IN NAZI GERMANY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23662, 22 May 1940, Page 6

IN NAZI GERMANY

BRITISH DIPLOMAT ITALIAN PEACE EFFORTS HITLER REMAINS SILENT BY BIK NEVILE HENDERSON No. XXXIV. Even after the German troops had entered Poland the Italian Government was making one last effort to save the situation. The Italian Ambassador had come to see me at mid-day on liis way to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Signor Attolico told me that lie must know erne thing immediately. Was the communication which I had made the previous evening to Herr von llibbentrop an ultimatum or not? I told His Excellency that 1 had teen authorised to tell the Minister for foreign Affairs if he had asked me — which he had not done—that it was not an ultimatum but a warning. I mentioned to Signor Attolico that I understood that the Italian Government wero putting forward a suggestion for the cessation of hostilities and the immediate summoning of a conference of the interested Powers. In this connection 1 said that 1 felt bound to express the opinion that such a proposal would never be entertained unless at the same time all the German troops were withdrawn from Polish territory. 1 urged him to press for this. -The Only Course The Ambassador retorted that I could not speak for my Government. 1 admitted' that fact, but said that 1 could not imagine the possibility of ourselves, and much less of the Poles, agreeing to any lesser course. There had never been, in fact, for Hitler but the two solutions: the use of force, or the achievement of his aims by the display of force. Lato in -the afternoon of September 2 I communicated to the Secretary of State for the information of the German Government the verbatim report of the Prime Minister's speech in the House of Commons on that date. Therein Mr. Chamberlain stated that while His Majesty's Government could not agree to the proposal of the Italian Government for a conference while Poland was being subjected to invasion, it would be willing, if the German forces wore withdrawn from Polish territory, 'to regard the position as being the same as before the forces had crossed the frontier.

It was the last chance of avoiding the great catastrophe of war at the last minuto, but the German Government remained silent. The British Ultimatum At. 4 a.p. on September 3 1 was accordingly instructed by His Majesty's Government to arrange for a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs at 9 a.m. There was some difficulty in establishing contact with the Ministry at that nour, but I was finally informed that Dr. Schmidt was authorised by the Minister to accept on His Excellency's behalf any communication whicH I might make to him. I accordingly handed to Dr. Schmidt at 9 a.m. precisely the final ultimatnm from His Majesty's Government, pointing out that over 24 hours had elapsed sinoe I had requested an immediate answer to' our warning communication of September 1. . As no reply from the German Government was vouchsafed by 11 a.m., the German representative in London was informed in due course at that hour that a state of war existed between Britain and Germany. By ten minutes past 11 a.m. every 7 British Consular officer in Germany had been advised by the staff of His Majesty's Embassy at Berlin that this was the case. Message from Ribbentrop

Shortly ( after 11 a.m. I received a " final message from Ribbentrop asking me to call upon him at once. I did so at 11.30, and he lost no time in giving me on this occasion a lengthy document to read, b.eginning with a refusal on the part of the German people to accept any demands in the nature of an ultimatum made by the British Government, and stating that any aggressive- action by England would be answered with the same weapons and the same form. The rest of the document was pure propaganda, ' destined presumably for home and neutral consumption, with a view tb attempting to prove to the German people and the world generally that it wafc Britain alone which was to blame for everything which had happened. ! My only comment on reading this completely false representation of events was: "It would be left to history - to judge -sphere the blame really Jay." Ribbentrop's answer was to the effect that history had already proved the facts, and that nobody had striven harder for peace and good relations with England than Herr Hitler had done. . Departure from Berlin His lasfc remark to me was that he ■wished me personally good, to which I could only, reply that I deeply regretted the failure of all my efforts for peace, hut. that I bore no grudge against the German people. Thereafter I saw no further German official except the member of the Protocol, who accompanied our special train as far as Rotterdam. My last ,official communication to the German Government was -a note which I presented on the instructions of His Majesty's Government inquiring whether the German Government would observe the provisions of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 prohibiting the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases and of bacteriological methods of warfare. The German Government later > replied to this through the Swis3 Minister in London giving the required assurance on the understanding that His Majesty's Government would similarly obsei've the provisions of the Protocol. (To bo continued.)