740.00119 European War 1939/36: Telegram

The Ambassador in France ( Bullitt ) to the Secretary of State

2362. There is not the slightest chance that the French Government will desire to use Hitler’s speech in the Reichstag today as the basis for an armistice.

The speech is considered by the officials at the Foreign Office to present no basis whatsoever for peace and it is considered not particularly adroit from the point of view of propaganda.

It was noted with great interest here that there was no indication in the speech that Hitler had any promise from the Soviet Government of military support by planes or other weapons on the French front. It was also noted that his reference to Italy was of a nature to indicate that his relations with Mussolini at the moment are not intimate.

It is believed that in view of Hitler’s remarks about Belgium and the Netherlands it will be difficult for him to start attack against France by entering either one of those countries.

Indeed the speech has created the impression that either because of the lateness of the season, or because of the present attitude of Italy, or because of fears as to the future actions of his new partner in crime Stalin, Hitler may be hesitant about starting any offensive on the Western front.

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It has not yet been decided by the French Government whether or not any formal reply should be made to this utterance of Hitler’s. At the moment it seems that it will merely be alluded to in some speech.

The greatest interest was aroused by Hitler’s reference to cooperation between the Soviet Union and Germany for the solution of ethnic problems in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. These passages were too vague to make it possible to draw definite conclusions from them but they seemed to open vistas of German and Soviet intrusion into the affairs of Hungary and all the Balkan States.

The impression is definite that Hitler has been obliged to give the Soviet Union not only the Baltic States but also Rumania as a sphere of untrammeled activity.

Bullitt