was issued to the German Armed Forces to make
preparations for an attack upon Danzig; it stated:
"The Führer has ordered:
(1) . . . . Preparations are also to be made to enable the Free State
of Danzig to be occupied by German troops by surprise."
In spite of having ordered military preparations for
the occupation of Danzig, Hitler on 30 January 1939 said in a speech
in the Reichstag: "During the troubled months of the past year,
the friendship between Germany and Poland has been one of the
reassuring factors in the political life of Europe."
Five days previously, on 25 January 1939, Von Ribbentrop said in
the course of a speech in Warsaw: "Thus Poland and Germany can
look forward to the future with full confidence in the solid basis of
their mutual relations."
Following on the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia by Germany on
15 March 1939, which was a flagrant breach of the Munich Agreement,
Great Britain gave an assurance to Poland on 31 March 1939 that in
the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence,
and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to
resist with their National Forces, Great Britain would feel itself
bound at once to lend Poland all the support in its power. The French
Government took the same stand. It is interesting to note in this
connection, that one of the arguments frequently presented by the
Defense in the present case is that the Defendants were induced to
think that their conduct was not in breach of international law by
the acquiescence of other Powers. The declarations of Great Britain
and France showed, at least, that this view could be held no longer.
On 3 April 1939 a revised OKW directive was issued to the Armed
Forces, which after referring to the question of Danzig made
reference to Fall Weiss (the military code name for the German
invasion of Poland) and stated:
"The Führer has added the
following directions to Fall Weiss. (1) Preparations must be made in
such a way that the operation can be carried out at any time from 1
September 1939 onwards. (2) The High Command of the Armed Forces has
been directed to draw up a precise timetable for Fall Weiss and to
arrange by conferences the synchronized timings between the three
branches of the Armed Forces." On 11 April 1939 a further
directive was signed by Hitler and issued to the Armed Forces, and in
one of the annexes to that document the words occur:
"Quarrels with Poland should be
avoided. Should Poland however adopt a threatening attitude towards
Germany, 'a final settlement' will be necessary, notwithstanding the
pact with