near.
PAGE 4 HONGKONG TELEGRAPH
Sir
Nevile
Henderson
INSTALMENT
14
August, 1939. The quarrel between · Germany and Poland had reached deadlock.
War was
Negotiations for a pact between Britain and Russia were still dragging on interminably.
Then came the bombshelf. · Russia had made a pact not with Britain - but with Germany. Sir Nevile Henderson, British Am. bassador in Berlin until
the outbreak of war, to day describes Hitler's. truculent jubilation at his
· new "triumph."
FROM the outsot, I
re-
garded the British nego- Liations with Russin as some-
which
be thing
hind 10 attempted, but which lacked all sense of realities.
I never believed in any ef- fective or altruistic assistance being afforded by the Ruš- sians to the Poles,
The most that I hoped was that if the U.S.S.R., however half-heartedly, joined the peace front, Hitler would re- zard discretion as the better part of valour and come down on the side of peaceful dis- cussion.
But I always believed that Mos- cy's chief aim wan to embroil Germany and the Western Towers in a commun ruin, This was, u to August, similarly the professed view of all Germans, from Hitler downwards, who commented our Russinn negotiations.
I raised this point with Hitler himself when I saw him at Derch- tespaden on August 23.
Hibbentrop was at Moscow on that day engaged signing the Russo-German Treaty, and Inter expitiated to me triumphantly on the value and great advantages of the new alliance, which, he said, was definite and permanent.
“Britain drove me to Stalin”
reminded him of his previous attitude towards the Soviets, and expressed the opink thist he friendship enlight And Russia's
even more dangerous than her en- mity.
CARTOON BY
HITLER'S
Excuse for
STALIN
PACT
I added, speaking quite per- sonally and on purely moral grounds, that if an agreement had to be made with Moscow- for whom Communism was now merely the cloak for intense na- Ilonalism and whoso ulterlör motives seemed to me highly Ger- suspicious—I had rather many made it than ourselves.
Hitler was for a moment con- fused and taken back. He I' torted, however, that it was all our fault: it was we who had driven him into Russia's nums.
But it was the answer of a man who was seeking to exeune him- self.
an
At the beginning of the month, the silence between Berlin Warsaw pod the lack of progress in our talks at Moscow were not the only maleations that the baro- meter might suddenly and rapidly fall.
Apart from the deterioration of the situation at Danzig, the Ger-
PETS GROW
UP!
man Army was rapidly nearing the completion of its pre-mobilisation preparations.
The arrangements for the Tan- nenberg celebrations on August 27 proceeting systematically, were and men and material were being
drafted steadily
castwards vlu Konigsberg into East Prussia.
Hitler would shortly be able to choose his own moment for pre- elpitating the crisis, and I was more than ever certain that the last week of August would prove 10 be zero hour.
Colonel Beck was at this time inquiring what instructions the British and French Governments proposed to give to their ambassa
These extracts are taken from the book of Sir Nevile, Henderson entitled "Pallure of Mission," published by Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd.
STRUBE
Stauree
After signing the Russo-German pact-Ribbentrop (on left),
Stalin (centre), and Moloton (right)."
Nuremberg
dors regarding the Rally in September.
The Polish Ambassador, whose position in Berlin had become en- tirely equivocnl, would conform, he said, with whatever was decided as regards his British and French col- lengues.
Mobilisation
in secret
When I was asked by the Foreign Once what my views were un this point, my answer was that it was stiff quite uncertain whether the 1030 Nuremberg Party Day would ever take place at all, but that, If we did safely reach September, I would have no hesitation in gludly attending some at least of the colé- brations there.
But would we get to September in snfely? That was the only con- sideration which was exercising my mind at that time.
As it was generally understood that Hitler would himself be pre- sent and would speak at the Tan- nenberg ouniversary, and as feared that he would make that occasion the starting point of the crisis, I did my best to find out something about his intentions with regard to that speech.,
I
I could discover nothing, and, in fact. I was probably mistaken. Hitler's action was not to be de- pendent on a speech.
The Tannenberg anniversary was merely cover for his mill- tary preparations against Poland. Just as the milliary review for the Vienna anniversary in March. had been for his Prague coup.
The clouds were, hi fact, gather- ing fast, and the first mutterings of the storm were heard on August
had now Annlly decided upon some form of immediate action' which would force the issue,
I alluded to the Increased Ger- man military strength which had been assembled a East Prussia under cover of the Tannenberg an- and again expressed my rehension lest that celebration might prove the starting point for the action whiteh Hitler con- Templated.
I have 1tle doubt that such was Hitler's original and premeditated Inteution.
A few days later, definite in- formation, in fact, renched me that the long-expected but care- fully concealed German milltary concentrations were already In progress, and that Instructions had been given to complete them by August 24.
One report actually mentioned August 25 as the date fixed for the German advance into Poland.
I believe that the orders to that effect were actually signed by Iller.
The truth undoubtedly was that by this time, not only were Ger- many's military preparations suf- fielently advanced for Hitler to take the Initiative, but
also he could now defullely count upon Russia's complicity in his infamous designs against Poland.
was
the
What Russian price?
The exact date on which he was able to do the latter will be, for obvious reasons, one of the most interesting points which history 4.
That will have to reveal to us. Polish note to the 'Danzig and the price, moral and materiai, Senate had led to a provocative which Hitler paid for U.S.S.R. -German-verbal-note-to-the- Polish--complicity.
Government, and the terms of the Polish reply provided Hitler with a motive for the indispensable brain- storm.
Up to that week of notes, publie enemy No. 1 was still Great Bri- tain and her alleged polley of en- circlement.
From that date the stories of Polish atrocities and references to German honour began to take the leading place in the German news- papers.
the
The 1938 stories of Czech atroel- ties against its German minority were rehashed up almost verbatin in regard to the Poles. How far Herr Hitler himself believed in truth of these tales must be a mat- ter for conjecture. Germans are prone in any case to convince themselves very readily.of any- thing which they wish to believe Certainly he behaved as if he did believe, and, even if one gives him the benefit of the doubt, these re- ports but served to inflame his re- sentment to the pitch which he or his extremists desired.
It Impossible to exaggerate the malign influence of Ribbentrop, Goebbels, Himmler and company,
It was consistently sinister, not so much because of its suggestive- hcss (since Hitler. alone decided policy) nor because it merely up- plauded
and encouraged, but be- cause, if Herr Hitler appeared to hesitate the extremlats of the party at once proceeded to fabricate situations calculated to drive Herr Hitler into courses which even he at. Umes seems to have shrunk from risking.
ཐ9,
before long, Hitler's carefully calculated patience was exhausted. Op August 18 I telegraphed to Lord Halifax that I had come to the definite conclusion that, if peace was to be preserved, the pre- sent situation could not be allowed to continue, and that the only alter- nutive to war must be some im- mediate and mediatory action.
My pleas to
the Cabinet
suggestion
In this connection I repealed a while I had made same time previously, namely, that a personal letter should be addressed by the Prime Minister' 10. Itter and be delivered by
In any case, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, it was late in the evening of August 21
that the bombshell was exploded, annouring that negotiations hud bech concluded for the signature of a Russo-German bon-aggression
pact and that Ribbentrop would fly to Moscow on August 23 to sign it.
The secret, which on the Ger- man side had been known to not more than a few persons, had been well kept.
The first impression in Berlin was, one of immense rellef, partly at the removal of the dreaded Rus- sian ale menace, but more particu- larly because the, publle had been led to believe by Goebbels pro- paganda that the British negotia- lons with the U.S.S.R. were really encirclement with a view to a pre- ventive war.
The conclusion of Russo- Gennun non aggression pact therefore meant that peace was assured, since Britain would not, it was told, fight for Danzig or Poland without Russlan ald.
Once again the faith of the Ger- mon people in the ability of their Fuehrer to obtain his objective without war was reaffirmed,
Its satisfaction was, however, short-lived and the deception con- alderable when it was realised that Britain's word to Poland did not
depend on
on Russian support.
Those who had fought the war of Nazism against Communism were furthermore puzzled by this com- plete volte-face,
The Nazi theory of racial purity had been discarded in March and in August the second of its basic principles, namely, anti-Com- munism, was thus equally rolo- gated to the scrap heap.
Re-
(Copyright in all countries, production in whole or in part strictly prohibited]
TO-MORROW:
Last-minute efforts to avoid war-M y two dramatic interviews with. Hitler-He says, “If I had been Chancellor in 1914-
Home emissary from London,wo should have "won"—
Two days later I again tele- graphed to the same effect, and stated my conviction that Hitler
His last effort to split Britain and France,
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