France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932-1939 (98 page)

208
.
    
Époque
, 13 October 1938. See Prévost, op. cit., pp. 192–193.

209
.
    
Prévost, op. cit., pp. 195–196.

210
.
    
Bellec, A.M., op. cit., p. 128. Regarding the nuances of the attitude of Esprit seethe discussion between *Winock, Michel,
Histoire politique de la revue Esprit, 1930
–
1950
, specifically p.175 sq., and *Senarclens, P. de, “L’image de l’Allemagne dans la revue Esprit de 1932 à 1941,”
Relations internationales
, 1974, no 2, pp.123–145.

211
.
    
Vallette, G. and Bouillon, J., op. cit., p. 288. Regarding
L’Aube
, see *Mayeur, Françoise,
L’Aube
(Cahiers Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques), 1966.

212
.
    
Maternal grandfather of former president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.

213
.
    
See *Bonafé, Felix,
Jacques Bardoux
, 1977, and *Bardoux, Jacques,
Journal d’un témoin de la Troisième, 1er septembre 1939
–
15 juillet 1940
, 1957.

214
.
    
Noël, L,
L’agression allemande contre la Pologne
, p. 228.

215
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 49, 6 October 1938.

216
.
    
DDF
, 2, 1, XII, no. 34, Lacroix, 5 October 1938.

217
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 20, Coulondre, 4 October 1938. See also no. 17, Coulondre, 4 October 1938.

218
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 95, Colonel Merson to Daladier, Belgrade, 2 October 1938 (excerpted from SHA).

219
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, Thierry, 19 October 1938.

220
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 8, Cosme, 3 October 1938.

221
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 190, Corbin, 20 October 1938.

222
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, 262, Saint-Quentin, 2 November 1938.

223
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, Bonnet to Saint-Quentin, 22 November 1938.

224
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 48, d’Aumale, 6 October 1938.

225
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, Naggiar to Bonnet, Shanghai, 25 November 1938.

226
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, Georges Picot to Knobel, chargé d’affaires in Shanghai, 28 November 1938.

Chapter XII

A
FTER
M
UNICH:
E
XPECTATIONS AND
U
NCERTAINTIES

    
1
.
    
Carnets secrets de Jean Zay
, p. 5. See two important articles from a collection edited by Remond, R., and Bourdin, Janine,
Edouard Daladier, chef de gouvernment
: Bedarida, François, “La gouvernante anglaise” pp. 228–255 and Girault, René, “La decision gouvernemantale en politique extérieure,” pp. 209–227.

    
2
.
    
Girault, art. quoted p. 222.

    
3
.
    
Bedarida, art. quoted, p. 238.

    
4
.
    
Adamthwaite, op. cit.

    
5
.
    
Bedarida, art. quoted, p. 238.

    
6
.
    
Noël (L.),
Les illusions de Stresa
, p. 143.

    
7
.
    
Adamthwaite, op. cit., pp. 398–399 and pp. 400–401.

    
8
.
    
*Fabre-Luce, Alfred,
Histoire secrète de la conciliation de Munich
, 1938.

    
9
.
    
*Thomas, Louis,
Histoire d’un jour, Munich, 29 septembre 1938
, 1939.

  
10
.
    
*Dominique, Pierre,
Après Munich veux-tu vivre ou mourir?
, 1938.

  
11
.
    
For most documents a cross verification can be made to the archives of the major embassies. See the introductions to Vols. X (p. ix) and XI (p. x) of DDF, 2. We find in the “Bonnet Files” within the “Fouques-Duparc Reconstruction” and the “Bonnet Papers”—what has been found of the archives of the Minister’s cabinet.

  
12
.
    
Ci-devant
, pp. 53–55. Polish Ambassador Lukasziewicz had excellent relations with Bonnet (Lukasziewicz, op. cit. p. 68), meeting with him very often. But he viewed him as being “weak,” “incapable of being firm on anything,” and “ready to fall into the tendency of adapting o each one of his various interlocutors” (ibid., p.157).

  
13
.
    
L’agression allemande contre la Pologne
, p. 197.

  
14
.
    
Reproduced in part in ibid., pp. 247–257; see the complete text in DDF, 2, XII, no. 216, Noël, 25 October 1938. We should note that Coulondre felt that Poland and the USSR would find themselves on opposite sides, the Franco-Soviet Pact “considered defunct by Moscow, who will keep it only to cover up its isolation […], was meaningless and can only create problems
for us.” DDF, 2, XII, no. 164, Coulondre, 18 October 1938. General Musse, military attaché in Poland, agreed with his chief’s opinion; see DDF, 2, XII, Musse to Daladier, 31 October 1938.

  
15
.
    
Noël, op. cit., p. 259. Such was the case for Flandin; see
Politique française
, op. cit., pp. 282–289.

  
16
.
    
MAE. Note from Louis Aubert, 21 October 1938. “Politique extérieure de la France après Munich.”

  
17
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, note from the Department, Franco-Polish relations, 19 November 1938 (Bonnet Files.)

  
18
.
    
ADAP
, 7 November 1938. I am of a slightly different opinion from that of Adamthwaite, op. cit., p. 286.

  
19
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 86, Note from the Vice-President of the Superior War Council (excerpt from the SHA), 12 October 1938.

  
20
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 147, 17 October 1938.

  
21
.
    
Dans Edouard Daladier, Girault (René), op. cit., p. 223.

  
22
.
    
Information coming from Jeanneney, J.-N.,
François de Wendel
…, op. cit., pp. 580–584.

  
23
.
    
Teichova, Alice,
An Economic Background to Munich
, pp. 35–36.

  
24
.
    
All this information in Teichova, op. cit., see especially p. 118.

  
25
.
    
Ibid., p. 198.

  
26
.
    
Regarding that sale—to Czechoslovak banks—see MAE, Note for the Minister. Concerning the Skoda matter, Financial Aid to Czechoslovakia, 24 December 1938, and MAE, weekly Liaison, 28 December 1938.

  
27
.
    
MAE, Note from the deputy director of Political Affairs for the Minister, 3 October 1938.

  
28
.
    
Numerous papers on this theme in MAE, Serices 6, carton 26, file 4. Much attention was given to a long trip by German Economics Minister Funk, to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey.

  
29
.
    
MAE, London embassy, commercial relations, no. 1117 (Series C, carton 26).

  
30
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 109, 13 October 1938.

  
31
.
    
MAE, D. 1344, Coulondre to Bonnet, 14 December 1938.

  
32
.
    
It should be pointed out that in his recently published book, Marguerat feels that the scope of the German economic push should not be overly exaggerated. Marguerat, op. cit., pp. 23–24.

  
33
.
    
Many more statistics on German progress are in MAE, Series C, carton 26.

  
34
.
    
MAE, Mönick, D. 68383 (Series C, carton 26).

  
35
.
    
MAE, Series C, carton 26, D. 623, Corbin (commercial relations), 7 July 1938.

  
36
.
    
MAE, Series C, carton 26, Note for the Minister from the deputy director, 9 July 1938 “Separate actions towards the same goal.” According to another note dated November from the deputy director.

  
37
.
    
MAE, Series C, carton 26.

  
38
.
    
MAE, Serie C, carton 26, Note from the deputy director, 26 October 1938.

  
39
.
    
MAE, Serie C, carton 26, Reynaud to Bonnet, 8 November 1938. See also Note from Alphand to de La Baume, deputy director of Commercial Affairs, 8 November 1938.

  
40
.
    
Ibid., 9 November 1938.

  
41
.
    
Ibid., 10 November 1938 (EMG, 2e Bureau, no. 2257).

  
42
.
    
MAE, Economic mission to Eastern Europe, 19 December 1938 (C. 104.1).

  
43
.
    
MAE, Coche, chargé d’affaires in Sofia, T. 520 (mail), 2 December. 1938; D. 341, Ristelhueber, Sofia, 6 December 1938 (a long report covering in particular, Alphand’s visit to the king).

  
44
.
    
MAE, Bonnet to Daladier, D. 318, December 1938. See also, regarding this incoherence, MAE, Lacroix to Bonnet, T. 3257, Prague, 28 December 1938.

  
45
.
    
MAE, D. 20, to Daladier, 24 January 1939.

  
46
.
    
MAE, Queuille to Daladier, 17 January 1939 (Series C. carton 26).

  
47
.
    
MAE, Transcript of the meeting of 30 January 1939 (Series C, carton 260).

  
48
.
    
See Girault, T. as quoted, p. 223, according to the Daladier Papers (Fondation…), files 7 and 8.

  
49
.
    
In particular Adamthwaite, op. cit., pp. 293–296.

  
50
.
    
Ibid.

  
51
.
    
Alphand, Lamoureux were sent to London…and recalled because of the 15 March crisis. Adamthwaite, op. cit., p. 297.

  
52
.
    
Nothing comparable to the conversations between Robert Hudson, the British Minister and the German Wohltat at the end of July 1939 without the knowledge of the French government. The news having been leaked, caused a stir in France and was worrisome to the government.

  
53
.
    
Contrary to Duff Cooper in Great Britain. See
Carnets secrets de Jean Zay
, p. 9 (22 September), p. 33 (17 November).

  
54
.
    
See Monzie,
Ci-devant
, pp. 15, 44.

  
55
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 29, Note from the political directorate, 5 October 1938.

  
56
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 41, Corbin (following a conversation with Cadogan), 6 October 1938. Regarding the lack of popularity of this Anglo-German declaration in Great Britain, see DDF, 2, XII, no. 106, Corbin, 13 October 1938.

  
57
.
    
DDF, 2, XII, no. 18, François-Poncet, 4 October 1938. See also MAE, T. 1039, 4 October 1938. Chamberlain warned Daladier publicly on 2 Octobre of his agreement, and Daladier’s response on the 4th underlining Franco-British collaboration.

  
58
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 29, Note from the directorate of Political Affairs, 5 October 1938.

  
59
.
    
DDF
, 2, XII, no. 49, 6 October 1938.