600.0031 World Program/123: Telegram
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 21—8:50 a.m.]
111. In a brief talk I had yesterday with Dr. Schacht one or two statements were made that may be of value.
- 1st.
- He insisted that the present economic condition of Germany and the Western world is really dangerous. The greatest cause of this he said was extravagant war preparation and the second cause was international trade barriers. He also insisted that he agreed with Secretary Hull’s policy as a remedy even better than disarmament which would be dangerous if not carefully managed by all the greater nations.
- 2d.
- Contrary to these statements came another in which he insisted that Germany would only make bilateral treaty agreements for some years to come. He then said that Secretary Hull had told the Brazilian Government that the United States Government would stop her purchases of copper [coffee] in case that country made concessions to Germany. I could hardly accept this but he insisted that his information was correct.
When I mentioned the fact that so much of the American criticism of Germany was due to treatment of churches and universities he at once added: and also the Jews. But he insisted that this was due to the revolution of 1933 and tried to maintain that such things followed the French revolution of 1789. I could not agree to this as a rule of Western countries since 1789.
I had thought Dieckhoff might have definite instructions to negotiate a commercial treaty with us but this conversation gave no indications to that effect.