5
Dec. 45
offer
and at length give the Germans their
freedom, or we shall get this freedom
for ourselves."
Less
than 6 months before the 15th of Mardi Hitler
was saying in the most violent terms that "he
didn't want any Czechs." The Tribunal has
heard the sequel from my friend, Mr. Alderman,
this morning. The last document which I have
been asked to put in, and which I now ask the
Tribunal to take notice of, and hand in, is
Exhibit GB-23, which is the British Document
TC-23 and a copy of the Munich Agreement of
September 29, 1938. That was signed by Hitler,
the late Mr. Neville Chamberlain, M. Daladier,
and Mussolini, and it is largely a procedural
agreement by which the entry of German troops
into the Sudeten-Deutsche territory is
regulated. That is shown by the preliminary
clause:
"Germany,
the United Kingdom, France, and Italy,
taking into consideration the agreement
which has been already reached in
principle, for the cession to Germany of
the Sudeten-German territory, have
agreed on the following terms and
conditions governing the said cession
and the measures consequent thereon, and
by this agreement they each hold
themselves responsible for the steps
necessary to secure fulfillment."
Then
I don't think, unless the Tribunal want me, I
need go through the steps. In Article 4, it said
that "The occupation by stages of the
predominantly. German territory by German troops
will begin on 1 October." The four
territories are marked on a map. And by Article
6, "The final determination of the
frontiers will be carried out by the
international commission." And it provides
also for rights of option and release from the
forces — the Czech forces of Sudeten
Germans.
That is what Hitler was asking
for in the somewhat rhetorical passage which I
have just read out, and it will be observed that
there is an annex to the agreement which is most
significant.
"Annex
to the Agreement:
"His
Majesty's Government in the United
Kingdom and the French Government have
entered into the above agreement on the
basis that they stand by the offer
contained in Paragraph 6 of the
Anglo-French Proposals of the 19th
September, relating to an international
guarantee of the new boundaries of the
Czechoslovak State against unprovoked
aggression.
"When the
question of the Polish and Hungarian
minorities in Czechoslovakia has been
settled, Germany and Italy, for their
part, will give a guarantee to
Czechoslovakia."
The
Polish and Hungarian minorities, not the
question of Slovakia which the Tribunal heard
this morning. That is why Mr. Alderman