6
Dec. 45
One
must assume that the Defendant Dönitz knew
that his U-boats were to go out into the
Atlantic "by way of precaution in the event
of the intention to carry out Case White
remaining unchanged."
I turn to
the next document in the Tribunal's book, C-30,
which becomes GB-46. That is a letter dated the
27th of July. It contains orders for the air and
sea forces for the occupation of the German Free
City of Danzig:
"The
Führer and Supreme Commander of the
Armed Forces has ordered the reunion of
the German Free State of Danzig with the
Greater German Reich. The Armed Forces
must occupy Danzig Free State
immediately in order to protect the
German population. There will be no
hostile intention on the part of Poland
so long as the occupation takes place
without the force of arms."
It
then sets out how the occupation is to be
effected. All this again becomes more relevant
when we discuss the diplomatic action of the
last few days before the war, when Germany was
purporting to make specious offers for the
settlement of the question by peaceful means. I
would like to offer this as evidence that the
decision had been taken and nothing was going to
move him from that decision. That document, as
set out, says that, "There will be no
hostile intention on the part of Poland so long
as the occupation takes place without the force
of arms." Nevertheless, that was not the
only condition upon which the occupation was to
take place and we find that during July, right
up to the time of the war, steps were being
taken to arm the population of Danzig and to
prepare them to take part in the coming
occupation.
I refer the Tribunal to
the next Document, TC-7 1, which becomes GB-47,
where there are set out a few only of the
reports which were coming back almost daily
during this period from Mr. Shepherd, the
Consul-General in Danzig, to the British Foreign
Minister. The sum total of those reports can be
found in the British Blue Book. I now
would refer to only two of them as examples of
the kind of thing that was happening.
I
refer to the first that appears on that exhibit,
dated the lst of July 1939.
"Yesterday
morning four German army officers in
mufti arrived here by night express from
Berlin to organize Danzig Heimwehr. All
approaches to hills and dismantled
forts, which' constitute a popular
public promenade on the western fringe
of the city, have been closed with
barbed wire and 'verboten' notices. The
walls surrounding the shipyards bear
placards: 'Comrades keep your mouths
shut lest you regret consequence.'