760C.62/1201: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 30—2:15 p.m.]
1669. I have just read the full written text of the German reply to the British proposals which was handed to Henderson by Hitler in Berlin last night.
This document repeats all the demands which Hitler blurted out (reported in my 1660 of August 30, 11 a.m.) except the demand with regard to Silesia but veils them in such extremely clever diplomatic language that the public or anyone ignorant of the duplicities of diplomacy might consider it a comparatively reasonable document.
Under the circumstances the French Foreign Office is extremely glad that Hitler threw a verbal limelight on the demands which his diplomats had carefully veiled in their note.
The note begins by stating that the German Government is glad that the British Government agrees on the desirability of good relations between Great Britain and Germany. It states that the present dispute with Poland could have been solved at a time when there were good relations between Poland and Germany if the Poles had been willing to accept the offer which Chancellor Hitler made to Poland last April.
[Page 389]It goes on to say that Poland replied to this entirely reasonable proposal by mobilization of military forces and a persecution of the German population in Poland and a political harassment and economic blockade of Danzig designed to drive Danzig to political despair and economic destruction. These activities of the Poles had become so terrible during the past weeks that the question of ending them was no longer one of months or weeks but of hours.
The revision of the Treaty of Versailles must be continued and Danzig and the Corridor must be returned to the Reich. The question of the protection of German minorities and economic interests in Poland must be solved.
The Reich had no intention of extinguishing the independence of Poland; but the question of guaranteeing those portions of the Polish state which should remain after Germany’s claims had been satisfied could not be answered by the Reich before consultation with and the agreement of Germany’s associate, the Soviet Union.
The German Government had no confidence that direct conversations between Germany and Poland would lead to any result; but to accomplish its acquired love of peace and in order to put an end to reports of the British Government that there should be direct conversations the German Government would be glad to receive a plenipotentiary negotiator in Berlin, if one should arrive from Warsaw today Wednesday the 30th.
I have really rarely read a clearer piece of casuistry than this note which in fact makes all the demands that Hitler made verbally; but produces a surface appearance of sweet reasonableness.
The French and British Governments are now in consultation as to the reply which should be made to this note. The French Government has received from a number of sources information that Germany may start war with Poland tonight.
The French Government has also received information from a number of sources that if war should begin in the immediate future Italy would not at first enter the war but would try to remain neutral until Poland had been crushed by Germany and until the German forces concentrated against Poland could be returned to the French frontier for an attack on France. At that moment Italy and Germany together would attack France.
The single astounding feature of the note is the phrase about the Soviet Union which seems to indicate that Germany has promised to give the Soviet Union eastern Poland and may mean that the Soviet Union will attack Poland.