6
Dec. 45
Hitler
and Jodl were setting out the advantage gained
through the seizure of the remainder of
Czechoslovakia. But the Tribunal will remember
that Mr. Alderman, in his closing remarks
yesterday morning, dealt very fully with that
matter showing what advantages they did gain by
that seizure and showing on the chart that he
had on the wall the immense strengthening of the
German position against Poland. Therefore, I
leave that matter. The documents are already in
evidence, and if the Tribunal should wish to
refer to them, they are found in their correct
order in the story in that document book.
As
soon as that occupation had been completed,
within a week of marching into the rest of
Czechoslovakia, the heat was beginning to be
turned on against Poland.
If the
Tribunal would pass to Document TC-73, which is
about half way through that document book —
it follows after Jodl's lecture, which is a long
document — TC-73, Number 61. It is headed: "Official
Documents concerning Polish-German Relations."
This will be GB-38.
On the 21st of
March Mr. Lipski again saw Ribbentrop and the
nature of the conversation was generally very
much sharper than that that had been held a
little time back at the Grand Hotel,
Berchtesgaden:
"I
saw Ribbentrop today. He began by saying
he had asked me to call in order to
discuss Polish-German relations in their
entirety.
"He complained
about our press, and the Warsaw
students' demonstrations during Count
Ciano's visit."
I
think I can go straight on to the larger
paragraph, which commences with "further":
"Further,
Ribbentrop referred to the conversation
at Berchtesgaden between you and the
Chancellor, in which Hitler put forward
the idea of guaranteeing Poland's
frontiers in exchange for a motor road
and the incorporation of Danzig into the
Reich. He said that there had been
further conversations between you and
him in Warsaw" — that is,
between him, of course, and Mr. Beck —
"He said that there had been
further conversations between you and
him in Warsaw on the subject, and that
you had pointed out the great
difficulties in the way of accepting
these suggestions. He gave me to
understand that all this had made an
unfavorable impression on the
Chancellor, since so far he had received
no positive reaction whatever on our
part to his suggestions. Ribbentrop had
talked to the Chancellor, only
yesterday. He stated that the Chancellor
was still in favor of good relations
with Poland, and had expressed a desire
to have a thorough conversation with you
on the subject of our mutual relations.
Ribbentrop