29 Nov. 45

"Hitler: 'As soon as the Austrian affair has been settled, I shall be ready to go with him through thick and thin; nothing matters.'

"Hessen: 'Yes, my Führer.'

"Hitler: 'Listen, I shall make any agreement, I am no longer in fear of the terrible position which would have existed militarily in case we had gotten into a conflict. You may tell him that I do thank him ever so much, never, never shall I forget that.'

"Hessen: 'Yes, my Führer.'

"Hitler: 'I will never forget it, whatever will happen. If he should ever need any help or be in any danger, he can be convinced that I shall stick to him whatever might happen, even if the whole world were against him.'

"Hessen: 'Yes, my Führer.'

The Tribunal will recall the reference in Jodl's diary to the letter which Hitler had sent to Mussolini. It is dated March 11. It may be found in the official publication Dokumente der Deutschen Politik, Volume 6, I, Page 135, Number 24-a.. I ask the Court to take judicial notice of it, and you will find a translation of it appearing in our Document 2510-PS. In this letter, after stating that Austria had been declining into anarchy, Hitler wrote--and I quote:

"I have decided to re-establish order in my fatherland--order and tranquility--and to give to the popular will the possibility of settling its own fate in unmistakable fashion openly and by its own decision."

He stated that this was an act of self-defense; that he had no hostile intentions towards Italy. And after the invasion, when Hitler was at Linz, Austria, he communicated his gratitude to Mussolini once more in the famous telegram which the world so well remembers. I again cite Dokamente der Deutschen Politik, Volume 6, Page 156, Number 29, the translation of the telegram being in our Document 2467-PS, and the document reads: "Mussolini, I will never forget you for this."

We now shift our scene from Vienna to Berlin. We have shifted our scene, I meant, from Vienna to Berlin. It may now be appropriate to come back to Vienna just long enough to recall that late in the evening of March 11, President Miklas did appoint Defendant Seyss-Inquart as Chancellor. The radio announcement of Seyss-Inquart's appointment was made at 11:15 p.m. This is noted in Dokumente der Deutschen Politik, Volume 6, I, Page 137, Number 25-a, and a translation of the announcement is in our Document 2465-PS.