FRANK EXCHANGES IN HITLER PARLEYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 230, 29 September 1938, Page 12

FRANK EXCHANGES IN HITLER PARLEYS

FULL STATEMENT.

Chamberlain Prevented

Invasion.

GEBMANY WAS PREPARED. British Official Wireless. (Rrri'lvpil " inn .1 RUGBY, September 28. The PrimaSMini.<ter. in his speech in the House of Commons, gave a recital of the event* in connection with the Sudeten question from July onward-;, leading up to the situation to-day, wliicli Mr. Chamberlain described as one with no parallel since 1914.

Referring to the negotiation* towards the end of August, Mr. CliHinberlain said that events then occurred which increased the serious!Hi--i of the situation. a result, the British Ambassador wan recalled to London for consultation, and a meeting of Ministers was held on Align,, t 13.

Next <liiy. Sir Ncvile Henderson returned to Merlin, and gave tlie State Secretary at the Herman Foreign Office a strong personal warning regarding the probable attitude of the Rritieh <!overnnieiit —already tie lined, ae Mr. Chamberlain lia<] reminded the House in his speech of March 24 —in the event of (■erninn aggression against Czechoslovakia, particularly if France were compelled to intervene. Two days later Sir Xevile Henderson repeated hi* warning to the German Foreign Minister. British Government's Desire. Mr. I'lianiberlain explained that the British Covermiient de.-ired to impress the seriousness of the situation upon the Herman Government without the rink of further aggravation of the situation by any formal representations which might have been interpreted by the German Government as a public" re/buff as has been the case in rejiard to representations made ojg May 21.

At the eame time, with the Nuremberg Conference in prospect, the British Minister at Prague saw the President of Czechoslovakia and impressed on him the vital necessity for further concessions.

Dealing with Heir Hitler's Nuremberg speech, and immediate deterioration which followed it. Mr. Chamberlain came in turn to the first meeting with Herr Hitler at Berchtesgaden.

"At this conversation, which lasted three hours, I very soon became aware that the situation was much more acute and urgent than I realised. In courteous but perfectly definite terms, Herr Hitler made it plain that he had made up his mind that the Sudeten Germane must have the right of self-determination and of returning, if they wished, to the Reich. Hitler Would Risk World War. "If they could not achieve thie by their own effort.-*, he said, Germany would assist them, and he declared categorically that rather than wait he would be prepared to risk a world war. "So etrongly did I get the impression that the Chancellor wee contemplating hanfeiiate invasion of Czechoslovakia. that I asked him why he allowed me to travel all that way, since it was evidently wasting my time. He said that if I could give him there and then an assurance that the British Government accepted the principle of self-determina-tion he would be quite ready to discuss ways and means of carrying it out. "I was, of course, in no position to give there and then such an assurance, but I undertook to return at once to consult my colleagues if he would refrain from active hostilities until I had had tiJne to obtain their reply. ''That assurance he gave, provided, he said,, that nothing happened in Czechoslovakia of euch a nature ae to force his hands, and that assurance has remained binding ever since. All Beady for Invasion. "I have no doubt now, looking back, that my visit alone prevented .ivasion, for which everything had been prepared, and it is clear to me that, with the German troops in the position* they then occupied, nothing that anybody could.do would prevent that invasion unless the right of self-determination was granted, and quickly, to the Sudeten Germans. That was the sole hope of a peaceful solution." Mr. Chamberlain then described his return to London to coneult the Cabinet, which received the viewe of Viscount Runciman, the discussions with the French Ministers-and the advice which the French and British Governments tendered at Prague, and which was accepted unconditionally on September 21.

He added that Mr. B. C. Newton, British Minister at Prague, wae instructed to inform Czechoslovakia the next day that Britain was profoundly conscious of the immense sacrifice which Czechoslovakia. had agreed to, and the immense public spirit they had ehown. The Prime Minister described hi* second meeting with Herr Hitler at Godceberg: "I thought I had only to dweuss quietly with him the various proposals already submitted. I wae shocked when, at the beginning , of these conversations, he said these proposals were not acceptable and I learned there were other proposal* which I had not contemplated at all. I felt I. had to consider what I had to do. Consequently I withdrew with my mind full of foreboding ae to the success of my mission. "I Spoke Very Frankly." After his exchange of letters for the purpose of clarifying the position Mr. Chamberlain visited the Chancellor to say good-bye and remained over three hours with him. He received a memorandum of Herr Hitler's final proposals and a map, for transmission to Prague. "For the first time in the memoranda I found new proposals and I spoke very frankly. I dwelt with all the emphasis at my command upon the risks which would be incurred by insisting on such terms. I declared that the language and manner -of the document, which I described as an ultimatum rather than a memorandum, would profoundly shock public opinion in neutral countries and I bitterly reproached the Chancellor on ■his failti:-o to respond in any way to the efforts which I made to secure peace. "In spits of these frank words the conversation was carried on on more friendly terms than that which preceded it. I think I should add that before saying farewell to Herr Hitler I had a few words with him iu_ private which I do not think are without importance. "In the first place he repeated to me, with great earnestness, what he already had said at Berchtesgaden, naoiely, that thie was the last of his territorial ambitions in Europe and that he had

no wish to have in'the Reich people of other races than Germane" "In the second place le said again very earnestly that he wanted to be friend, with England, and if only this Sudeten question could be got out of ™ W *"* «™ «"

The memorandum was communicated to Czechoslovakia and decisively rejected. Anally Mr. Chamberlain revealed that in the course of the conversations between the French and British Minister* the former informed the British that C ff cho f'ovakia were attacked France would fulfil her treaty obligations." In reply, said Mr. Chamberlain, "we .said that if, ar, a result of these obligations, the French force., became actively engaged we should be pledged to-euniiort them. This announcement was received with cheers, and led on to a description of the Prime Minister's final nd for peace, resulting in the invitation for the four-Power talks at Munich.

The White Paper published this afternoon, to which the Prime Minister made constant reference in his speech. c.Mtaiiw the correspondence, including A letter from Lord Runcinmn to Mi r Chamberlain, dated September 21, expreying his final views, which in'general terms were in acocrd with the Anglo-French proposals. These proposals are also printed, along with the subsequent correspondence between Mr Chamberlain and Herr Hitler.

SECOND PLEA. . U.S.A. PRESIDENT. Strong Appeal to Hitler to Keep Peace. FUTILITY OF WAR. United Pr«*s Association.—Copyright. f Received 3 p.m.) WASHINGTON, September 28. In a further message to Herr Hitler, following the letter's reply to Mr. Roosevelt's first appeal for a peaceful settlement of the Czech crisis, the President said: "I was confident you would coincide in the opinion I expressed regarding the unforeseeable consequences and incalculable disaster which would result to the entire world from the outbreak of a European war.

"The question before the world today is not a question of errors of judgment or of injustice committed in the past; it is a question of the fate of the world to-day and to-moiiow. The world asks of us who are the Heads of nations our supreme capacity to achieve the destinies of nations without forcing upon them as a price the mutilation and death of millions of citizens.

"My conviction on these two points is deepened liecauee responsible statesmen have officially stated that an agreement in principle had already been reached between the German and Czech Governments, although the precise time, method, and details of the carrying out of the agreement remain at issue. Negotiations Still Possible. "Whatever the existing differences may be, and whatever their merits, my appeal was solely that negotiations be continued until a peaceful settlement be found and thereby resort to force be avoided.

"The present negotiations still stand open. They can be continued if you will give the word. Should a need for supplementing them become evident, nothing stands in the way of widening their scope into a conference of all the nations directly interested in the present controversy.

"Such a meeting, held immediately in some neutral spot in Europe, would offer an opportunity for this and for corelated questions to be solved in a spirit of justice and fair dealing, and in all probability with greater permanence.

"In my considered judgment and in the light of the experience of this country, continued negotiations remain the only way whereby the immediate problem can be disposed of upon any lasting basis. Should you agree to a solution in this peaceful manner, I am convinced that hundreds of millions of people throughout the world would recognise your action as an outstanding historic service to all humanity. Allow me to state ,my unqualified conviction that history, and the souls of every man. women and child whose lives will be lost in the threatened war, will hold all of us accountable should we omit any appeal for its prevention.

"The Government of the United s>tatea is not politically involved in Europe and will assume no obligations in the conduct of the present negotiations. Yet, in our own right, we recognise our responsibilities as part of a world of neighbours. My conscience and the impelling desire of the . people of nay country demand that the voice of theirGovernment be raised again and yet again to avert and to avoid war. Great War a Failure. "Resort to force in the Great War failed to bring , tranquillity. Victory and defeat alike were sterile. That lesson the world* should have learned. For that reason above all others I addressed on Monday my appeal to your Excellency, and to the President of Czechoslovakia, the Prime Ministers of Britain and France. "The points I sought to emphasise were:—First, that all matte'rs of difference between the German Government and the Czechoslovakian could and should be settled by. pacific methods; second, that the threatened alternative of the vise of force on a scale likely to result in a general war is as unnecessary as it is unjustifiable.

"It is, therefore, supremely important that negotiations should continue without interruption until a fair and constructive eolation ie reached."