6
Dec. 45
The
value — perhaps the greatest value —
of the minutes of that meeting is that they show
quite clearly the German intention to attack
England and France ultimately, anyway, if not at
the same time as Poland.
I refer the
Tribunal to the second page of the exhibit.
Hitler is trying to show the strength of
Germany, the certainty of winning the war; and,
therefore, he hopes to persuade the Italians to
come in:
"At
sea, England had for the moment no
immediate reinforcements in prospect."
— I quote from the top of the
second page. — "Some time
would elapse before any of the ships now
under construction could be taken into
service. As far as the land army was
concerned, after the introduction of
conscription 60,000 men had been called
to the colors."
I
quote this passage particularly to show the
intention to attack England. We have been
concentrating rather on Poland, but here his
thoughts are turned entirely towards England:
"If
England kept the necessary troops in her
own country she could send to France, at
the most, two infantry divisions and one
armored division. For the rest she could
supply a few bomber squadrons, but
hardly any fighters, since, at the
outbreak of war, the German Air Force
would at once attack England and the
English fighters would be urgently
needed for the defense of their own
country.
"With regard to
the position of France, the Führer
said that in the event of a general war,
after the destruction of Poland —
which would not take long — Germany
would be in a position to assemble a
hundred divisions along the West Wall
and France would then be compelled to
concentrate all her available forces
from the colonies, from the Italian
frontier and elsewhere, on her own
Maginot Line for the life and death
struggle which would then ensue. The Führer
also thought that the French would find
it no easier to overrun the Italian
fortifications than to overrun the West
Wall. Here Count Ciano showed signs of
extreme doubt." — Doubts
which, perhaps, in view of the
subsequent performances, were well
justified.
"The Polish
Army was most uneven in quality.
Together with a few parade divisions,
there were large numbers of troops of
less value. Poland was very weak in
antitank and antiaircraft defense and at
the moment neither France nor England
could help her in this respect."
What
this Tribunal will appreciate, of course, is
that Poland formed such a threat to Germany on
Germany's eastern frontier.
"If,
however, Poland were given assistance by
the Western Powers over a longer period,
she could obtain these weapons