6
Dec. 45
Then
in the next paragraph, again Sir Nevile
Henderson finally repeated to him very solemnly
the main note of the whole conversation, so far
as he was concerned.
I pass to the
next document, which is TC-72, Number 78, which
becomes GB-68.
The German reply, as I
outlined before, was handed to Sir Nevile
Henderson at 7:15 p.m. on the 29th of August.
The reply sets out the suggestion submitted by
the British Government in their previous note;
and it goes on to say that the German Government
are prepared to enter into discussion on the
basis that the whole of the Corridor, as well as
Danzig, are returned to the Reich. I quote
particularly the next to the last paragraph on
the first page of that document:
"The
demands of the German Government are in
conformity with the revision of the
Versailles Treaty, which has always been
recognized as being necessary, in regard
to this territory, namely: return of
Danzig and the Corridor to Germany, the
safeguarding of the existence of the
German national group in the territories
remaining to Poland."
It
is only just now, as I emphasized before, that
that right has been recognized for so long. On
the 28th of April his demands consisted only of
Danzig, of an Autobahn, and of the railway.
The Tribunal will remember the
position which he is trying to get out of now.
He is trying to manufacture justification by
putting forth proposals which under no possible
circumstances could either Poland or Great
Britain accept. But, as I said before, he wanted
to make doubly certain.
I go to the
second page, and start with the third paragraph:
"The
British Government attach importance to
two considerations: (1) That the
existing danger of an imminent explosion
should be eliminated as quickly as
possible by direct negotiation; and (2)
that the existence of the Polish State,
in the form in which it would then
continue to exist, should be adequately
safeguarded in the economic and
political sphere by means of
international guarantees.
"On
this subject the German Government make
the following declaration:
"Though
skeptical as to the prospects of a
successful outcome, they are,
nevertheless, prepared to accept the
English proposal and to enter into
direct discussion. They do so, as has
already been emphasized, solely as the
result of the impression made upon them
by the written statement received from
the British Government that they, too,
desire a pact of friendship in