PAGE 4-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH.
SIR NEVILE
NEARLY 3,000,000 Ger- mans lived in the Sudeten lands of Czecho-Slovakia. Led by Conrad Henlein, most of them were pro- Hitler.
After the rape of Aus- tria (see Saturday's in- stalment), Czecho- Slovakia was in a hopeless position strategically. Bri- tain and France advised her to come to terms with Henlein, if possible.
an
For two months, agreement was sought. But then, in May, 1938, another Crisis burst..
Sir Nevile Henderson, British Ambassador in Berlin until the outbreak of war, tells to-day the secrets of those dramatic days.
T
HE situation in the Sude- ten lands was gradually deteriorating. Incidents of a more or less serious mature. had become matters of daily
occurrence.
A German Press campaign had reached such a pitch that it was but natural to believe, especially after the recent example of Austria, another German lightning coup was impending.
All the materials for an ex- plosion were thus present when rumours began to spread of a German concentration on the Czech frontier.
On receipt of circumstantial reports to that effect from Prague and elsewhere on May 20, In- mediately called on the Secretary of State, Baran von Weizsacker, and asked him to tell me whether there was any truth in these stories,
Country scoured
for proof
He denied them, but I asked him
to telephone to General Keitel on my behalf, to remind him of the false information supplied to the Military Attache of IM. Embassy before the invasion of Austria, and to ask the general to acquaint me authoritatively with the facts.
An hour later, Baron vor Welz- sacker assured me, categorically on the word of General Keltel, that the tales of troop concentrations were absolute nungen130,
Cas
Similar assurances were given ta the Czech Minister in Berlin well as to the Czech Government
Prague.
But the attitude of the Gernun Press and the precedent of Aus-
lent
colour tria
the wildest tu rumours, and the reports from Praguq in regard to German troop movements became more and more detailed.
In fairness to the Czechs,
it must be realised that much abnormal military
activity was continually going on in Germany and that un- skilled agents and observers - can easily be misled.
On the morning of May 21, 1 ne- cordingly sent both the British milltary attaches on an extensive through reconnaissance
and Silesia (Colonel) Mason-Mncfarlane actually cover- ed 700 und Major Strong some 500 one dawn milies by car between
and the next).
They could discover no sign of 114800]
aigaldeant or
German inliitary activity, nor, indeed, could any of the military attaches of other foreign missions in Berlin.
"They will be exterminated!”
But the fut was in the fire; full credence was, not unnaturally, at- tached abroad to the Czech stories, and I spent most of May 21 at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, regis- tering protests on behalf of His Majesty's Government and official-
the
ing the warnly the
alven in of Commons Prime Minister on March 24.
(This warning declared that " war broke out, it would be unlikely to be confined" to those who had assumed direct obliga- tlona).
first interview with Herr von My Ribbentrop on May 21 proved the occasion for a certain amount of acrimony on both sides,
Owing
to
to a regrettable Indiscre tion, one of the British newspapers had quoted General Keitel by name us having denied to me the reports of German troop movements.
Ribbentrop, who was doubtless offended that I should seek infor- mation from anyone except him- self, begun by complaining of this, and said in consequence no mill- tary Information would
aver
in
future be communicated to ine,
retorted that I could only In- ter from his attitude that. General Keltel's information to me had been incorrect, and that I would feel obliged to report to that effect to my Government.
HENDERSON
INSTALMENT SEVEN
Ribbentrop with his young daughter Ursula.
Ribbentrop
THREATENS
WOMEN and CHILDREN
He thereupon turned in wrath to the accidental murder of two Germans near Eger, and used as regards the Czechs the most re- prehensibly bloodthirsty Jan- Gunge.
When I observed that, while the death of two Germans was
really t
to be deplored, it was bet ier that two should die rather than hundreds of thousands in war, his only reply was that every German was ready to die for his coun
country, Incidentally, I believe that the unsuitability of his language on this occasion carned for him a reprimand from master, and for some time thereafter he re- mained out of favour.
He was to get back again into it when, later in the crisis, his com- forting assurances that England would never fight
were to give that master the encouragement which he needed for the prosveu- tion of his policy in September..
In any
case, Ribbentrop's at- titude on the morning of May 21 did nothing to case the strain, und on the same afternoon I saw him a second time, on instructions from London,
I notified hint of the action which His Majesty's Government were taking in Prague with a view to inducing the Czech Government to come to a settlement direet with Henlein
Then I warned His Excellency that France had definite oblign= tions to Czecho-Slovaktin, and that, if these had to be fulfilled, His Majesty's Government could not guarantee that they would not be forced by events to become them- selves involved.
Ribbentrop sulks
Ribbentrop, who had been high- ly excitable In the morning, kod become sullen. In the afternoon.
His attitude (doubtless on orders from Hitler, for whom the point continued to be a bitter one till the end) WAR that all remon-
· Kirances should be addressed to Prague, and not to Berlin, and be declined to give to Henlein any advice on the lines of that which we were giving to the Czech Gov- crnment.
If a general war ensued, it would," he said, "be a war of ag- gression provoked by France, and Germany would fight as she had done in 1014." He repeated this phrase constantly In September.
Finally, on the Sunday, I con. veyed to him through the State Secretary (Ribbentrop having left Berlin by then) a personal from Lord тезаке
only
general conflagration, the result of which might prove to be the destruction of European civilisation.
action went,
So far as oficial this ended the so-called May 21 incident at Berlin.
By the Monday morning all but the most intractable had become convinced that the stories of Ger- man troop vèncentrations were in fact untrue.
Special train for Embassy staff
on
The
elections municipal
in Czecho-Slovakin the Sunday had passed off without further bloodshed and to the complete satisfaction of the Henlein party,
been ex-
pected to resume a
and things intelstormal course.
Before explaining why they did nut, it is necessary here to men- tion a minor feature of this crisis,
utterly
unim- a feature which, portant in self, was given wide publicity, and which I quote be- cause it actually had bearing on subsequent events.
I refer to the story of the special train.
would be one of my Service At- taches, that he was going on ordinary leave of absence, and that
I did not propose to prevent his doing so, but that I would ver- tainly
cancel the extra railway carriage and forbid the departure of any other members of my staff.
Looking back s
In the light of
subsequent events, all this scems rather childish, but I should like to take this opportunity to dis- claim any ottempt in the May crisis of 1030 to emulate Disraeli's coup at the Berlin Congress. "
"War seems to have begun
The fact was thut everybody's nerves were already worn pretty threadbare even nt tha early stage.
I cannot refrain from quoting another small story in evidence of his.
von
dined on the night of the 21st with
Frau
Dirksen, step- mother of the German Ambassa¬ dor in London and a friend of Hitler's.
The French Ambassador was also there, and in the course of dinner the municipal authorities suddenly began nearby to demolish with
hutel,
the re- dynamite a small moval of which was included in Hitler's scheme for the rebuilding
Berlin. of
1 lcant remarked to Francois-Poncet that the war seemed to have begun.
across my hostess and
It is doubtful if the remark was
a well-chosen one at that moment. and it was possibly a poor example of luumour
erials. lieved
Several months later. Goering
"You me, sald to
were yourself scared during the May pretty
I asked him why he be this und he repeated the above story which bad been seriously retailed to him at the time.
I had only I explained that meant it as a joke. Whereupon Goering replied that he himself to be in Berlin that happened night, and had forgotten that the demolition was to take place.
"When." he said, "I heard 'the Immediate first explosion, my reaction was those cursed Czechs have begun it."
It Goering could have jumped to such a Lonclusion, it 14 not strange that other people should have had misgivings.
a certain Hitler
As it happens, the Naval Attache
The h British Embassy was pro- ceeding on May 21 on normal leave with his whole family. A member of my staff regarded this as a good send his own small opportunity children away,
He was informed by the Railway Company that there was no room that an extra the train, bu! on coach would be added, provided it could be filled. Two other mem- bers of my staff were accordingly. persunded to enrol their families for the exodus, and thus the coach was filled and ordered.
I first learnt of this develop- ment when I returned from the
Add for Foreign Affairs about
and found the French Ambassador en my doorstep, in- quiring whether it was true that I was evacuating the whole of the Brilish Colony.
had by this time even The .news got as far as London, and I re- celved simultaneously an urgent telephone message from the For- eign Office, requesting me to can- cel, the arrangements made to this. effect,
I hardly put the telephone down when the State Secretary rang me up from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, telling me that he had received a number of Embassy passports for visas and begging me not to be an alarmist.'
I told Baron von Wolzsacker that I had only just learnt myself
swears
vengeance
The story is at the same tine an illuminating one in regard to Gerinon mentality.
When we were thinking only that Germany was on the paint of attacking the Czechs, the Germans were apprehensive lest the futter meant to provoke a European war before they themselves were ready for it.
As I said before, things might have been expected to resume a normal course after the scare of the May week-end. That they did not was no doubt partly due to the attitude, of the foreign Press.
The publicity of the Impressive official warning given, as it even- tually proved, without due cause at Berlin, was unfortunate enough.
pushed him definitely over the borderline from peaceful nego- tiation to the use of force.
From May 23 to May 28 his At of sulks and fury lasted, and on the latter date Kave orders for a gradual mobilization of the army which should be prepared the for all eventualities in autumn.
He had made up, his vindictive mind to avenge", "himsek upon Benes and the Czechs..
Once again it was a case of those within his power paying for the humiliation which olliers had caused him.
At the same time, in order to protect himself from any possible reaction on the part of France, he Initiated the monumental and costly work known as the West Wall in Germany, and abroad as the Siegfried Line.
It cost Germany £750 millions, und the expense of it added to Hitler's resentment.
He went so far on May 28 as to Ax October na the actual date for the Czech crisis.
Czechs "fatally
encouraged"
by
Looking back on the past, one realties how litle Justified actuaj fucts was the so-called vle- tory of May 21.
The Germans had never mobif- ised, nor, though their own news- papers and the recent invasion of Austria were greatly responsible for the illusion, had they actually any intention at that time of a "coup" for which they were not yet ready and which, as they reni- ised, required infinitely greater and more careful preparations than had been necessary
in the care of Austria.
We had cried "Wolf" prema- turely, but the fact of the matter was that the world had already lost til confidence in Hitler's good faith, and the ilveliness of the general anxiety was the measure of that complete mistrust.
Moreover, the upshot of the Press campaign was unfortunately twofold,
Not only dit serve as an ex- euse for Hiller to come down on
side
of the extremists; and to approve once again of solutions by force.
but
It also fatally en- couraged the Czechs to belleve that their position was secure, and Benes in his reluctance to go for enough to satisfy the Sudeten Germans.
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TO - MORROW: Czech crisis flares up again-- Premier flies to Berchtes- gaden "there will be little of London left standing”. ---Goering.
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The defiant gesture of the Czechs in mobilising some: 170,000 troops and then proclaiming to the
that it was world
Beir action which had turned Hitler from his purpose was equally regrettable.
The spacious lounge of the Penin- not could But what Hitler
sula Hotel was fully occupied Inst stomach was the exultation of the
night when a large bumber of people Press. The protagonists of collec-attended a military band concert in tive security proclaimed the vic-nid of the British War Organisation tory of their system. Every newA- paper in Europe and America joined in the chorus.
"No" had been sald, and Hitler had been forced to yield. The democratic Powers had brought the totalitarian States to heel, elt., etc.
It was, above all, thla jubila ́tion which gave Hitler the ex-"
third and worst `brainstorm, of the year, and
of this unfortunate coincidence, Halifax.
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55
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Shanghal, Apr. 28. Two Chinese gunmen to-dny shot- and killed My W. B. Carine, 53. at the home of Brith watchman Mr. G. A. Haley, 'member of the Municipal Council and director of Imperial Chemical Industries (China), Ltd., when he challenged the Chinese, who
were trespassing on Mr. Haley's property.
Zu 25
49
54
STOCK MARKET REPORT
Kongkong Stock Exchange Official Summary issued says:
A few H.K. Banks at $1,610 and a
uns of China Lights (old) at $8
prevented the morning being entirely. blank.
Mayers 11.K. Danka -$1,500 China Lights (Old) $700 Lane Crawfords Wm. Powell $1 Entertainment
$7
Hailers
1. Hanks $1,515 Docks Cum 11 $29 Providenta $4.50 Electrics #05 14
Balea TEX. Banke $1,310
:: Union. GADS „China Lights (Old) $ỡ:
The gunmen escaped,
Recently there have been rumours of assassination threats against Municipal Councillors and therefore: it was usual for the Councilors to Mr. Carino formerly worked in. in Kowloon bo escorted by bodyguards sirice the the Chinese Customs
and served in the British Navy dur- recent elections.
Mr. Haley's home is 'in the disputing the world war. He. Iraves a and daughter' in ed extra-Settlement road area. Ho Chinese wife refused to comment on the incident, Bhanghal-United Press“