PAGE 4.-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH.
Sir Nevile Henderson
INSTALMENT 14
August, 1939. The quarrel between Germany
and Poland had reached deadlock.
War was near. Negotiations for a pact between Britain and Russia were still dragging on interminably.
Then came the bombshell. 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
AROM the outset, I re- garded the British nego. tiations with Russin as some- thing which hnd
be to attempted, but which Incked all sense of realities.
I never believed in any ef- fective or altruistic assistance being afforded by the Rus- 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- gard discretion as the better part of valour and come down on the side of peaceful dis- cussion.
But I always believed that Mos- cow's chief am was le embroil Germany and the Western Powers In a common ruli, This was, up to Augun similarly the professed view of all Germans, from Ilter
commented downwards, who
our Russian negotiations.
011
I raised this point with Hiller himself when I saw him at Berch tesgaden on August 23.
Hibbentrop wan al Moscow un that day engaged In signing. the - Russo-German Treaty, and Hitler expatiated 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”
I reminded him of his previous atitude towards the Soviets, and. expressed the opinion, that he.
And might
Russia's friendship 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
Kini if Krounds,
An agreement had to be made with Moscow-- for whom Communism was now merely the cloak for intenso na-
and tionalism
whoso ulterior highly molives seemed to me suspicious-I had rather -Ger- many made it than ourselves,
re-
Hitler was for a moment con- fused and taken aback, He torted, however, that it was all our fault; it was we who had driven him into Russia's arms.
But it was the answer of a man who, was seeking to excuse him- self.
At the beginning of the month, the allener between Berlin and Warsaw and the lack of progress in our talks at Moscow were not the only indications 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- tenberg celebrations on August 27 were proceeding systematically, and men and material were being castwards vin steadily drafted Konigsberg into East Prussia.
Hitler would shortly be able to choose his own moment for pre- cipitating the crisis, and I
Was
more than ever certain that the last week of August would prove to be zero hour,
Colonel Deck 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 "Failure of a Mission." published by Messrs. Hodder Stoughton, Ltd.
&
STRUBE
·STAURE
After signing the Russo-German pact-Ribbentrop (on left), Stalin (centre), and Molotov (right)i
dors
the regarding Nuremberg Rally in September.
The Polish Ambassador, whose position in Berlin had become en- itrely equivocal, would conform, he sald, with whatever was decided us regards als British and French col- leagues.
Mobilisation
in secret
When I was asked by the Foreign Office what my views were on this polt, my answer was that it was still quite uncertain whether the 1939 Nuremberg Party Day would ever take place at all, but that, if we did safely reach September, 1 would have no hesitation in gludly attending some at least of the cele brations there.
But would we get to September in safely? That was the only con- sideration which was exercising my mind at
at that time.
As it
18
was generally understood that Hitler would himself be pre- sent
and would speak at the Tan- nenberg anniversary, and as I 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
to that speech,
I could discover nothing, and, in fact, I was probably mistaken. Hitler's action was not to be de- pendent on a speech.
had now finally decided upon some .form of immediate action which
would force the issue.
I alluded to the Increased Ger- which had man military strength been assembled in East Prussla under cover of the Tannenberg an- niversary, and again expressed my apprehension lest that celebration might prove the starting point for the action which Hitler templated.
con-
I have little doubt that such was Hitler's original and premenditated Intention.
A few days later, delnite in- formation, in fact, reached mc that the long-expected but care- fully concealed German military concentrations were already In progress, and that instructions had been given to complete them by August 24.
Ond report actually mentioned August 25 as the date fixed for the German advance into Poland.
that the orders to I belleve that effect were actually signed by Hitler.
The truth undoubledly was that by this time, not only were Ger- many's military preparatlong suf- felently advanced for Hitler to take the initiative, but also lic could now definitely count upon Russin's complicity in his Infamous designs against Poland.
The Tannenberg anniversary What was the
was merely cover for his mill- tary preparations against Poland, Just as the military review for the Vienna anniversary in March had been for his Prague coup.
The clouds were. In fact, gather- ing fast, and the first mutterings the storm were beard on August 4,
A Polish note to the Danzig Senate had led to a provocative German verbal note to the Polish Government, and the terms of the Polish reply provided Hiller with n motive for the indispensable brain-
storm.
Up to that week of notes, public enemy No. 1 was still Great Bri- tain and her alleged polley of en- circlement,
From that date the stories of Pollsh atrocities and references to German honour began to take the leading place in the German news- papers.
The 1038 stories of Czech atrocl- ties against its German ainority were rehashed up almost verbatim In regard to the Poles. How far Herr Hitler himself believed in the truth of these tales must be a mat- ter for conjecture. Germans are prone in any ense 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 beneft of the doubt, these re- purts but served to inflame his re- sentment to the pitch which he or his extremists desired.
It is impossible to exaggerate the malign Influence of Ribbentrop, Goebbels, Himmler and company.
It was consistently alnister, not so much because of its
suggestive ness (since Hitler alone decided policy) nor because it merely ap- plauded and encouraged, but be
to enuse, if Herr Hitler appeared hesitate the extremists of the party at once proceeded to fabricate situations calculated to drive Herr Hitler into courses which even he at times seems to have shrunk from risking.
So, before long, Hitler's carefully calculated patience was exhausted. On 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- native to, war must be some in- mediate and mediatory action.
My pleas to the Cabinet
In this connection I repeated a suggestion which I had made SOTTIC time previously, namely, that a personat letter should be addressed by the Prime Minister La ler and be delivered by romé emissary from London.
Two days later I again tele. graphed to the same effect, and stated my conviction that titter.
Russian price?
The exact date on which he was able to do the latter will be, for obvious reasons, one of the inost interesting points which history will have to reveal to us. That and the price, moral and material, which
U.S.S.R. Hitler paid for compileily.
In any ense, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, it was late in the evening of August 21 that the bombshell was exploded, anouncing that negotiations had been concluded for the signature of ♫ Russo-German non-aggression pact and that Ribbentrop would to Moscow on August 23 to sign it.
11y
The secret, which on the Ger man side hud been known to not more than a few persons, had been well kept.
The first impression in Eerlin was one of immense relief, partly at the removal of the dreaded Rus- sion air menace, but more particu- larly because the publle had been led to believe by Goebbels' pro- paganda that the British negotia- tions with the U.S.S.R. were really cucirelement with a view to a pre- ventive war.
The
conclusion of Russo- German non nggression pact therefore meant that peace was assured, since Britain would not, It was told, fight for Danzig or Poland without Rusalan aid.
Once again the faith of the Ger- man people in the ability of their Fuchrer to obtain his objectivo without war was reaffirmed.
Its
satisfaction was, however, short-lived and the deception -con- siderable when it was realised that Britain's word to Poland did not depend on Russian support.
Those who hand fought the war of Nazism against Communism were furthermore puzzled by this com- plote volte-face.
The Naz! theory of racial purity had been discarded in March and in August the second of its basic principles, namely, anti-Com- munlar, was thus equally rele- gated to the scrap heap.
[Copyright in all countries. Re- production in whole or in part strictly prohibited.]
TO-MORROW:
Last-minute efforts to avoid war-My two dramatic interviews with Hitler-He says, "If I had been Chancellor in 1914 wo should have won"-- His last effort to split Britain and France.
Tuesday, MAY 7, 1940,
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