760F.62/1317: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 29—4:38 p.m.]
1091. I saw Grandi and had a short talk with him. He feels hopeful about the Munich Conference. He said that yesterday they were [Page 700] four men of war; they may not have wanted to be men of war, but nevertheless, they were all preparing; today they are sitting around a table as men of peace and if they fail they will lose standing in their own countries. He admitted this to be true of Mussolini in Italy. He said that I knew his feelings about Hitler which are not particularly friendly so that his opinion which I am going to give you must be considered in that light. He feels that Hitler has really lost his first battle in the delay in marching his troops since Chamberlain’s first visit to Germany. He compared it to an airplane which crashes when it loses its momentum and he therefore thinks that Hitler will stick for quick action so that complete momentum will not be lost. In spite of all this he is optimistic.
Halifax is not quite so optimistic. He believes that settlement must be made also on the Polish and Hungarian question. For the latter, I am sure he has more feeling in the righteousness of their cause than for Poland or Germany. He believes that Chamberlain must not postpone action but must face the inevitable at once. He talked about the danger of having to come out with some kind of a settlement that would still look impossible to the Czechs and be subject to the criticism that Czechoslovakia was betrayed for world peace. He thinks that the pressure on Chamberlain will be worse than it has been at either of the other meetings, and that for Chamberlain to come out with war averted, he may have to make concessions that the world will not approve of. He told me that when Chamberlain left this morning he looked very tired and he added “with reason”.
Both Halifax and Cadogan, whom I saw later, spoke very feelingly of the President’s messages and if I may be permitted, I would like to express my own opinion with theirs that the second message is the finest the President has written for a long, long time. Halifax said it is one of the finest things he has ever read.
Cadogan thought they might have something tonight, depending on how early they got together. Hitler wanted to have the meeting at 12 o’clock and even permitted the airplanes to fly over the restricted areas in order to save an hour. If anything comes in tonight they will let me know.