. to, a lady with such a past, la his post as Minister for Wue.
if there is one thing which b dictator dislikes, It is being dic- Partly out of repugnance tuted to. to having his hand forced and partly out of loyalty to his old first to friend, he demurred at Blomberg's removal.
Whereupon General von Fritsch took occasion not only to insist on the point of military discipline, but also severely to criticise the Fuchrer's forelin policy, more particularly as regards Austria.
going farther than This was Hitler would tolerate. As Field- Marshal Goering said to же д month or so later:--
"What would Mr. Chamberlain have done if your C.L.G.S. had come to him and said, “Quite apart from Army matters, I entirely disapprove of your foreign
Course later.
of
events a few months
It has been hecessary to lay grent stress on the incident of the Blomberg marriage. Both morally and materially, its consequchees were of the utmost importance,
Not only did R-as mentioned his first above-cause Itier brainstorm of the year," but there is good reason to belleve, that it raulically altered his entire oui- look on life.
Thenceforward he become less human, and his fits of rage, real or simulated,, more frequent.
His faith in the fidelity of his followes was gravely shaken, and
quently, more chance of exercising lils influence on, the Fuehrer than any other German Minister.
หร
In September, 1038, as well as in and Ribbentrop August, 1939. Himmler were, in my opinion, his principal lieutenants in the war the of which Ilitler party Trader.
Finally there is no doubt that the Blomberg incident, and the necessity which it imposed
dictator to obliterate its memory by some striking external success, accelerated the lepo of what may be described as Act I of the drama "Austria,"
they could be overcome if both parties contri- buted on a basis of re- ciprocity, and on the higher principle of
reason as distinct from the use of mere forte.
Government H. M.
admitted that changes were possible, but only effected on the basis of higher reason: they had dis- the cussed what appeared to be main questions between us, such as a limitation of armaments and, the restriction nf bombing-to which H.M. Governinent would add the abolition of bombing nero- planes as well as a peaceful solu- tion of the Czech and Austrian problems, and the Colonial ques- tion,
What contribution, for her part-- was Germany. I asked, ready to make towards general security and peace in Europe?
It was perhaps the longest con- tinuous statement which I ever made to Hitler, and must have lasted for the best part of ten minutes.
During all that time he re- mained crouching in his arm-
his marcessability becane greatly Premier's third chair and wearing a most fero.
accentuated.
Moreover, the all-important up- shot of the incident was to remove from Hitler's entourage two of his most moderate and respectable advisers. Blomberg himself, and . Baron von Neuroth
The replacement of Neurath by Ribbentrop was a major disaster,
I would so to make it quite clear that 1 have no personal quarrel with Herr von Ribbentrop, whose original Intentions may have been admirable.
But from the beginning I felt that his vanity, his resentments and his misconceptions of Eng- land and English mentality were a serious bar to any prospect of a better understanding between The two countries; and at the end I realised that, as far as lay in hla power, no one had done more than he did to precipitate the
war.
Ribbentrop-
policy? lie would have said. "vain and stupid'
Thank you, good-day, and dis- mlased him as Hitler did General von Fritsch.”
That was, in fact, what, hap- pened. Fritsch left and Blomberg also.
The only question for Hitler then was how to effect these two main changes with profit, or at least without loss of face to himself.
In the end, three weeks later on February 4, and after the first of Her's temperamental fits of un- controlled rage that year these two rtanovals were announced under a vast camouflage of other changes and retirements, not only in the Army but also in the Navy, Alr. Force and Diplomatic Service,
Except, however, in the field of diplomacy, little mattered except the removal of Blomberg and Fritsch, inasmuch as at least 90 per cent. of the changes would have taken place in the normal.
Speaking to Goering and to others before Munich, I had re- minded them that if one man had been more responsible than any- one else for the war which began Count In August, 1014, it was Berchtold the Austrian Minister
· for Foreign Affairs,
I had known him in St. Peters- burg when he was Austrian Am- bassador there.
He was great Austrian noble- man, but, like Ribbentrop, he was a combination of vanity, stupidity and superficiality. And I warned my listeners that if Ribbentrop was ono day not checked, he would lead Germany to ruin
fis Count Berchtold had led Austria,
Unfortunately, foreign politics were Hitler's main preoccupation, and in his position as Foreign Minister, Ribbentrop hnd constant access to, and,
more conse-
peace
effort
Between, however, the prelude
and the first act, there was an in- terlude, in the course of which Mr. Chamberlain made his third effort In eight months to initiate with Hitler discussions which might lead to serious negotiations, and 50 to the settlement by parife methods of all outstanding prob- lems, which was the settled policy of Mr. Chamberlain's Government vis-a-vis Germany.
That was, too, from beginning to end, the underlying purpose of my mission to Berlin.
I was recalled to London at the end of January, 1938, and given Instructions to seek in an interview with Hitler and to discuss the pos- sibilities of a general settlement.
I returned to Berlin on February 4, but in view of the unsettled at-
tio caused by
rc- mosphere
following on organisation
R10 Blomberg marriage incident, my actual nudience with Hiller was deferred until March 3.
By that time Mr. Eden had left the Government, and Lord Halifax had succeeded him as Foreign Secretary.
Unfortunately-and
it seemed faled that it should always be so for my meetings with itler-the moment was an ill-chosen one. The Austrian ketile was boiling hard and on the point of boiling over. Hiller was consequently in a vide temper, and made no effort to conceal It.
2
I was received in the old Reichs- chancery, and was asked to sit down on a big sofa against the
clous scowl, which my firm, but at the same time conciliatory, remarks scarcely warranted,
He Hstened, nevertheless, till I had finished and then let himself
KO,
Nothing, he said, could be done until the Press campaign against him in England ceased. (He never ceased haipsing on this subject in every conversation which I had with him.)
over
Nor was he going to tolerate the in interference of third parties Central Europe. Injustice wn? being done to millions of Germons, and self-determination and demo- eratic rights must be applied to Germans as well as others.
U.S.S.R. pact quite worthless
were
Only 15 per cent. of the Austrian population supported the Schusch- ng regime: if Germans oppressed there he must and would intervene, and if he did Intervene, he would act like lightning,
Austria must be allowed to vote, and in Czecho-Slovakia the GCT- mans must have autonomy in cul- tural and other matters.
After •hatonguing me for half an hour, he turned the question of referred to the. disarmament threat to Germany of the Franco- Soviet Pact and
of Czecho- Slovakia's accession thereto.
And
It was, he said, for that reason that Germany had to be so heavily armed, and any limitation of armu- ments depended therefore on the
USSR.
The problem was, he continued, rendered particularly difficult
"by the fact that one could place as much confidence in the fallki in iresites of a barbarous crea- Auro Uke the Soviet Union as in the comprehension of mathema- float formules by
"Any
agreement with the U.S.S.R. was quite worthless and Rupala should never have been allowed Into Europe."
A BAYAKO.
It was impossible, he added, to
"SHE was in- scribed on Himmler's police records... Hitler became less human, his fits
of rage more frequent."
LLED
have for instance any faith in any Soviet undertaking not fo poison gas.
The sentenen in Inverted com- mas are Hitler's actual words an recorded in the written and care- fully edited notes, made ond given
to me at the time by Dr. Schmidt,
In fact the whole of this account of the interview is summarised from that written record, Dud approved by Hitler himself and communicated to me by Herr von Ribbentrop.
I have transcribed it at some length, because Hitler's remarks on this occasion constitute Interesting evidence, as taken down and to be used against him, of the Hitler technique,
As for colonies he did not seem the least interested in them, and the sum of his reply was that the colonial problem could wait for four, slx. eight or even ten years,
He promised, however, to glvo me a written reply on the subject, and I left Berlin a year and a half. later without having ever received
It.
My onslaught
on Ribbentrop
By the end of the interview, the scow on Hitler's face had disap- penred, and on one occasion he had even smiled.
It was when Nibbentrop inter- vened with some remark about the British Press, which elicited from me the retort that it seemed to me amazing that any man who had lived in Canada and bech -Am- bassador In London, should be so profoundly ignorant of British mentality and habits.
Hitler seemed to appreciate my onslaught on his Minister for Foreign Affairs whose ascendancy over him was at that time far from being what it subsequently became.
[Copyright. Reproduction irz whole or in part strictly pro- hibiteit.]
TO-MORROW: The tense drama that lay behind the invasion of Austria-Why Britain did not intervenemin Goering's private note offering to "explain every-
thing."
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