PAGE 4-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH
Sir Nevile Henderson
(INSTALMENT (0)
Tension in the European drama heightens us Hitler and his evil adviser Ribbentrop reach the stage where a choice between peace and war is to be taken.
Sir Nevile Henderson, Britain's Ambassador in Berlin until the outbreak of war, to-day describes a stormy midnight interview with Ribbentrop when the last chance of peace was deliberately thrown away by the Nazi Foreign Minister . . .
Su
UCI information as reached me during the course of August 20 tended to represent the atmosphere as well disposed, and to fore- shadow readiness on Hitler's part to open direct negotiations with the Poles. I was consequent- ly alf the less prepared for the reception which I got on being summoned to the Reichschancery again at 7.15 p.m.
Perhaps I should have been, as the German mid-day Press had reported the alleged murder of six German nationals in Poland, and this story, which was probably fabricated by the ex- tremists in fear lest Hitler
was wenkening, together with the news of the Polish general mobilisation,
just the kind of thing which was most calculated to upset him.
was
I immediately sensed in any case a distinctly more uncom- promising attitude than the previous evening on Hitler's part when he handed me the answer which he had promised
me,
Therein Germany's de- mands were declared to be the revision of the Versailles Treaty, by means of the re- turn of Danzig and the Cor- ridor to Germany, and the security for the lives of Ger- 'man national minorities in the rest of Poland.
Hitler's heated denial
It was stated that the Ger- man Government, in spite of scepticism as to the prospect of their success, accepted direct negotiations with Po land, solely out of desire to cnsure lasting friendship with Britain..
In the event of any modi- fications of territory, the German Government could neither undertaku nor partici- pate in any guarantee without first..consulting_the_U.S.S.R...
I read the note through. carefully, while Hitler and Ribbentrop watched me, and. in spite of the ominous re- ference to Moscow, I made no comment till I reached the phrase at the end of it, in which it was stated that:
Gover-
"The German ment commuted upon the ur- rival in Berlin of a Polish Emissary with full powers on the following day, Wed- nesday, August 30."
I pointed out to his Excel- lency that this phrase sounded very much like`an ultimatum, This
strenuously Was
and heatedly denied by Hitler himself, supported by Ribben- trop.
It was a case of the "Dic- tate" and "memorandum" of Godesberg over again.
Interview
becomes stormy
According to Hitler, this sentence merely emphasised the urgency of the moment, not only on account of the risk of incidents when two mo- bilised armies were standing opposite one another, but also when Germans were being massacred in Poland.
In this latter connection, his Excellency asserted that I did not care how many
Germans were being slauchiered in Po- fand.
This gratuitous Impugnment of the humanity of His Majesty's Government and of myself pro voked a heated retort on my pari, and the remainder of the Inter- view was of a somewhat stormy character.
I asked the Polish Ambassador that evening to call on me while 1 was drafting my telegrams to Log- dan, kave him an account of the German reply and of my conver sation with Hitler, and impressed upon him the need for immediate nellon.
I had never been under any Blu- slon ns to Poland's capacity to roast for more than a brief period
SECRETS
of the
LAST DAYS
of PEACE
-Germany's nighty 'mechanised army and' overwhelmingly superior air force.
I never concealed illis opinion from my Polish colleague, and I implored him, in Poland's own interests, to urge his Government to nominate without any delay someone to represent them in the proposed negotiations at Berlin.
under no But I was equally Illusions as to what this meant, and I telegraphed at the same time to Lord Halifax to the effect _that_Tiller_had muđe up his mind to achieve his ends, by a parade of strength, if that sufficed, but by the use of force, if di not.
The only result," I udded, "can only be either war, or once agalu victory for him by a display of forer and consequent encourage-. ment to pursue the same course again next year or the year after.”
for
His Majesty's Government tost no time in replying to the Gerinan note of August 30 I had already conveyed to the Alinistry Foreign Affairs an Interim answer to the effect that the nnte would be curefully considered.
I had arranged to see the Mini- ster for Foreign Affairs at 11.30 p.m. to make further communica- tions to him. Shortly before the appointed time I received in code the considered reply of His Ma jesty's Government to the German note of August 29.
I was accordingly obliged to ask that any meeting with Ribbentrop should be postponed for half an hour, in order to give me the time to have this last
message deci- phered.
Army leaders urge action
In the concluding passages of that reply His Majesty's Govern- ment, while fully recognising the need for speed in the Initiation of discussions, urged that during the negotiations no aggressive military
01 should
take place on side.
their expressed They further confidence that they could secure the such an undertaking from Polish Government, if the German Government would give similar 65- surances.
I saw Ribbentrop at exactly mid- night, before which hour the Ger-
Born with a clubfoot, Goelbels wears a special shoe on his right foot. To-day no one is allowed to mention or photograpli this de- formity, of which he is extremely self-conscious.
bolding up the rapidity of the Ger- man advance into Poland.
Ribbentrop's
man Government had ostensibly rudeness
counted on the arrival of a Polish
• emissary'nt Berlin.
I say "ostenalbly" since it seems hardly possiblu that it cannot have
.or his occurred either to Hitler Minister for Foreign Affoles that it was utterly unreasonable to expect Polish plenipotentiary to present without even himself at Berlin knowing in advance the basis of the proposals about which he was ex- pected to negotiate.
V
But, even ko, In view of "what Tow occurred, it is difcult not to draw the conclusion that the but proposals in themselves were dust to be thrown in the eyes of the world with a view to its decep- tion, and were never intended to
These extracts are taken from the The army leaders had been re- book by Sir Nevile flenderson en-
"Fattureofa presenting to their Fuchter that tiled
Mission,"
even twenty-four hours' delay in- published by Messrs. Hodder & volved the risk of bad weather
Stoughton, Lid:
**
be inken seriously by the Germunt
Government itself.
Be that as it may. It is probable that Hitler's mood in the hour when he had to decide between. peace or war was not an inlable one.
It was reflected in Ribbentrop. whose reception of me that even- ing was, from the outset, one Di Intense osity, which in- creased in violence as I made each communication in turn,
He kept jumping to his feet in a state of great excitement, folding his arms across his chest and ask- ing I had anything more to yay.
I kept replying that I had, and. If my own attitude was no less un- friendly that his own, i cannot but say in all sincerity that I had every Justiflention tor it.
When I told him that I would not fail to report his comments and remarks
to my Government, he
calmed down a a little and said that they were his own, and that it was for Herr Hitler to decide.
As for Inviting the Polish Am. bassador to come and see him, such course would, he indignantly said, be utterly unthinkable and in- tolerable,
l
After I hud Anished making my Various «communications 10 him, he produced a lengthy docu- 'ment 'which, he read out to me in German, or rather gabbled through to me as fast as he could, in a tone of the 01. TOAL scorn and noyance.
an-
Of the sixteen articles In it I was able to gather the gist of six or seven, but it would have been qúlti impossible to guarantee even the comparative accuracy of these with- out a careful study of the text it- self,
Last chance of
peace scorned
When he had finished, I accord- ingly asked him to let me read it: for myself.
Herr von Ribbentrop, who al
mistool: ways
rudeness for strength, refused categorically. threw the document with a con- templuous gesture on the table and said that It was now out of date, slice no Polish Emissary had arrived at Berila by mid- night.
I observed that in that ease the sentence In the German note of
'
August 29, to which I had drawn his and his Fuehrer's attention on the precedlag evening, had, in fact, constituted an ultimatum in spite
of their categorical denials.
Ribbentrop's answer to that was that the idea of an ultimatum was a figment of my own imagination and creation.
I do not desire to stress the un picasant nature of this inter- view. The hour was a critical one und Ribbentrop's excitability uł such a moment was understandu- vie
It seemed to me, however, that he was
wilfully throwing away the last chance of a peaceful solu- tlon, and It was difficult to remain indifferent when faced with such a calamity.
manners
I still belleve. as I did at the time, that Ribbentrop's exhibition of irascibility and bad that evening was partly due to the fact that he suspected that I had purposely postponed calling on him till midnight, fe, until the hour by which the ultimatum-which he and Hitler had assured me was no ultimatum for the arrival of a Polish plenipotentiary had expired.
Convinced all
was lost
Yet, in the German note of August 29 it had been stated that their proposals would, if possible, at the disposal of the be placed British Government before the ar rival of that plenipotentiary,
Why, then, should. Ribbentrop have himself walted till after mid- night before making the pretence of reading than to me?
But, above all, why did he re- fuse avan then to hand them to me?. Not even Hitler could honestly huvé ́expected ̋the' Polish" Govern=”
Seventeen thousand Ger-.
man soldiers mass before Hiller in Berlin's Lustgar-
ten.
ment to appoint a plenipotentiary to discuss proposals in regard to which it was completely in the darks
Did Ribbentrop and his master But wish them to be communica- led to the Petish Government lest the latter might in fact agree to negotlate?
In the note which was handed to ne by Weizsacker the next even- ing, and which contained at last die text of those proposals, it was stated that Herr von Ribbentrop had given the British Ambassador on the occasion of the presentation of the last British note precise in- formation as to the text of the German proposals.
The German White Paper on the origins of the war repeats this complete perversion of the actual facts.
None of the points at issue in the memorandum was discussed at all.
I returned to His Majesty's Em- bussy that night convinced that the last hope for peace had vanished.
I nevertheless saw the Polish Ambassador at 2. a.m., gave him an objective and studiously moderate necount of my conversation with Ribbentrop, mentioned the cession of Danzig and the plebiscite in the Corridor as the two main points in the German-proposals.
I felt obliged to add that I could not conceive of the success of any negotiations if they were conducted with Ribbentrop.
Copyright in all countries. Re-
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THIS series will be con- tinued to-morrow, when Sir Nevile writes of: Zero hour in Berlin- Hitler chooses war-Poland is bombed-the greatest lie of all-"History will judge."
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