711.00 Pres. Speech, Oct. 5, 1937/99
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Welles) of a Conversation With the German Ambassador (Dieckoff)
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The Ambassador then referred to the President’s Chicago speech. He said that he was very interested to know the exact interpretation which he should give to it. I said that it seemed to me hardly necessary for me to attempt to interpret the President’s speech inasmuch as it was in my judgment a speech which spoke for itself, but that I felt the Ambassador might wish to give particular emphasis in his own consideration of the speech to the last paragraph thereof. I said that the President sincerely believed that all of the difficult problems with which the countries of the world were today confronted could be solved through a spirit of friendly cooperation and by recognition of each other’s difficulties, and that no permanent solution could ever be found through force. I said that the President further believed that the Government of the United States should work actively towards peace inasmuch as a continuation of the policies of force undertaken by certain governments of the world would in all likelihood bring about a state of affairs which would jeopardize the interests of all peace-loving nations, and that it was therefore imperative for all countries “actively to work for peace.”
The Ambassador said that this was exactly the view which he himself had taken of the speech; that he had so informed his Government; and that he again had to express his regret that the press in Germany, as well as a portion of the press in the United States, should, through erroneous and exaggerated interpretations of the President’s statements, [Page 139] endeavor to create further ill-will between the two peoples. He reminded me, very significantly I thought, that throughout the past years the German Government had declared its belief that the restitution of German colonies was necessary for the solution of the German problem. The German Government had at the same time repeatedly made it known publicly that it did not intend to seek colonial restoration through force but through negotiation and by peaceful methods. He stated that I should remember—and I told him that I did clearly remember—that when the German Government had taken unilateral action to abrogate certain provisions of the Versailles Treaty, such action had always been taken within its own territory and for the sole purpose of restoring to the German people their own unimpaired national sovereignty. He reminded me that Germany had never expressed a determination to regain the Polish Corridor through force nor any other of its former continental territory of which it had been deprived by the Versailles Treaty.
I said to the Ambassador that I was very glad to recognize the complete accuracy of what he said, and that I believed that the influence of Germany towards a solution of international problems by negotiation would be a powerful factor in the cause of peace in the world today.
I asked the Ambassador if he had any information from his Government as to developments with regard to the Spanish situation and particularly with regard to the reply of Italy to Great Britain and France, refusing to discuss a solution of the Spanish problem unless Germany took part in these conversations. The Ambassador said that he had no information directly from his Government, but that he himself hoped that his Government might find it possible to take part since he thought that his Government might prove to be a conciliatory influence. I expressed to him my personal opinion—and I emphasized that it was purely personal—that the friendly participation by Germany in a discussion of the problem based upon the Italian official statement that the Italian Government would under no conditions undertake to impair Spanish sovereignty over Spain herself, her colonies, or the islands under the Spanish flag, would in fact be a helpful factor.
Before he left the Ambassador inquired as to the attitude of this Government with regard to the meeting of the Nine Power Treaty signatories.65 I told him that, while no official invitation had yet been received, this Government had already made known its willingness to take part in such a meeting once an invitation were received.
- See vol. iv, pp. 155 ff.↩