760F.62/1737: Telegram (part air)
The Ambassador in Germany (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 21—11:48 a.m.]
560. The Counselor of the French Embassy, Montbas, just called. He stated that François-Poncet had returned from his talk with Hitler at Berchtesgaden rather encouraged by Hitler’s attitude.
Hitler had said that a false impression had gotten abroad that he regarded the Munich meeting as an isolated episode. This was not the fact. Hitler insisted that he felt that the accord at Munich should be followed by a definite betterment of relationships among the great [Page 726] powers of the West and that real benefits for the future should flow from this understanding. Hitler had instructed Ribbentrop to put into precise form certain arrangements that might be concluded in the spirit of the Munich Agreement but was not yet ready to speak in detail.
Hitler added that he did not anticipate any difficulty with the French, that the French would tell him “yes” or “no” and that this would decide the matter. With the English, however, it is different. You give them a paper. There is a storm of discussion, billions for armament and no precise satisfaction comes. In fact Hitler declared that he might have to denounce the naval agreement.24 He was not yet ready to do so because he had not built up to the 35% in heavy units but when he was so built up he would judge by the state of mind in England whether to denounce the agreement or not.
Hitler said that he desired to have real understanding with England but that what he could not tolerate was a partial understanding while Great Britain armed at a furious rate. In other words he would not accept a piece of sugar to keep him quiet until the British armament program was completed.
Cipher text accompaniment to London.
- Signed June 18, 1935; see Foreign Relations, 1935, vol. i, pp. 162 ff.↩