6
Dec. 45
"I
shall give a propagandistic cause for
starting the war, never mind whether it
be plausible or not. The victor shall
not be asked later on whether he told
the truth or not. In starting and making
a war, not the right is what matters but
victory."
We
are going to see only too clearly how that
propagandistic cause, which already had been put
in hand, was brought to its climax.
I
turn to the next page (798-PS, USA-29), the
third paragraph:
"It
was clear to me that a conflict with
Poland had to come sooner or later. I
had already made this decision in the
spring, but I thought that I would first
turn against the West in a few years,
and only afterwards against the East."
I
refer to these passages again particularly to
emphasize the intention of the Nazi Government,
not only to conquer Poland, but ultimately, in
any event, to wage aggressive war against the
Western Democracies.
I refer lastly to
the last page, a passage which becomes more and
more significant as we continue the story of the
last few days: I quote from the fourth
paragraph:
"We
need not be afraid, of a blockade. The
East will supply us with grain, cattle,
coal, lead, and zinc. It is a big aim,
which demands great efforts. I am only
afraid that at the last minute some
'Schweinehund' will make a proposal for
mediation.
"The political
aim is set farther. A beginning has been
made for the destruction of England's
hegemony. The way is open for the
soldier, after I have made the political
preparations."
And, again, the very last line becomes
significant later:
"Göring
answers with thanks to the Führer
and the assurance that the Armed Forces
will do their duty."
We
pass from the military-economic preparations and
his exhortations to his generals to see how he
was developing the position in the diplomatic
and political field.
On the 23rd of
August 1939 the Danzig Senate passed a decree
whereby Gauleiter Forster was appointed head of
the State of the Free City of Danzig, a position
which did not exist under the statute setting up
the constitution of the Free City. I put in the
next document, which is taken from the British
Blue Book, only as evidence of that event,
an event that was, of course, aimed at stirring
up the feeling in the Free City at that time.
That is TC-72, Number 62, which becomes GB-50.
At the same time, frontier incidents
were being manufactured by the Nazi Government
with the aid of the SS. The Tribunal has already
heard the evidence of General Lahousen the other
day in which he referred to the provision of
Polish uniforms to the SS