Berlin Diary (7 page)

Every German I’ve talked to today has applauded these lines. One of the Germans in my office, no Nazi, said: “Can the world expect a fairer offer of peace?” I admit it
sounds
good, but Ebbutt keeps warning me to be very sceptical, which I hope I am.

Talked to both our London and Paris offices tonight on the phone. They said the French and British are still trying to make up their minds. London said Garvin came out in the
Observer
with an editorial saying Hitler’s action occasioned no surprise and calling on Simon to go ahead with his Berlin visit. Beaverbrook’s
Sunday Express
warned against threatening Germany with force. Tomorrow, according to our office, the
Times
will take a conciliatory line. My guess is that Hitler has got away with it.

B
ERLIN
,
March
18 (
at the office
)

A squadron of Göring’s bombers just flew over our roof in formation—the first time they have appeared in public. They kept their formation well.

B
ERLIN
,
March
26

Simon and Eden have been here for the last couple of days conferring with Hitler and Neurath and this afternoon the two British envoys received us at the dilapidated old British Embassy to tell us—nothing. Simon struck me as a very vain man. Eden, who looked and acted like a schoolboy, kept pacing up and down the stage—we were in the ballroom, which has a stage—prompting his chief and occasionally whispering to him when we asked an embarrassing question. The only thing Simon said worth reporting is that he and Hitler found themselves in “disagreement on almost everything.” Apparently—at least the Germans say so—Hitler put on a big song and dance against Russia and the proposed Eastern Locarno, which would bring in Russia in a defence system on Germany’s eastern frontiers. The Wilhelmstrasse scarcely hides the fact that Hitler did all the talking, Simon all the listening. Eden goes on to Warsaw and Moscow; Simon home.

B
ERLIN
,
April
9

A gala reception at the Opera tonight on the occasion of Göring’s wedding. He has married a provincial actress, Emmy Sonnemann. I received an invitation,
but did not go. Party people tell me Goebbels is in a rage at his arch-enemy’s lavish displays, of which tonight was only one example, and that he’s told the press it can comment sarcastically. Not many editors will dare to, I think.

B
ERLIN
,
April
11

Dr. S., a successful Jewish lawyer who served his country at the front in the war, suddenly appeared at our apartment today after having spent some months in the Gestapo jail, Columbia House. Tess was at home and reports he was in a bad state, a little out of his head, but apparently aware of his condition, because he was afraid to go home and face his family. Tess fortified him with some whisky, cheered him up, and sent him home. His wife has been on the verge of nervous prostration for a long time. He said no charges had been preferred against him other than that he was a Jew or a half-Jew and one of several lawyers who had offered to help defend Thälmann. Many Jews come to us these days for advice or help in getting to England or America, but unfortunately there is little we can do for them.

B
AD
S
AAROW
,
April
21 (
Easter
)

Taking the Easter week-end off. The hotel mainly filled with Jews and we are a little surprised to see so many of them still prospering and apparently unafraid. I think they are unduly optimistic.

B
ERLIN
,
May
1

A blizzard today pretty well spoiled the big Labour Day show at Tempelhof. Dosch insisted on
going out to cover it despite his bad health. Hitler had nothing particular to say and seemed to be depressed. Thousands of workers being marched to Tempelhof for the meeting took advantage of the blizzard to slip out of ranks and make for the nearest pub. There were a surprising number of drunks on the street tonight—unusual for Berlin. The talk around town is that the British are going to negotiate a naval agreement with Hitler, thus helping him to break another shackle of Versailles.

B
ERLIN
,
May
21

Hitler made a grandiose “peace” speech in the Reichstag this evening and I fear it will impress world opinion and especially British opinion more than it should. The man is truly a superb orator and in the atmosphere of the hand-picked Reichstag, with its six hundred or so sausage-necked, shaved-headed, brown-clad yes-men, who rise and shout almost every time Hitler pauses for breath, I suppose he
is
convincing to Germans who listen to him. Anyway, tonight he was in great form and his program—of thirteen points—will convince a lot of people. It’s rather an amazing program, at that; very astutely drawn up.

Leading up to it, Hitler screamed: “Germany needs peace…. Germany wants peace…. No one of us means to threaten anybody.” As to Austria: “Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of Austria, to annex Austria, or to conclude an
Anschluss
.”

Then he launched into his thirteen-point program.

1. Germany cannot return to Geneva unless the Treaty and the Covenant are separated.

2. Germany will respect all other provisions of the
Treaty of Versailles, including the territorial provisions.

3. Germany will scrupulously maintain every treaty voluntarily signed. In particular it will uphold and fulfil all obligations arising out of the Locarno Treaty…. In respecting the demilitarized zone, the German government considers its action as a contribution to the appeasement of Europe….

4. Germany is ready to co-operate in a collective system for safeguarding European peace….

5. Unilateral imposition of conditions cannot promote collaboration. Step-by-step negotiations are indispensable.

6. The German government is ready in principle to conclude pacts of non-aggression with its neighbours, and to supplement these pacts with all provisions that aim at isolating the war-maker and isolating the area of war.

7. The German government is ready to supplement the Locarno Treaty with an air agreement.

8. Germany is ready to limit armaments on the basis of aerial parity with the individual big powers of the West, and naval tonnage equal to thirty-five per cent of the British.

9. Germany desires the outlawing of weapons and methods of warfare contrary to the Geneva Red Cross convention. Here the German government has in mind all those arms which bring death and destruction not so much to the fighting soldiers as to non-combatant women and children. It believes it is possible to proscribe the use of certain arms as contrary to international law and to outlaw those nations still using them. For example, there might be a prohibition of the dropping of gas, incendiary, and explosive bombs outside the real battle zone. This limitation could then be
extended to complete international outlawing of all bombing.

10. Germany desires the abolition of the heaviest arms, especially heavy artillery and heavy tanks.

11. Germany will accept any limitation whatsoever of the calibre of artillery, the size of warships, and the tonnage of submarines, or even the complete abolition of submarines, by agreement.