Office of the Historian

740.00119 European War 1930/384: Telegram

The Chargé in Germany (Heath) to the Secretary of State

Berlin, June 22, 1940—11 p.m.
[Received June 23—1:47 a.m.]

2036. At approximately 10:30 tonight the German radio broadcast a special bulletin announcing the signature at 6:50 this evening in the forest of Compiegne of a Franco-German armistice agreement.16 At the same time it was stated that French plenipotentiaries would proceed to a meeting with Italian plenipotentiaries and that the Franco-German armistice agreement would not enter into effect until 6 hours after the signature of an Italian-French armistice agreement. After [Page 266] the singing of national anthems the announcement concluded with the declaration that now the struggle goes forward against England.

The bulletin contained no information concerning the terms of the Franco-German armistice agreement.

Heath
  1. Department of State, Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1918–1945, series D, Vol. ix, p. 671.↩