760F.62/946: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 21—8:35 a.m.]
1528. The British Ambassador has just informed me that the Czech Government has accepted flatly and unconditionally the British-French proposal. He says that it has definitely been decided that Chamberlain will fly to Germany tomorrow to meet Hitler.
The British Ambassador states that the Polish and Hungarian minorities in Czechoslovakia will probably be given to Poland and Hungary outright in districts where they number more than 50 percent of the population, and a special regime will be created for the Polish and Hungarian minorities which may remain in Czechoslovakia as well as for the German minorities.
The British Ambassador added that the reluctance of the Praha Government to accept the British-French proposal had been based on promises from the Soviet Government which the Praha Government had finally decided were inadequate. He said that he had the impression that the Czech Government finally was relieved to have the flat statement from Great Britain and France that if the British-French [Page 631] proposal should not be accepted the Czechs would receive no support from Great Britain and France no matter what might happen.
The British Ambassador was confident that although it would take some weeks to work out the detailed arrangements the chance that war might break out over the question of Czechoslovakia was almost nonexistent.