6
Dec. 45
I pass
to the next but one document in the Tribunal's
book, TC-54, which becomes GB-73. On the lst of
September when his armies were already crossing
the frontier and the whole of the frontier, he
issued this proclamation to his Armed Forces:
"The
Polish Government, unwilling to
establish good neighborly relations as
aimed at by me, want to force the issue
by way of arms.
"The
Germans in Poland are being persecuted
with bloody terror and driven from their
homes. Several acts of frontier
violation, which cannot be tolerated by
a great power, show that Poland is no
longer prepared to respect the Reich's
frontiers. To put an end to these mad
acts, I can see no other way but from
now onwards to meet force with force.
"The German Armed Forces
will with firm determination take up the
struggle for the honor and the vital
rights of the resuscitated German
people.
"I expect every
soldier to be conscious of the high
tradition of the eternal German
soldierly qualities and to do his duty
to the last.
"Remember
always and in any circumstances that you
are the representatives of National
Socialist Greater Germany.
"Long
live our people and the Reich."
And
so we see that at last Hitler had kept his word
to his generals. He had afforded them their
propagandistic justification; and at that time,
anyway, it did not matter what people said about
it afterwards. "The victor shall not be
asked later on, whether he told the truth or
not." Might is what counts — or
victory is what counts and not right.
On
that day, the lst of September, when news came
of this violation of Polish ground, the British
Government in accordance with their treaty
obligations sent an ultimatum to the German
Government in which they stated — I quote
from the last paragraph:
"I
am accordingly to inform your Excellency
that unless the German Government are
prepared to give His Majesty's
Government satisfactory assurances that
the German Government have suspended all
aggressive action against Poland and are
prepared promptly to withdraw their
forces from Polish territory, His
Majesty's Government in the United
Kingdom will without hesitation fulfil
their obligations to Poland."
By
the 3rd of September no withdrawal had taken
place, and So at 9 o'clock — the document,
TC-72, Number 110, 1 have just referred to will
be GB-74 — at 9 o'clock on the 3rd of
September, a final ultimatum was handed to the
German Minister of Foreign Affairs. I quote from
the third paragraph: