28 Nov. 45
openly scoffed at any notion of international obligations, as I
shall show in a moment. It is true that the real trump in Germany's
hand was its rearmament and more than that, its willingness to go to
war. And yet the attitude of the various countries was not influenced
by those considerations alone.
BR>With all those countries, and I suppose with all persons,
we are not always completely rational, we tend to believe what we
want to believe, and if an apparently substantial and conservative
person like the Defendant Von Neurath, for example, is saying these
things, one might be apt to believe them, or at least to act upon
that hypothesis. And it would be the more impressive if one were also
under the impression that the person involved was not a Nazi and
would not stoop to go along with the designs of the Nazis.
Germany's approach toward Great Britain and France was in terms
of limited expansion as the price of peace. They signed a naval
limitations treaty with England and discussed a Locarno air pact. In
the case of both France and England, they limited their statement of
intentions and harped on fears of communism and war.
In making these various promises, Germany was untroubled by
notions of the sanctity of international obligations. High ranking
Nazis, including Göring, Frick, and Frank, openly stated to Mr.
Messersmith that Germany would observe her international undertakings
only so long as it suited Germany's interest to do so.
I quote from the affidavit, Document 2385-PS,
Page 4, beginning on the 10th line:
"High ranking Nazis with whom I had
to maintain official contact, particularly men such as Göring,
Goebbels, Ley, Frick, Frank, Darré, and others, repeatedly
scoffed at my position as to the binding character of treaties and
openly stated to me that Germany would observe her international
undertakings only so long as it suited Germany's interest to do so.
Although these statements were openly made to me as they were, I am
sure, made to others, these Nazi leaders were not really disclosing
any secret, for on many occasions they expressed the same idea
publicly."
France and Italy worked actively in southeastern Europe to
counter Germany's moves.
THE PRESIDENT: Would that be a convenient time to adjourn?
MR. ALDERMAN: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
[The Tribunal adjourned until 29 November
1945 at 1000 hours.]