Posted on 01/21/2009 6:34:03 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
I’ve been following this series of posts, and find it fascinating. Would you add me to the list, please?
To see if even the pieces [of Czechoslovakia] could be saved [Czech Foreign Minister] Chvalkovsky finally prevailed upon Hitler to receive him in Berlin on January 21. It turned out to be a painful scene, though not as painful for the Czechs as one that would shortly follow. The Czech Foreign Minister groveled before the mighty German dictator, who was in one of his most bullying moods. Czechoslovakia, said Hitler, had been saved from catastrophe by “Germany’s moderation.” Nevertheless, unless the Czechs showed a different spirit, he would “annihilate” them. They must forget their “history,” which was “schoolboy nonsense,” and do as the Germans bade. That was their only salvation. Specifically, Czechoslovakia must leave the League of Nations, drastically reduce the size of her Army – “because it did not count anyway” – join the Anti-Comintern Pact, accept German direction of her foreign policy, make a preferential trade agreement with Germany, one condition of which was that no new Czech industries could be established without German consent, dismiss all officials and editors not friendly to the Reich and, finally, outlaw the Jews, as Germany had done under its Nuremberg Laws. (“With us, the Jews will be destroyed,” Hitler told his visitor.) On the same day Chvalkovsky received further demands from Ribbentrop, who threatened “catastrophic consequences” unless the Czechs immediately mended their ways and did as they were told. The German Foreign Minister, so much the lackey in the presence of Hitler but a boor and a bully with anyone over whom he had the upper hand, bade Chvalkovsky not to mention the new German demands to the British and French but just to go ahead an carry them out.
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 438
This is fascinating, especially to see the rise of Hitler coinciding with the Rise of 0-bama.
Thanks, as always, for posting this thread.
Sure thing. Just in time for my next two threads. I got happy fingers on the copy button of the microfiche reader when I got to this day so I have a lot of material.
What was totally ludicrous and absurd was the fact that Schacht was charged with war crimes after WWII even though Schacht was an OPPONENT of Hitler and was sent to concentration camp.
Thankfully the IMT at Nuremberg acquitted him.
As for the German submarine building, the British are sure they can counteract it easily by providing additional small fast destroyers as escort vessels and additional anti-submarine craft...
In a way they will have to eat those words. A lot of sailors and transports payed the price of the unchecked wolfpacks early in the war and it was only later that the British began to get the upper hand on the German submarine fleet.
Anyone know what the "scandal" involving Goebbels is about?
Schacht had a great quote. At one time, some large New York investment houses, impressed by Schacht’s ability to fund Germany’s economic revival (and rearmament) tried to lure him to work for them. Their bait was “Here in New York we are the world’s financial capital; we have plenty of money; that’s real banking.”
Schacht’s reply was something like “I’m working my economic plan in Germany with NO money! Now THAT’S real banking!”
Schacht scored the highest IQ among the Germans tried at Nuremberg. Goring also scored pretty high. Everyone thought Speer was a genius but his IQ was not that high; it was high enough to be considered bright, but he was not what you would put in the genius range.
Nice little blurb article on Goebbels being involved in scandals, maybe that would cost him his job.
Despite having six children, he and wife Magda did not have an entirely...shall we say...monogamous...relationship. Magda had an affair with Goebbels’ assistant, Karl Hanke. After the affair was made known to Hitler, Hanke was ordered to not see Magda any longer. Hanke eventually wound up as Gauleiter of Silesia, where he brutally but effectively directed the defense of Breslau against the Soviets.
Goebbels, despite his homely appearance (short, thin, clubbed foot) cut a rather wide swath with the ladies himself. Much acrimony between the Goebbels’ during this time and these are the “scandals” the article refers to.
Under most circumstances, the Goebbels’ would not have stayed together. Oddly, the one thing they both had in common was their adoration of Der Fuhrer. For all the evil Hitler wrought, he did some good. He kept a bad marriage together.
Perhaps had they separated, their children would still be alive today.
As to Britain gaining the upper hand on the German U-Boats, there is a really good book by Michael Gannon called “Black May.” Gannon is an excellent writer and authority on the war in the Atlantic. I recommend it highly.
See post 9
Schact truly was brilliant. Speer was of average intelligence among the men in the docket according to the IQ scores which I have seen as well.
What saved Speer from the gallows was his truly heartfelt contrition—a trait noticeably absent from most of the other defendants who tried to avoid responsibility by simply saying they were following orders.
That Schacht, who spent much of WWII plotting against Hitler and sitting in concentration camps, was charged with war crimes was simply ridiculous. I regard him, along with Col. von Stauffenberg and FM Rommel as a true German heroes and patriots.
No thanks to the head of the kangaroo court, 'Justice' Jackson.
Interesting. Oh and thanks for another book to add to my list. I’m currently reading an Army at Dawn but I only get about 20 pages in a night with my busy schedule. This schedule is going to get more hecktic since I decided to go get my Masters.
Oh by the way, if you want to read a real interesting story that involves Magda Goebbels read “The Forgotten 500” by Gregory Freeman. The story involving the escape of George and Mirjana Vujnovich from Yugoslavia will blow you away.
If you want to have some real fun, watch the World at War series. Speer is interviewed extensively in it and he is clearly caught in more than one lie.
"And to do so without worrying about any German guarantee of the Czech frontiers! Apparently there had been little worry about this in Paris and London. Four months had gone by since Munich, and still Hitler had not honored his word to add Germany's guarantee to that given by Britain and France. Finally on February 8 an Anglo-French note verbale was presented in Berlin stating that the two governments "would now be glad to learn the views of the German Government as to the best way of giving effect to the understanding reached at Munich in regard to the guarantee of Czechoslovakia."
There is also an interesting bit on the sub article "Spirit of Freedom". Remember last week Roosevelt made a speech in which he alarmed the press by committing that the U.S. will support with military aid any of the western powers if they are attacked (I know I'm paraphrasing). The New York Times referenced the speech as "destablizing" to Europe and could "provoke" Hitler. The UK press seems to see his committment as just the opposite. Pretty interesting.
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