7 Dec.
45
to the Army and Navy. And then if
one turns over the page, Number 4:
"Belgium
and the Netherlands would, in German hands, represent an extraordinary
advantage in the prosecution of the air war against Great Britain as
well as against France. Therefore it is held to be essential to obtain
the opinion of the Army as to the conditions under which an occupation
of this area could be carried out and how long it would take. And in
this case it would be necessary to reassess the commitment against
Great Britain."
The point
that the Prosecution desires to make- on that document is that it is
apparently assumed by the staff officer who prepared this, and assumed
quite rightly, that the leaders of the German nation and the High
Command would not pay the smallest attention to the fact that Germany
had given her word not to invade Holland or Belgium. They are
recommending it as a militarily advantageous thing to do, strong in the
knowledge that if the commanders and the Führer agree with that
view treaties are to be completely ignored. Such, I repeat, was the
honor of the German Government and of their leaders.
Now in
March of 1939 as has been proved, the remainder of Czechoslovakia was
peacefully annexed; and then came the time for further guarantees in the
next document, the assurances — TC-35 and 39 — which were
given to Belgium and the Netherlands on the 28th of April 1939. Those
have been read by my learned friend, Major Elwyn Jones. They bear the
number GB-78. I need not read them again. There is also a guarantee to
Luxembourg, which is on the next page, TC-42 (a). That was given in the
same speech by Hitler in the Reichstag where Hitler was dealing with a
communication from Mr. Roosevelt who was feeling a little uneasy on the
other side of the Atlantic as to Hitler's intentions. May I, before I
read this document, say that I believe the Tribunal will be seeing a
film of the delivery by Hitler of this part of this speech; and you will
have the privilege of seeing Hitler in one of his jocular moods, because
this was greeted and was delivered in a jocular vein. And you will see
in the film that the Defendant Göring who sits above Hitler in the
Reichstag appreciates very much the joke, the joke being this: That it
is an absurd suggestion to make that Germany could possibly go to war
with any of its neighbors — and that was the point of the joke that
everybody appears to have appreciated very much.
Now, if I may
read this document:
"Finally
Mr. Roosevelt demands the readiness to give him an assurance that the
German fighting forces will not attack