862.20/805
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 29.]
Subject: Germany declares General Military Service.
Sir: Referring to my telegrams of March 16, 8 p.m. and March 18, 6 p.m. on the subject stated above, I have the honor to report that in a Cabinet meeting at 1 p.m. on March 16th, the Third Reich promulgated a law which ordered general compulsory military service to be announced in the near future.
Later in the afternoon the Ambassadors of France, England, Italy and Poland were informed of the law, in the order above named, by the Reich Chancellor and in the presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Baron von Neurath, the late evening papers carried the news, and the same evening Propaganda Minister Goebbels49 gave the information [Page 308] to a huge audience at the Sportpalast as part of the memorial day (Heldengedenktag) celebrations for the fallen war and Nazi heroes, the formal celebration of which was held on March 17th at the Staatsoper and in other large cities of Germany. By virtue of the issuance of the law, the event took the turn of celebrating the regaining of Germany’s honor and sovereignty.
The announcement was received with a certain momentary enthusiasm, one influence being the prospect of increased employment in industry and elsewhere, but the principal reaction, played upon to the fullest extent by the Government, was that of an up-lifting self-satisfaction; Germany had at last been freed of the “disgrace” of the Treaty of Versailles, her shameful position among European powers had been changed to one of equality, and having suffered the indignities of broken promises for years, she thus struck back at, notably, such moves on the part of other powers as those envisaged by the recent French decision to increase military service and the British White Paper.
However, the decision to announce military service in violation of treaty provisions does not appear to have been predicated upon or precipitated by the recent French and British action. The creation of a military air force was a trial balloon and was undoubtedly decided upon prior to the release of the British White Paper (see my despatch No. 1845 dated March 13th). Furthermore, it has been reported that the Chancellor had written the general military service law prior to the decision of the French Chamber to increase military service on March 15th. Indications all give weight to the assumption that the Nazi Government had simply reached a point in European peace maneuvers beyond which they believed it impossible to proceed before endeavoring to straighten out certain definite inequality mental complexes. Their protestations of peaceful intent may be subject to question and viewed with suspicion, but they now feel that they may at least discuss peace, regardless of overt acts against treaty pledges, in the possession of the one element which is a basic necessity in their make-up: acknowledged power. Having discarded with one fell swoop, however unethical, the bonds of the past which they believe unjust, and having created power for their words, they are ready to discuss “peace” on an equal footing.
Reactions to the law announcement in local diplomatic circles are varied. Naturally among the French, British, Italian and Polish the feeling runs high, and it is understood that each of their Ambassadors when informed of the law by the Chancellor stated that his country would protest. Up to the present, only the British have dispatched a note, which, according to advices from London, was not sent as a protest but as an “objection”, with the inquiry added as to whether this Government desired to reconsider the plans for the Simon visit. [Page 309] It is understood that no German reply will be made, but the semiofficial press endeavors to lay the onus of treaty violations on the other contracting parties in the matter of armaments. Ambassador Phipps50 was orally informed that the German Government sees no reason to change the plans. Simon intends to arrive on Sunday, March 24th. Press despatches state that the French are still considering the matter and that, following the English note, similar action will be forthcoming in a day or two. It is reported that the Polish Government is greatly perturbed and that the German Government has sent one of its cleverest diplomats to Poland to ascertain the real extent of the dissatisfaction. Nothing official has been received from the Italian Government, but Italian despatches reporting German mobilization were emphatically denied in the Foreign Office.
On his return from the Berlin celebration to Munich on March 17th, Hitler granted Ward Price of the London Daily Mail an interview in which he also stressed Germany’s continued desire to negotiate, saying that “the establishment of Germany’s armament is an act reestablishing the violated sovereignty of a great state.…51 For the very reason that we are a sovereign state we are prepared to negotiate with other sovereign states.” The German step, the Chancellor continued, only affected that part of the Treaty of Versailles which, through the repudiation of the analogous disarmament obligation by the other nations, had long lost its legal effect. “The German Government realizes that a revision of territorial regulations of international treaties can never be brought about by unilateral measures.” Describing the effect of the new law on the German people, the Chancellor said that it was felt to be not a military but a moral act. What moved the German people was not hate of any other nation, but joy over Germany’s regained honor and freedom.
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Respectfully yours,