29 Nov. 45
I had read to the Tribunal excerpts which established the
following propositions:
First, Nazi Germany undertook a vigorous campaign to break up the
diplomatic agreements existing in 1933, first--in the West the
Locarno Pact supplemented by the French-Belgium Agreement; second--in
the East the Little Entente, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland,
and their respective mutual assistance pacts with France, and the
French-Polish Pact; third--as for Austria the special concern of
Italy for her independence, that is for Austrian independence.
In the second place, Nazi Germany countered these alliances with
extravagant and sometimes inconsistent promises of territorial gain
to countries in southeastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Poland.
In the third place, Mr. Messersmith wrote an official
communication to the State Department, pointing out that persons like
Von Neurath and Von Papen were able to work more effectively in
making these promises and in doing their other work, just because
they, and I quote: "propagated the myth that they are not in
sympathy with the regime."
In the fourth place, in fact, high-ranking Nazis openly stated
that Germany would honor her international obligations only so long
as it suited her to do so.
There are two more excerpts which I wish to read from this
affidavit:
France and Italy worked actively in southeastern Europe to
counter German moves, as I said yesterday. France made attempts to
promote an east Locarno pact and to foster an economic accord between
Austria and the other Danubian powers. Italy's effort was to organize
an economic bloc of Austria, Hungary, and Italy. But Germany foiled
these efforts by redoubling her promises of loot, by continuing her
armament, and by another very significant strategy, that is the
Fifth-Column strategy; that the Nazis stirred up internal dissensions
within neighboring countries to disunite and weaken their intended
victims.
I read now from Page 7 of the English copy of the second
Messersmith affidavit, Document 2385-PS, Exhibit USA-68, the
paragraph beginning in the middle of the page:
"At the same time that Germany held
out such promises of reward for cooperation in her program, she
stirred up internal dissensions within these countries themselves,
and in Austria and Czechoslovakia in particular, all of which was
designed so to weaken all opposition and strengthen the pro-