Text: English     International Military Tribunal "Blue Series," Vol. 3, p. 181
		5 Dec. 45 "Agreement between the Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler and the President of the Czechoslovak State Dr. Hacha . . . . "The Führer and Reich Chancellor today received in Berlin, at their own request, the President of the Czechoslovak State, Dr. Hacha, and the Czechoslovak Foreign Minister, Dr. Chvalkowsky, in the presence of Herr von Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister of the Reich. At this meeting the serious situation which had arisen within the previous territory of Czechoslovakia, owing to the events of recent weeks, was subjected to a completely open examination. The conviction was unanimously expressed on both sides that the object of all their efforts must be to assure quiet, order, and peace in this part of Central Europe. The President of the Czechoslovak State declared that, in order to serve this end and to reach a final pacification, he confidently placed the fate of the Czech people and of their country in the hands of the Führer of the German Reich. The Führer accepted this declaration and expressed his decision to assure to the Czech people, under the protection of the German Reich, the autonomous development of their national life, in accordance with their special characteristics. In witness whereof this document is signed in duplicate." The signatures I mentioned appear. The Tribunal will understand that it is not my province to make any comment; that has been done by Mr. Alderman. And I am not putting forward any of the documents I read as having my support; they are merely put forward factually as part of the case. The next document, which I put in as GB-7, is the British Document TC-50. That is Hitler's proclamation to the German people, dated the 15th of March 1939. Again, I don't think that Mr. Alderman read that document. THE PRESIDENT: No, he did not read it. SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: Then I shall read it: "Proclamation of the Führer to the German people, 15 March 1939. "To the German People: "Only a few months ago Germany was compelled to protect her fellow countrymen, living in well-defined settlements, against the unbearable Czechoslovakian terror regime; and during the last weeks the same thing has happened on an ever-increasing scale. This is bound to create an intolerable state of affairs within an area inhabited by citizens of so many nationalities. 181
		Text: English     International Military Tribunal "Blue Series," Vol. 3, p. 181     Last modified: February 10, 2001 Technical/administrative contact: webmaster@holocaust-history.org