1940-05-09 — Page 24

PAGE 4.-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

Sir Nevile Henderson

(INSTALMENT 16)

Tension in the European drama heightens as 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 nbassador in Berlin until the outbreak war, to-day describes a stormny right interview with Ribbentrop

the last chance of peace was tely thrown away by the Nazi

Minister

rmation as reached me during the f August 20 tr¬ded to represent

e na well disposed, and to fore-

ess on Hitler's part to open direct Lions with the Poles. I was consequent- ly all the less prepared for the reception which I got on being summoned to the Reichschancery again at 7.16 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 weakening, together with the news of the Polish general mobilisation, was just the kind of thing which was most calculated to upset him.

I inmediately 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 ensure lasting friendship with Britain.

In the event of any modi- fications of territory, the German Government could neither undertake nor partici- pate in any guarantee without first consulting the U.S.S.R..

re-

I read the note through carefully, while Hitler and Ribbentrop watched me, and, in spite of the ominous ference to Moscow, I made no comment till I reached the phrase at the end of it, in which it was stated that:

"The German Govern- ment counted upon the ars 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

Was strenuously and heatedly denied by Hitler himself, supported by Ribben- trop.

1

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 opposito 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 Germany were being slaughtered in Po-

·land.

This gratuitous impugnment of the humanity of His Majesty's Government and of myself pro- vvoked a heated retort on my part, and the remainder of the inter- view was of a somewhat stormy character.

WLE

I asked the Tollsh Ambassador that evening to call on me whil. 1 drafting my telegrams to Lon- don, gave him an account of the German reply and of my conver sation with tiler, and Impressed upon him the need for immediate nction.

illu-

I had never been under any

us to Poland's capacity to sion resist for more than a brief period

SECRETS

of the

LAST DAYS

of PEACE

Germany's highly mechanised army and overwhelmingly superior air force.

I never concealed this 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.

But

I was equally under no Illartons as to what this meant, and I felegraphed at the same time to Lord Halifax to the effeci that_Witter_had made up his mind to achieve his ends, by a parade of strength, if that sufficed, but by the use of force, if it did not.

"The only result," I added, "can only be either way, or once agula victory for him by a display of force and consequent encourage- ment to pursue the same course again next year or the year after."

for

His Majesty's Government just no time in replying to the German note of August 30 I had already conveyed to the Ministry Foreign Affairs an interim onswer to the effect that the note would be carefully considered.

1.01.

I had arranged to see the Mini- ster for Foreign Affairs at 11.30 to make further communica- tions to him. Shortly before the appointed time I received in code the considered reply of ills Mu- Jesty's Government to the German note of August 20.

I was accordingly obliged to usk that my meeting with Hibbentrop should be postponed for half an hour, In order to give me the time to have this last essage 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 operations should take place either alde.

on

their

expressed They further confidence that they could secure the such

undertaking from Polish Government, If the German Government would give similar us-

an

surances.

I saw Ribbentrop at exactly mid- night, before which hour the Ger

man

Born with a clubfool, Goebbels wears a special shoe on his right foot. To-day no one is allowed

to mention or photograph this de- *formity, of which he is extremely

self-conscious.

holding up the rapidity of the Ger- man advance into Poland,

Ribbentrop's

Government had ostensibly rudeness

counted on the arrival of a Polish emissary at Berlin.

I say "ostensibly" since it seems hurdly possible that it cannot have

lo ler occurred either

or his Minister for Foreign Affairs that it was utterly unreasonable to expect a Polish plenipotentiary to present himself at Berlin without even knowing in advance the busts of the proposals about which he was ex- pected to negotiate.

The army leaders had been re- presenting to thelt Fuehrer that even twenty-four Hours' delay in volved the risk of bad weather

But, even

80, In view of what now occurred, it is dificult not to draw the conclusion that the proposals in themselves were bul dust to be thrown in the eyes of the world will a view to its decep- tlon, and were never Intended to

These extracts are taken from the book by Sir Neville, Henderson en-

"Fallure

Mission," of G titied published by Blessra. Hodder

Stoughton, Lid:

be taken seriously by the German

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 amiable one.

It was reflected in Ribbentrop, whose reception of me that even- was, from the outset, one ing of intense hostility, which in- creased in violence as I made each communication in turn,

He kept jumping to his feet in u state of great excitement, folding his arms across his chest and ask- ing if I had anything more to

sny.

I kept replying that I had, and, if my own nititude was no less un- friendly than his own. I cannot but Say in all sincerity that I had every Justification for it.

When I told him that I would not full to report his comments and remarks to my Government, he calmed down a little and said that they were his own, and that it was for Herr Hitler, to decide,

As for Inviting the Polish Am- unssadur to come and see him, such a course would, he indignontly said, be utterly unthinkable and in- tolerable.

After 1 had finished making iny Various communications to him, he produced a lengthy ducu- ment which he read out to me in German, or rather gabbled through to me as fast as he could, of the utmost scorn und ati- лоуапсе.

a tone

Of the sixteen articles in it I was able to gather the gist of six or seven, but it would have been quite 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 van Ribbentrip, who al- mistook rudeness for

ways

strength,

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 dark.

Did Ribbentrop and his master not wish them to be communica- led to the Palísk Government lest the latter might in fact agree to negotiate?

In the note which was hunded to me by Weizsacker the next even- ing, and which contained at last the text of those proposals, it was slated that Herr von Ribbentrop had given the British Ambassador on the occasion of the presentation of the last British note precise in- formation ay 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- bassy that night convinced that the lost hope for peace had vanished.

I nevertheless saw

the Polish Ambassador at 2. u.m., gave him an objective and studiously moderate account of my conversation with Ribbentrop, mentioned the cession of Danzig and the plebiscite in the Corridor as the twở malu points in the-German-proposnis.-

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 countrier.

whole production in

OF

Re-

part

strictly prohibited.] refused calegorically.

THIS series will be con-

threw the document with a con- temptuous gesture on the table and said that it was now out of dale, since no Polish Emissary hail

arrived at Berlin by mid-

night.

tinued to-morrow, when Sir Nevile writes of : Zero hour

1 observed that in that case the in Berlin Hitler chooses

sentence in the German note of

August 29, to which I had drawn war-Poland is bombed-the his and his Fuehrer's attention on the preceding evenleg, had, in fact, constituted an ultimatum in spite

of their categorical denials.

Ribbentrop's answer to that was that the iden of an ultimatum was agment of my own Imagination and creation.

I do not desire to stress the un- pleasant nature of this Inter- view. The hour was a critlent one and

Ribbentrop's excllability at such a moment was understandu- ble.

It seemed to me, however, that he was wilfully throwing away the last chance of a peaceful solu- tion, and it was difficult to remain indifferent when faced with such a calamity.

sull belleve, us I did of the time, that Ribbentrop's exhibition manners of frascibility and bad that evening was partly due to the fact that he suspected that I had purposely postponed calling on him til midnight, ie., until the hour by which the ultimatum-which he and Hitler had assured me was no ultimatum for the arrival of Polish plenipotentiary had expired.

Convinced all

was lost

B

greatest lie of all-"History will judge."..

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Yet, in the German note of August 20 it had been stated that their proposals would, if possible, FIXED

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Why, then, should. Ribbentrop have himself waited tili after mid- night before making the pretence of reading them to me?

But, above all, why did ho' re- fuse even then to hand them to me? No! even Hiller could honestly have expected the Polish Govern-

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