appeasing your enemy after the war has started: part 1

8/13/2019 Appeasing Your Enemy After the War Has Started: Part 1

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The New Federalist March 25, 1988 Pages 5 & 8

American Almanac

Appeasing Your Enemy After the War Has Started:

September 1938!une 19"#: $art 1

by %olly Hammett &ronberg

'e(ille )hamberlain is all smiles* %arch 1+* 1939: 'a,i troops parade

bac- home in .ondon* after handing through $rague/the end of the

),echoslo(a-ia o(er to Hitler0 simonthold %unich pact0

2ehind him* his closest ad(iser*

Sir Horace Wilson0

This is the story of ensuring war by aeasing your ene!y, and then aeas"

ing your ene!y once the war has begun# $n the 19%s, confronted by the

!ilitary buildu and aggression of Na'i (er!any, the leaders of )ritain and

France retended, as the disoriented President *eagan and his coterie re"

tend today, that aease!ent of their ad+ersary could !u''le the dogs of


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war# $t was not true then, and it is not true today, no !atter what fantasies

the hite -ouse entertains, and tries to i!ose on our N.T/ treaty allies#

-ere we tell the story of two eriods of history rele+ant to our resent crisis#

First, March through 0ete!ber 19%9, when .dolf -itler was already fight"

ing his war against the estbut the est see!ed suicidally ignorant of thefact# 0econd, 0ete!ber 19%9 through une 193, when France and )ritain

were at war with -itler, and yet casting about for ways to aease hi!# The

fruits of this folly4 Na'i troos o+erran uroe, con6uered France, and

isolated )ritain#

Fro! March to 0ete!ber 19%9, the go+ern!ent of )ritain under Pri!e

Minister Ne+ille 7ha!berlain, and that of France under Pri!e Minister

duard aladier, were obsessed with the roble! of how to a+oid war with

-itler# .s we shall see, the course they too ensured that war would co!e#

$f you wish to a+oid war with a hostile, !obili'ed ad+ersary, we tell the :#0#

go+ern!ent and N.T/ owers today, you !ust !ae clear to your

ad+ersary what is the triwire for war, the casus belli for which you will

fight# $f you refuse to draw a clear lineas )ritain and France refused in

19%9, out of fearthen you will bring about the outco!e you see to a+oid#

$f you are not reared, and ublicly so, to fight under secified conditions,

your ad+ersary will say of you, as -itler said of 7ha!berlain and aladier,

;/ur ene!ies are little wor!s#; .nd he will treat you accordingly#

.t Munich, in 0ete!ber 19%8, 7ha!berlain and aladier brought theworld a giant ste closer to war when they conni+ed at the e adding to it, through the Munich Pact, %#?

!illion souls, re+iously citi'ens of de!ocratic 7'echoslo+aia@ 11,

s6uare !iles of 7'ech territory@ and al!ost all 7'echoslo+aia=s natural

resources and industry# Thus was 7'echoslo+aia destroyed, the only solid

ally the est had in astern uroe# .nd yet, within si< !onths, -itler had

torn u 7ha!berlain=s recious Munich Pact and taen o+er the rest of

7'echoslo+aia# Ti!e to call a haltA Ti!e to tell -itler his lies and attacs

would no longer be tolerated# Ti!e to teach hi! a lesson#

)ut the only lesson the est taught -itler then, was that he could get what

he wanted, by bludgeoning, bullying, and building his war !achine# .nd

this is the only lesson the 0o+iets are learning today, fro! the !odern

.easers in ashington#


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rom %unich to Warsa4

The Munich deal was concluded 0et# %, 19%8# )y its ter!s, (er!any got

huge chuns of 7'echoslo+aia, but what was left of the 7'ech state,

econo!ically un+iable and !ilitarily indefensible, would be ;indeendent#;

.fter Munich, new conferences were scheduled to ro+ide guarantees fro!

France, )ritain, and (er!any, of the truncated 7'ech borders# -itler

sabotaged the conferences, telling the 7'echs they had no cause to worry>

;The only guarantee worth ha+ing is one fro! !e#; )ut, as an $nternational

7o!!ission went on with its !eetings to sort out ;indeendent; 7'echo"

slo+aia=s fate, )ritain, France, the :#0#, and Poland, concluded that by the

!iracle of Munich, eace had been reser+ed#

.s godfather of the Munich .ccord, Ne+ille 7ha!berlain was the !an of

the hour who had a+erted the fored lightning of war# President Franlin*oose+elt sent hi! a two"word telegra!> ;(ood !anA; 7ha!berlain criss"

crossed )ritain, telling hoeful crowds that the !en of Munich had assured a

generation of eace#

Then, in March 19%9, -itler !arched into the rest of 7'echo"0lo+aia Bthe

na!e now hyhenated officially, to show that it was in reality two states,

!ade u of hostile ethnic grousC# To acco!lish this, -itler had ere!"

torily su!!oned to )erlin late at night on March 13 the aging President of

the 7'ech ru! state, !il -acha# $n )erlin, -itler roared at the haless

-acha that he !ust sign a decree !aing -itler the Protector of 7'echia Btheancient, (er!an"settled ro+inces of )ohe!ia and Mora+iaC# $f -acha

refused, -itler bellowed, that +ery night the (er!an Duftwaffe would bo!b

Prague into rubble# $n the face of the Fuehrer=s threats, -acha collased@

ha+ing been re+i+ed by -itler=s doctor with so!e well"ti!ed inEections,

-acha signed#

The day before, -itler had arranged with Father Tiso, re!ier of 0lo+aia,

to lace 0lo+aia under his ;rotection#; 0o 7'echia beca!e a

*eichsrotectorate ruled by *einhard -eydrich, !onstrous head of the 00

0ecurity 0er+ice@ and 0lo+aia under Tiso#

Thus, on March 15, 19%9, -itler could celebrate his triu!hal entry into

Prague# Now the swastia flew o+er this ancient (er!an outost in the

ast# -itler had, as he Eubilantly declared, ;brought )ohe!ia and Mora+ia

bac into the *eich,; for the first ti!e in a thousand years#


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The go+ern!ents in )ritain and France reacted with horror and fear# +en

Mussolini, -itler=s ally, was distraught# )itterly, he told his son"in"law and

Foreign Minister, 7ount 7iano, ;+ery ti!e -itler occuies a country he

sends !e a telegra!#;

/n March 1, two days after -itler entered Prague, Ne+ille 7ha!berlainsoe in )ir!ingha!# There he ased in anguish, ;$s this the last attac

uon a s!all state, or is it to be followed by others4 $s this, in fact, a ste in

the direction of an atte!t to do!inate the world by force4; ere the scales

falling fro! 7ha!berlain=s eyes4 as he at last reared to bloc -itler=s

ath to con6uest of uroe4

Not in the least# $n the sa!e seech, 7ha!berlain defended the Munich Pact

which -itler, with his Prague ad+enture, had Eust ried u# For the first

ti!e -itler had taen o+er a non"(er!an eole B;e want no 7'echs,; he

had snarled si< !onths earlierC@ he had taen the first ste in creating his

night!are e!ire of sla+e"states# )ut 7ha!berlain did not wish to sto

aeasing -itler@ rather, he wished to aease !ore effecti+ely# +idently,

there were still asects to the uroean order which disleased the Fuehrer#

That was dangerous# Therefore, new aroaches to aease!ent !ust be

found#

0till, by asing if this were a ste on the road to world con6uest, 7ha!ber"

lain altered )ritain=s aroach# .s historian .##P# Taylor wrote, ;7ha!ber"

lain saw it as a change of e!hasis, not a change of direction# Pre+iouslythe )ritish go+ern!ent often warned -itler in ri+ate, while ursuing

aease!ent in ublic# Now they warned hi! ublicly and went on with

aease!ent in ri+ateso!eti!es ublicly as well#;

7ha!berlain and his 7abinet were agreed# -itler !ust be ;deterred,; but

not ;ro+oed#; eterrence !eant ensuring he did nothing too +iolent#

.chie+ing that see!ed to the rulers of )ritain to re6uire certain dilo!atic

shows of strength in ublic, couled with secret assurances to -itler that

what he wanted was his for the asing, ro+ided he ased olitely#

-ow did this new co!bination of ublic deterrence and ri+ate sub!ission

wor in ractice4 )ritain and France agreed they wanted to restrain -itler

but not offend hi!, nor disrut what was esecially )ritain=s goal of co!re"

hensi+e ;understanding; with (er!any=s difficult leader#

.nd so, the !id"March discussion in 7ha!berlain=s 7abinet de+eloed a

no+el idea> if -itler=s ne


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)ritish guarantees could be offered that country, to signal to -itler that his

aggressi+e actions were no longer regarded with e6uani!ity in Dondon# .t

the sa!e ti!e, ri+ate aease!ent could roceed, until -itler learned to

!ind his !anners, and it beca!e ossible once again to !ae ublic the

rocess of .nglo"(er!an friendshi, the .nglo"0a


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deter!ined to drag Poland into a relationshi with )ritain and France which

they had no intention of suorting !ilitarily as we shall seebut which

was certain to worsen friction between Poland and (er!any#

$f Poland, for ob+ious reasons, wanted no art of an alliance with 0o+iet

*ussia, how did )ritain roose to in+eigle the Poles in4 0i!le# Dord-alifa< had the answer> )ritain and France !ust offer Poland the sa!e ind

of border guarantee ai!ed at (er!any, that )ritain and France wanted

Poland to gi+e *o!ania# Poland had not re6uested this suort@ but she

!ust be won to alliance with the est by the offer of this suort she had

not re6uested# Poland would be rotected fro! a danger that )ritain and

France did not belie+e her to be in# .nd in return, Poland would guarantee

*o!ania#

7learest in this dilo!atic tangle is the fact that )ritain=s offer to guarantee

Poland was based on the assu!tion that Poland was in no danger fro!

(er!any# The go+ern!ent of Ne+ille 7ha!berlain had no intention of

fighting for Poland, as the e+ents of 0ete!ber 19%9 !ade tragically clear#

)ut 7ha!berlain=s .ease!ent go+ern!ent, in what !ust be a highwater

!ar of dishonesty, was going to tell the Poles and the world, through

ublic treaties with Polandthat )ritain would fight# .t the sa!e ti!e, the

.easers were going to tell -itler, secretly and reeatedly that )ritain

would not#

Poland=s 7ol# )ec was intrigued by the )ritish offer@ he had not sought it,but it occurred to hi!, in sring 19%9, that Eust ossibly, a guarantee of

Poland=s borders fro! the !ighty )ritish !ire would gi+e hi! enough

!uscle to tell his owerful western neighbor (er!any where to head in#

)ecause, although )ritain belie+ed Poland to be in no danger fro! -itler,

7ol# )ec new otherwise#

)ec hi!self was not abo+e dilo!atic double"dealing# 0o he assured the

)ritish that (er!an"Polish relations had ne+er been better# There was no

danger at all that -itler would !o+e on Poland ne


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Thereuon, satisfied that (er!any was no real threat to Poland, on March

%1, 7ha!berlain felt safe in !aing ublic the )ritish guarantee to Poland#

hat was the an'ig issue4 The Treaty of Gersailles of 1919, which !ared

the end of orld ar $, had car+ed u (er!an territory in a way not only

unEust, but dangerous# $n fact, the Treaty ter!s ensured that (er!any wouldso!e day e!bar on the tas of regaining her lost soil# Fro! the ob+ious

outrages contained in the Treaty, -itler deri+ed the legiti!acy of !ost of the

territorial clai!s he had !ade in uroe, until his occuation of Prague#

The crisis of an'ig Bnow nown as (dansC was such a creation of the Ger"

sailles Treaty# . wholly (er!an city, with a (er!an Bby 19%9, a Na'iC go+"

ern!ent, she was ad!inistered under a Deague of Nations !andate by a

Deague 7o!!issioner# an'ig was inside, but not art of, Poland@ once

art of (er!an ast Prussia, an'ig was now detached fro! (er!any, and

tied to Poland through nu!erous trade and treaty arrange!ents#

$n addition to an'ig, there was the Polish 7orridor# .lso created by Ger"

sailles, the 7orridor cut through what had been (er!an territory to gi+e

Poland access to the )altic# )y Gersailles, (er!any was di+ided> to the

west of the 7orridor Bnow PolishC was the bul of the *eich@ to the east, the

(er!an state of ast Prussia#

The an'ig line"u was si!le> -itler wanted it bac in the *eich@ Poland

wanted the status 6uo# .nd -itler wanted a land stri across the Polish

7orridor, to connect ast Prussia to the rest of the *eich#$n any case, on .ril 3, 19%9 7ol# )ec arri+ed in Dondon to assure his new

allies that no thorny roble!s e


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)ec told another lie to con+ince 7ha!berlain he ran no danger in

guaranteeing Poland# Poland, )ec clai!ed, had not been deendent on

7'ech ar!s Bthe +ast 7'ech !unitions wors were under -itler=s control,

since MunichC, and in fact, Poland was a net e


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Summer 1939: $oland* Hitler5s 'et 6ictim

Hitler 4ants $oland* and 2ritain and rance 4ant to gi(e it to him0

7he appeasers5 diplomacy led straight to World War 0

7he War of 'er(es

To achie+e all this, -itler turned to his fa+orite techni6ue> the war of ner+es#

.t the sa!e ti!e, in secret he reared for the little war in Poland that

would, he e


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(er!any=s 19%3 Non".ggression Pact with Poland, and (er!any=s 19%5

Na+al Treaty with (reat )ritain#

7haracteristically +ague in his de!ands, he e


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-itler thought he had taen the !easure of the .easers at Munich@ he was

right# Publicly suorting Poland, they secretly i!lored )ec to gi+e

-itler e+erything he wanted# Publicly deloring Na'i aggression, they

secretly reassured -itler that his clai!s were Eust, and would be !et#

:nerringly, the .easers chose the course certain to encourage -itler in his

de!ands, until the Fuehrer fir!ly belie+ed his in+asion of Poland would

!erely establish what France and )ritain had already ro!ised hi!#

7he Appeasers o A)ourting

)ac to our story# -a+ing challenged the .easers to sol+e the roble! of

satisfying hi!, -itler withdrew into silence, content to wait for the est to

flood hi! with offers# They were not long in co!ing#

/n uly 18, a Na'i co!!ercial agent by the na!e of ohlstat arri+ed in

Dondon for tals with 7ha!berlain=s closest ad+iser and dearest friend, 0ir-orace ilson# The latter offered (er!any a )ritish loan of J1 billion if

-itler would dro his aggressi+e osture# Then ilson wrote Bon Ten

owning 0treet aerC a !e!o roosing an .nglo"(er!an treaty of non"

aggression and non"interference, a !utual disar!a!ent act, and cooera"

tion in foreign trade# 0uch an arrange!ent, wrote 7ha!berlain=s good

friend, ;would enable )ritain to rid herself of her co!!it!ents +is"K"+is

Poland;> abandon Poland to her fate#

)y uly 25, 19%9, )ritain=s a!bassador in )erlin, 0ir Ne+ile -enderson, was

reorting to Foreign 0ecretary Dord -alifa< in Dondon that ;6uite a deal ofPolish ro+ocation; was being whied u against (er!any# BNo !ention

of Na'i ro+ocation#C -enderson strongly reco!!ended )ritain tell her new

allies that -itler was the !ost ;fa+ourably disosed (er!an; Poland would

e+er ha+e to deal with, an ;.ustrian and not a Prussian;@ therefore so!eone

for who! Poland held no attraction# $n other words> the Poles !ust cut

their deal now@ they=ll ne+er get better ter!s than -itler=s#

)y .ug# 1?, -enderson was writing ho!e, urgently, that -itler was, of all

the Na'is, ;the !ost !oderate as far as an'ig and the 7orridor are

concerned#; hy wouldn=t the Poles negotiate4

-itler new the )ritish Foreign /ffice was thrashing about for a way to

satisfy his de!ands, and wriggle out of their agree!ent with Poland# To

ee the .easers in that roducti+e state of tension, -itler decided to issue

a bellicose warning, through r# Larl )urchardt, Deague 7o!!issioner for

an'ig# /n .ug# 11, -itler told )urchardt, ;$f the slightest incident


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haens how, $ shall crush the Poles without warning in such a way that no

trace of Poland will be found afterwards# $ shall strie with the full force of

a !echani'ed ar!y, of which the Poles ha+e no concetion#;

)urchardt concluded that -itler=s belligerence only showed how Polish

intransigence was frightening the Fuehrer# )urchardt wrote that -itler;see!ed ner+ous, athetic, al!ost shaen at ti!es#; )urchardt ad+ised that

the .easers !aintain the ressure on arsaw, and ee those wiced

Poles fro! inti!idating -itlerA

The )ritish 7abinet agreed# )ut, at the sa!e ti!e, it was necessary to ee

the ublic agree!ent with Poland, so as to ha+e a brae against -itler#

)esides, an alliance with Poland was a hoo into Poland, to force her to gi+e

in# /n .ug# 25, therefore, the )ritish go+ern!ent signed the .nglo"Polish

Treaty, an e


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This the )ritish instantly, and constantly, contra+ened#

-itler did not now of this secret rotocol# No reresentati+e of the )ritish

go+ern!ent e+er told hi!, before he in+aded Poland, that )ritain was treaty"

bound to regard an in+asion as a casus belli. The reason was si!le@

7ha!berlain=s go+ern!ent, ha+ing told the Poles that it would guaranteean'ig and the 7orridor, !eant to do the oosite# 7ha!berlain had no

thought of fighting for an'ig# The rotocol was there to acify the Poles#

:nfortunately for uroe, -itler and )ec both belie+ed the )ritish#

)elie+ing the secret rotocol, Poland=s )ec felt entirely able, as war clouds

thicened in the .ugust sies, to refuse to discuss with (er!any either

an'ig or the 7orridor#

Meanti!e, -itler new only that, the day the .nglo"Polish Treaty wassigned, )ritish dilo!ats clustered around hi!, telling hi! it was all for

show# -a+ing signed the treaty, 7ha!berlain=s go+ern!ent did not wait

e+en 23 hours before starting to under!ine it, in dealings with -itler of

which the Poles new nothing#

Thus, 0ir Ne+ile -enderson !et -itler .ug# 25the day the treaty was

signed# -itler shrugged when ased what his de!ands on Poland were# -e

said only that they ;are li!ited, and can be negotiated by eaceful !ethods#;

.fter ;solution of the (er!an"Polish 6uestion,; -itler went on, (er!any

and )ritain could be the best of friends# The Fuehrer declared that Bto 6uote-enderson=s disatchC ;-e accets the )ritish !ire and is willing to

ledge hi!self ersonally for its continued e


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To reinforce -itler=s acific !ood, uon receit of -enderson=s reort Dord

-alifa< instantly decided to abandon his ledge to Poland on an'ig, and to

do so without telling the Poles#

A 7E'SE %%E'7 ' 7HE ;A$$EASE%E'7 $Hitler* seated* 4earing glasses?0


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You n(ade= We5ll 7al-

$n his fren'y to acco!!odate -itler, -alifa< e+ol+ed a for!ula, should

(er!any in+ade Poland, that would enable )ritain to see! to honor her 12"

hour"old treaty with Poland, and yet not ha+e to declare war on (er!any#

-alifa if (er!any attaced Poland, )ritain shouldde!and a troo halt ;within a fi


16/21

e


17/21

$ressure on 0 0 0 $oland

French Foreign Minister (eorges )onnet told the $talian a!bassador in Paris

that France was ;e his deloy!ent of % di+isions to the Polish frontierthree days earlier, or his bloody"!inded ublic seeches#

0uggesting the ennui and desair infecting France=s go+ern!ent, the French

Minister of Public ors declared that ;There was now nothing to be done

but to allow (er!any to ha+e her way#; France was indeed deserate

although she had the largest ar!y on the continent# )y .ug# 28, .ndre

FranOois"Poncet, French a!bassador in *o!e, was telling Percy Doraine, his

)ritish counterart, that France was considering concessions to $taly to er"

suade her not to fight on (er!any=s side# The scoe of the conte!lated

concessions was staggering@ they !ight, confided Francois"Poncet, include

a deal o+er Tunis Bossibly cession to $taly of Eibouti, the French ort on

the (ulf of .denC, and also cession to $taly of ;certain of the 0ue' director"

shis#;

)ritain, howe+er, laced her greatest hoes of restraining -itler not on

$taly=s uce, but on -itler hi!self# /ne of !any e


18/21


19/21

Nor did they tell the Poles of it# $ndeed, -alifa< !ade sure to ha+e that

hrase edited out of the !inutes of the -enderson"-itler !eeting, before

forwarding the !inutes to arsaw# -a+ing read -itler=s brutal re!ar,

-alifa< could still say he was ;at a loss to now; why Poland had !obili'ed

her ar!y .ug# 2%A

)ritain=s rogra! for aeasing -itler see!ed to be on schedule# /n .ug#

29, -itler infor!ed -enderson he would accet a Polish negotiator Ba

co!!odity )ritain had ro!ised hi!C, but the leniotentiary !ust arri+e in

)erlin within 23 hours, by .ug# %#

+en the acco!!odating -enderson s!arted a little at this i!ossible dead"

line@ he thought it sa+ored of ulti!atu!, and told the Fuehrer so# -itler was

enraged# -e had, he said, only agreed to accet the Polish negotiator the

)ritish had insistently ro!ised, in order to show his desire to be friendly to

)ritain# Now he was told that, by agreeing to )ritain=s rogra!, he was

issuing an ulti!atu!A )ut two !obili'ed ar!ies faced one another, -itler

yelled@ couldn=t -enderson see the !atter was urgent4

The two !en shouted at each other until -itler stor!ed out in a fury@

)ritain was being ;go+ernessy; again#

)ount@o4n to War

$n the course of the long e+ening of .ug# 29, -itler reEected a roosal

de+eloed by ahlerus and the )ritish for -itler to recei+e Polish .!bassa"dor Disi, and gi+e Disi a note finally setting forth -itler=s ter!s for

settle!ent# No, said -itler> the Polish negotiator !ust co!e fro! arsaw,

eriod@ and !ust be a leniotentiary, not an a!bassador#

-itler=s reEection of the ahlerus")ritish d!arche heightened the an


20/21

)ritain !ade one final roosal to -itler, hoing to soothe hi! and yet sa+e

so!e shred of honor for )ritain and the ally she !eant to betray# That

roosal suggested that the Poles begin direct negotiations with the (er!ans

instantly, no further delaybut in arsaw, not )erlin# The )ritish had a

roble!> how to get -itler to dro his de!and that a Polish leniotentiary

co!e to )erlin4

To atte!t that, on .ug# %, -enderson !et Na'i Foreign Minister oachi!

+on *ibbentro, who read hi! -itler=s roosals, finally drafted in official

for!# .!ong the!>

Q *estoration of an'ig to (er!any#

Q 7orridor to be de!arcated#

Q Plebiscite in 7orridor on basis of 1919 oulation#

Q $nternational co!!ission to olice 7orridor#

Q (dynia to be reser+ed to Poland#

Q an'ig to be a urely co!!ercial, de!ilitari'ed city#

)ut, said *ibbentro, -itler considered his roosals were rendered obsolete

by the fact that no Polish negotiator had yet arri+ed in )erlin, as -itler had

de!anded the day before# -enderson was not able to induce the Foreign

Minister to agree to tals in arsaw# *ibbentro did not re+eal what !o+ehis Fuehrer conte!lated ne


21/21

Disi did not co!!unicate these !aunderings to arsaw# -e new they

were ludicrous# -e told 0ir (eorge /gil+ie Forbes of the )ritish !bassy

in )erlin, ;This lan was a breach of Polish so+ereignty and was 6uite out of

the 6uestion# # # # $t would be fatal for M# )ec, or a Polish reresentati+e, to

co!e to )erlin# e !ust for hea+en=s sae stand fir! and show a united

front, and Poland, if deserted by her allies, was reared to fight and die

alone#;

-enderson thought otherwise# ;This is no Munich,; he wired -alifa

appeasing your enemy after the war has started: part 1

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