3
Dec. 45
—Document
TC-14, which will be introduced by the British
prosecutor—Germany and Czechoslovakia
agreed, with certain exceptions, to refer to an
arbitral tribunal or to the Permanent Court of
International Justice matters of dispute. I
quote, they would so refer:
"All
disputes of every kind between Germany
and Czechoslovakia with regard to which
the parties are in conflict as to their
respective rights, and which it may not
be possible to settle amicably by the
normal methods of diplomacy."
And the preamble to this treaty stated:
"The
President of the German Reich and the
President of the Czechoslovak Republic
equally resolved to maintain peace
between Germany and Czechoslovakia by
assuring the peaceful settlement of
differences, which might arise between
the two countries; declaring that
respect for the rights established by
treaty or resulting from the law of
nations, is obligatory for international
tribunals; agreeing to recognize that
the rights of a state cannot be modified
save with its consent, and considering
that sincere observance of the methods
of peaceful settlement of international
disputes permits of resolving, without
recourse to force, questions which may
become the cause of divisions between
states, have decided to embody in a
treaty their common intention in this
respect."
That ends the quotation.
Formal and
categoric assurances of their good will towards
Czechoslovakia were both coming from the Nazi
conspirators as late as March 1938. On March 11
and 12, 1938, at the time of the annexation of
Austria, Germany had a considerable interest in
inducing Czechoslovakia not to mobilize. At this
time the Defendant Göring assured Masaryk,
the Czechoslovak Minister in Berlin, on behalf
of the German Government that German-Czech
relations were not adversely affected by the
development in Austria and that Germany had no
hostile intentions towards Czechoslovakia. As a
token of his sincerity, Defendant Göring
accompanied his assurance with the statement, "Ich
gebe Ihnen mein Ehrenwort (I give you my word of
honor)."
At the same time, the
Defendant Von Neurath, who was handling German
foreign affairs during Ribbentrop's stay in
London, assured Masaryk, on behalf of Hitler and
the German Government, that Germany still
considered herself bound by the Arbitration
Convention of 1925.
These assurances
are contained in Document TC-27, another of the
series of documents which will be presented to
the Tribunal by the British prosecutor under
Count Two of the Indictment.