Posted on 09/16/2008 5:33:48 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Prime Minister Chamberlain and Chancellor Hitler conferred three hours at Berchtesgaden yesterday and the former returned to a hotel. He will fly to London today to consult his Cabinet, and it was announced he would again visit Hitler in a few days. The official communiqué told only of a “comprehensive and frank exchange of opinion.”
Paris believed the Berchtesgaden meeting would be only preliminary to a series of further ones leading to a peace conference, in which Germany would be treated as an equal. Premier Daladier was expected to confer immediately with Mr. Chamberlain.
The Prague Government ordered the arrest as a traitor of Konrad Henlein, Sudeten leader, following a proclamation demanding union of the Sudeten districts with the Reich. He took refuge in Germany. More districts were placed under martial law. Viscount Runciman was recalled to London.
Preparations were made in London to summon Parliament to hear Mr. Chamberlain’s report. A special Cabinet meeting was called for this afternoon. There was renewed nervousness over the sudden return of the Prime Minister.
Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau said foreign money was coming into the United States in unprecedented volume. He saw no reason for alarm in this situation.
Marine insurance companies here and in London put all war risks on a ship to ship basis and increased them sharply on business taken.
The conversation was then adjourned to permit Mr. Chamberlain to return to London tomorrow morning and inform the British Cabinet of the German demands, and presumably also to communicate with the French Government. He will again visit Hitler in a few days for further consultations, it was officially announced.
[It was suggested that a more convenient place than Hitler’s Alpine home would be selected for the next conversation, according to The Associated Press.]
The only authoritative information as to the course and contents of today’s conversation is contained in a meager communiqué that affords no clue to the motives that may have prompted the Prime Minister to decide to return to London tomorrow. The communiqué reads:
Berchtesgaden, Sept. 15, 1938.
The Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor had a discussion today at Obersalzberg with the British Prime Minister, in the course of which a comprehensive and frank exchange of opinion on the present situation took place.
The British Prime Minister will return to England tomorrow to confer with the British Cabinet. New discussions will take place in a few days.
Inquiries for something more illuminating than the slender information revealed in the official statement produced a warning against conjectures over today’s initial conversation. Both the Germans and the British affected a show of restricted optimism over the outcome of the day’s contacts, but neither would divulge the nature of the information Mr. Cham-
berlain will carry back to London.
Inferentially it was learned that he had been informed of the full scope of the German demands, especially as they have taken on a more precise shape since the intensification of the Sudeten situation. Lack of public security in the Sudeten areas was one of the points first emphasized.
The news that a warrant had been issued for the apprehension of Konrad Henlein, leader of the Sudeten German party, on the ground of high treason reached Berchtesgaden shortly before the termination of the conversation. This news, along with a report that the Czechoslovak Government had decreed general mobilization, probably was also brought to the attention of Mr. Chamberlain as fresh evidence of the Czech procedure.
This includes the final transcript for a while (”Exchange is Frank”), as well as images of related articles. Then there is an update from Palestine that I accidently cropped. Sorry about that. Farther down are descriptions of a 5,000 year time capsule that includes a message from Einstein and a land speed record. And don’t forget to pick up some Palmolive to prevent middle aged skin.
[On] September 16, The German Foreign Office sent Confidential telegrams to its embassies in Washington and several other capitals.
Fuehrer told Chamberlain yesterday he was finally resolved to put an end in one way or another to the intolerable conditions in Sudetenland within a very short time. Autonomy for Sudeten Germans is no longer being considered, but only cession of the region to Germany. Chamberlain has indicated personal approval. He is now consulting British Cabinet and is in communication with Paris. Further meeting between Fuehrer and Chamberlain planned for very near future.
Toward the end of their conference Chamberlain had extracted a promise from Hitler that he would take no military action until they had again conferred. In this period the Prime Minister had great confidence in the Fuehrer's word, remarking privately a day or two later, "In spite of the hardness and ruthlessness I thought I saw in his face, I got the impression that here was a man who could be relied upon when he had given his word."
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Pg. 386-387
And what did Hitler say privately about the meeting? "Our enemies are little worms, I saw them in Munich."
...the intelligence and character of the masses are incomparably lower than the intelligence and character of the few who produce something valuable for the community” - Albert Einstein.
Leave it to Einstein to not mince words. Too bad things have not changed much on that front.
Reminds me of Obama talking to Ahmadinejad.
Only in our worst nightmare.
Vote McPalin!
As Priam to Achilles for his son,
So you, into the night, divinely led,
To ask that young men’s bodies not yet dead,
Beg given from the battle not begun.
Chamberlain, savior of the world.... Again, we see hope trumping evidence.
Poets Laureate should probably steer clear of current events as inspiration for their work. Otherwise they might end up looking ridiculous.
"This is due to the fact that the intelligence and character of the masses are incomparably lower than the intelligence and character of the few who produce something valuable for the community."
How very much in line with the other despotic forces of the day....
"However, the production and distribution of commodities is entirely unorganized, so that everybody must live in fear of being eliminated from the economic cycle, in this way suffering for the want of everything."
Didn't the Soviets have this problem solved by 1938? And then there is this -
"We . . . utilized power also in order to relieve humanity from all tiring muscular work."
I used power to trim my hedge last week. My muscles beg to disagree with Professor Einstein about the tiring part.
Sad but true, every year "middle aged skin" looks more and more attractive from here. ;-)
Don’t be a wimpy half-and-half drinker! Get those B vitamins!
I don’t care for beer at all.
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