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Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume One, Chapter Nine

                                                  [Page 651]
                                                            
     
                    7. TREATY VIOLATIONS

It might be thought, from the melancholy story of broken
treaties and violated assurances, that Hitler and the Nazi
Government did not even profess that it is necessary or
desirable to keep the pledged word. Outwardly, however, the
professions were very different. With regard to treaties, on
the 18 October 1933, Hitler said, "Whatever we have signed
we will fulfill to the best of our ability."

The reservation is significant -- "Whatever we have signed."

But, on 21 May 1935, Hitler said, "The German Government
will scrupulously maintain every treaty voluntarily signed.
even though it was concluded before their accession to power
and office."

On assurances Hitler was even more emphatic. In the same
speech, the Reichstag Speech of 21 May 1935, Hitler accepted
assurances as being of equal obligation, and the world at
that time could not know that that meant of no obligation at
all. What he actually said was,

     "And when I now hear from the lips of a British
     statesman that such assurances are nothing and that the
     only proof of sincerity is the signature appended to
     collective pacts, I must ask Mr. Eden to be good enough
     to remember that it is a question of assurance in any
     case. It is sometimes much easier to sign treaties with
     the mental reservations that one will consider one's
     attitude at the decisive hour than to declare before an
     entire nation and with full opportunity one's adherence
     to a policy which serves the course of peace because it
     rejects anything which leads to war."
     
And then he proceeded with the illustration of his assurance
to France.

In this connection the position of a treaty in German law
should not be forgotten. The appearance of a treaty in the
Reichsgesetzblatt makes it part of the statute law of
Germany, so that a breach thereof is also a violation of
German domestic law.

(This section deals with fifteen only of the treaties which
Hitler and the Nazis broke. The remainder of the 69 treaties
which the German Reich violated between 1933 and 1941 are
dealt with in other sections of this chapter.)

A. Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International
Disputes, signed at the Hague on 29 July  1899.

The Hague Conventions are of course only the first gropings
towards the rejection of the inevitability of war. They do
not render the making of aggressive war a crime, but their
milder terms were as readily broken as more severe
agreements.

On 29 July  1899, Germany, Greece, Serbia, and 25 other
nations signed a convention (TC-l). Germany ratified the
convention on 4 September 1900, Serbia on the 11 May 1901,
Greece on the 4 April 1901.

                                                  [Page 653]
                                                            
By Article 12 of the treaty between the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers and the Serb-Croat-Slovene State, signed
at the St. Germaine-en-Laye on 10 September 1919, the new
Kingdom succeeded to all the old Serbian treaties, and later
changed its name to Yugoslavia.

The first two articles of this Hague Convention read:

     "Article 1: With a view to obviating as far as possible
     recourse to force in the relations between states, the
     signatory powers agree to use their best efforts to
     insure the pacific settlement of International
     differences.
     
     "Article 2: In case of serious disagreement or
     conflict, before an appeal to arms the signatory powers
     agree to have recourse, as far as circumstances allow,
     to the good offices or mediation of one or more
     friendly powers." (TC-1)

B. Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International.
Disputes, signed at the Hague on 18 October 1907.

This Convention (TC-2) was signed at the Hague by 44
nations, and it is in effect as to 31 nations, 28
signatories, and three adherents. For present purposes it is
in force as to the United States, Belgium, Czechoslovakia,
Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Japan, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, and Russia.

By the provisions of Article 91 it replaces the 1899
Convention as between the contracting powers. As Greece and
Yugoslavia are parties to the 1899 convention and not to the
1907, the 1899 Convention is in effect with regard to them,
and that explains the division of countries in Appendix C.

The first article of this treaty reads:

     "1: With a view to obviating as far as possible
     recourse to force in the relations between States, the
     contracting powers agree to use their best efforts to
     insure the pacific settlement of international
     differences." (TC-2)

C. Convention Relative to the Opening of Hostilities, signed
at the Hague on 18 October 1907.

This Convention (TC-3) applies to Germany, Poland, Norway,
Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Russia.
It relates to a procedural step in notifying one's
prospective opponent before opening hostilities against him.
It appears to have had its immediate origin in the Russo-
Japanese war of 1904, when Japan attacked Russia without any
previous warning. It will be noted that it does not fix any
particular lapse of time between the giving of notice and
the commencement of

                                                  [Page 654]
hostilities, but it does seek to maintain an absolutely
minimum standard of International decency before the
outbreak of war.

The first article of this treaty reads:

     "The contracting powers recognize that hostilities
     between them must not commence without a previous and
     explicit warning in the form of either a declaration of
     war, giving reasons, or an ultimatum with a conditional
     declaration of war." (TC)

D. Convention 5, Respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral
Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land, signed at the
Hague on 18 October 1907.

Germany was an original signatory to this Convention (TC-4),
and the treaty is in force as a result of ratification or
adherence between Germany and Norway, Denmark, Belgium,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, the USSR, and the United
States.

Article 1 reads:

     "The territory of neutral powers is inviolable." (TC-4)

A point arises on this Convention. Under Article 20, the
provisions of the present Convention do not apply except
between the contracting powers, and then only if all the
belligerents are parties to the Convention.

As Great Britain and France entered the war within two days
of the outbreak of the war between Germany and Poland, and
one of these powers had not ratified the Convention, it is
arguable that its provisions did not apply to the Second
World War.

Since there are many more important treaties to be
considered, the charge will not be pressed that this treaty
was likewise breached. The terms of Article 1 are cited
merely as showing the state of International opinion at the
time, and as an element in the aggressive character of the
war.

E. Treaty of Peace between the Allies and the Associated
Powers of Germany, signed at Versailles on 18 June 1919.

Part I of this treaty (TC- 5 thru TC-10) contains the
Covenant of the League of Nations, and Part II sets the
boundaries of Germany in Europe. These boundaries are
described in detail. Part II makes no provision for
guaranteeing these boundaries. Part III, Articles 31 to 117,
contains the political clauses for Europe. In it, Germany
guarantees certain territorial boundaries in Belgium,
Luxembourg, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Poland, Memel,
Danzig, etc.

This treaty is interwoven with the next, which is the Treaty

                                                  [Page 655]
                                                            
of Restoration of Friendly Relations between the United
States and Germany. Parts I, II, and III of the Versailles
Treaty are not included in the United States Treaty. Parts
IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV, and XV are all
repeated verbatim in the United States Treaty from the
Treaty of Versailles. This case is concerned with Part V,
which are the military, naval, and air clauses. Parts VII
and XIII are not included in the United States Treaty.

(1) Territorial Guarantees.

(a) The Rhineland. The first part with which this case is
concerned is Articles 42 to 44 dealing with the Rhineland
(TC-5). These are repeated in the Locarno Treaty. They read
as follows:

     "Article 42: Germany is forbidden to maintain or
     construct any fortifications either on the left bank of
     the Rhine or on the right bank to the west of a line
     drawn 50 kilometers to the east of the Rhine.
     
     "Article 43: In the area defined above the maintenance
     and the assembly of armed forces, either permanently or
     temporarily, and military maneuvers of any kind, as
     well as- the upkeep of all permanent works for
     mobilization, are in the same way forbidden.
     
     "Article 44: In case Germany violates in any manner
     whatever the provisions of Articles 42 and 43, she
     shall be regarded as committing a hostile act against
     the powers signatory of the present treaty and as
     calculated to disturb the peace of the world."

(The speech by Hitler on 7 March 1936, giving his account of
the breach of this treaty (2289-PS), is discussed in Section
2, supra.)

     (b) Austria. The next part of the Treaty deals with
     Austria: "Article 80: Germany acknowledges and will
     respect strictly the independence of Austria within the
     frontiers which may be fixed in a treaty between that
     State and the principal Allied and Associated powers;
     she agrees that this independence shall be inalienable,
     except with the consent of the Council of the League of
     Nations." (TC-6)

(The proclamation of Hitler dealing with Austria (TC-47), is
discussed in Section 3 supra.)

(c) Memel. Germany also gave guarantee with respect to
Memel:

     "Germany renounces, in favor of the principal Allied
     and Associated powers, all rights and title over the
     territories included between the Baltic, the
     Northeastern frontier of
     
                                                  [Page 656]
                                                            
     East Prussia as defined in Article 28 of Part II
     (Boundaries of Germany) of the present treaty, and the
     former frontier between Germany and Russia. Germany
     undertakes to accept the settlement made by principal
     Allied and Associated powers in regard to these
     territories, particularly insofar as concerns the
     nationality of inhabitants." (TC-8)

The formal document by which Germany incorporated Memel into
the Reich, reads as follows:

     "The transfer Commissioner for the Memel territory,
     Gauleiter und Oberpraesdent Erich Koch, effected on 3
     April 1939, during a conference at Memel, the final
     incorporation of the late Memel territory into the
     National Socialist Party Gau of East Prussia and into
     the state administration of the East Prussian
     Regerungsbezirk of Grunbinnen." (TC-53-A)

(d) Danzig. Article 100 of the treaty relates to Danzig:

     "Germany renounces, in favor of the principal Allied
     and Associated Powers, all rights and title over the
     territory comprised within the following limits ***
     (The limits are set out and are described in a German
     map attached to the Treaty.) (TC-9)

(e) Czechoslovakia. In Article 81, Germany made pledges
regarding Czechoslovakia:

     "Germany, in conformity with the action already taken
     by the Allied and Associated Powers, recognizes the
     complete independence of the Czechoslovak State, which
     will include the autonomous territory of the Ruthenians
     to the South of the Carpathians. Germany hereby
     recognizes the frontiers of this State as determined by
     the principal Allied and Associated Powers and other
     interested states." (TC-7)

Captured minutes of the German Foreign Office record in
detail the conference between Hitler and President Hacha,
and Foreign Minister Chvalkowsky of Czechoslovakia, at which
Goering and Keitel were present (2798-PS). The agreement
subsequently signed by Hitler and Ribbentrop for Germany,
and by Dr. Hacha and Dr. Chvalkowsky for Czechoslovakia,
reads as follows:

     "Text of the Agreement between the Fuehrer and Reichs
     Chancellor Adolf Hitler and the President of the
     Czechoslovak State, Dr. Hacha.
     
     "The Fuehrer and Reichs Chancellor today received in
     Berlin, at their own request, the President of the
     Czechoslovak State, Dr. Hacha, and the Czechoslovak
     Foreign Minister, Dr. Chvalkowsky, in the presence of
     Herr Von Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister of the Reich.
     At this meeting the serious situation which had arisen
     within the previous territory of
     
                                                  [Page 657]
                                                            
     Czechoslovakia owing to the events of recent weeks, was
     subjected to a completely open examination. The
     conviction was unanimously expressed on both sides that
     the object of all their efforts must be to assure
     quiet, order and peace in this part of Central Europe.
     The President of the Czechoslovak State declared that,
     in order to serve this end and to reach a final
     pacification, he confidently placed the fate of the
     Czech people and of their country in the hands of the
     Fuehrer of the German Reich. The Fuehrer accepted this
     declaration and expressed his decision to assure to the
     Czech people, under the protection of the German Reich,
     the autonomous development of their national life in
     accordance with their special characteristics. In
     witness whereof this document is signed in duplicate."
     (TC- 49)

Hitler's proclamation to the German people, dated 1 March
1939, reads as follows:

"Proclamation of the Fuehrer to the German people, 15 March
1939.

"To the German People:

     "Only a few months ago Germany was compelled to protect
     her fellow-countrymen, living in well-defined
     settlements, against the unbearable Czechoslovakian
     terror regime; and during the last weeks the same thing
     has happened on an ever-increasing scale. This is bound
     to create an intolerable state of affairs within an
     area inhabited by citizens of so many nationalities.
     
     "These national groups, to counteract the renewed
     attacks against their freedom and life, have now broken
     away from the Prague Government. Czechoslovakia has
     ceased to exist. "Since Sunday at many places wild
     excesses have broken out, amongst the victims of which
     are again many Germans. Hourly the number of oppressed
     and persecuted people crying for help is increasing.
     From areas thickly populated by German-speaking
     inhabitants, which last autumn Czechoslovakia was
     allowed by German generosity to retain, refugees robbed
     of their personal belongings are streaming into the
     Reich.

     "Continuation of such a state of affairs would led to
     the destruction of every vestige of order in an area in
     which Germany is vitally interested particularly as for
     over one thousand years it formed a part of the German
     Reich.
     
     "In order definitely to remove this menace to peace and
     to create the conditions for a necessary new order in
     this living space, I have to-day resolved to allow
     German troops to
     
                                                  [Page 658]
                                                            
     march into Bohemia and Moravia. They will disarm the
     terror gangs and the Czechoslovakian forces supporting
     them, and protect the lives of all who are menaced.
     Thus they will lay the foundations for introducing a
     fundamental reordering of affairs which will be in
     accordance with the 1,000-year old history and will
     satisfy the practical needs of the German and Czech
     peoples". (TC-50)
     
A footnote contains an order of the Fuehrer to the German
armed forces of the same date, in which they are told to
march in to safeguard lives and property of all inhabitants
and not to conduct themselves as enemies, but as an
instrument for carrying out the German Reich Government's-
decision. (TC-50)

Next came the decree establishing the Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia. (TC-51 )

In a communication from Foreign Minister Halifax to Sir
Neville Henderson, British Ambassador in Berlin, the British
Government protested against these actions:

     "Foreign Office, 17 March 1939:
     
     "Please inform German Government that His Majesty's
     Government desire to make it plain to them that they
     cannot but regard the events of the past few days as a
     complete repudiation of the Munich Agreement and a
     denial of the spirit in which the negotiators of that
     Agreement bound themselves to cooperate for a peaceful
     settlement.
     
     "His Majesty's Government must also take this occasion
     to protest against the changes effected in
     Czechoslovakia by German military action, which are, in
     their view, devoid of any basis of legality." (TC-52)

The French Government also made a protest on the same date:

     "*** The French Ambassador has the honor to inform the
     Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Reich of the formal
     protest made by the Government of the French Republic
     against the measures which the communication of Count
     de Welzeck records.
     
     "The Government of the Republic consider, in fact, that
     in face of the action directed by the German Government
     against Czechoslovakia, they are confronted with a
     flagrant violation of the letter and the spirit of the
     agreement signed at Munich on 9 September 1938.
     
     "The circumstances in which the agreements of March 15
     have been imposed on the leaders of the Czechoslovak
     Republic do not, in the eyes of the Government of the
     Republic, legalize the situation registered in that
     agreement.

     "The French Ambassador has the honor to inform His
     Excellency,
     
                                                  [Page 659]
                                                            
     the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Reich, that the
     Government of the Republic can not recognize under
     these conditions the legality of the new situation
     created in Czechoslovakia by the action of the German
     Reich." (TC-5)

(2) Armament Limitations. Part V of the Treaty, containing
military, Naval and Air Clauses reads as follows:

     "In order to render possible the initiation of a
     general limitation of the armaments of all nations,
     Germany undertakes strictly to observe the military,
     naval and air clauses which follow. "Section 1.
     Military Clauses. Effectives and Cadres of the German
     Army ***"

                           *******

     "Article 159. The German military forces shall be
     demobilized and reduced as prescribed hereinafter.
     "Article 160. By a date which must not be later than 31
     March 1920, the German Army must not comprise more than
     seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of
     cavalry. "After that date, the total number of
     effectives in the army of the States constituting
     Germany must not exceed 100,000 men, including officers
     and establishments of depots. The army shall be devoted
     exclusively to the maintenance of order within the
     territory and to the control of the frontier. "The
     total effective strength of officers, including the
     personnel of staffs, whatever their composition, must
     not exceed 4,000."
     
                           *******
     
     (2) "Divisions and Army Corps headquarters staffs,
     shall be organized in accordance with Table Number 1
     annexed to this Section. The number and strength of
     units of infantry, artillery, engineers, technical
     services and troops laid down in the aforesaid table
     constitute maxima which must not be exceeded."
     
                           *******
     
     "The maintenance or formation of forces differently
     grouped or of other organizations for the command of
     troops or for preparation for war is forbidden.
     
     "The great German General Staff and all similar
     organizations shall be dissolved and may not be
     reconstituted in any form." ( TC-l O)
     
Article 163 provides the steps by which the reduction will
take place. Chapter which deals with armament, provides that
up till the time at which Germany is admitted as a member of
the League

                                                  [Page 660]
                                                            
of Nations, the armaments shall not be greater than the
amount fixed in Table Number 11. In other words, Germany
agrees that after she has become a member of the League of
Nations, the armaments fixed in the said table shall remain
in force until they are modified by the Council of the
League of Nations. Furthermore, she hereby agrees strictly
to observe the decisions of the Council of the League on
this subject. (TC-10)

Article 168 reads:
     
     "The manufacture of arms, munitions or any war material
     shall only be carried out in factories or works, the
     location of which shall be communicated to and approved
     by the governments of the Principal Allied and
     Associated Powers, and the number of which they retain
     the right to restrict. ***" (TC-10)

Article 173, under the heading "Recruiting and Military
Training", deals with one matter, the breach of which is of
great importance:

     "Universal compulsory military service shall be
     abolished in Germany. The German Army may only be
     reconstituted and recruited by means of voluntary
     enlistment." (TC-10)

The succeeding articles deal with the method of enlistment
in order to prevent a quick rush through the army of men
enlisted for a short time.

Article 180 provides:

     "All fortified works, fortresses and field works
     situated in German territory to the west of a line
     drawn 50 kilometers to the east of the Rhine shall be
     disarmed and dismantled. ***" (TC-10)
     
Article 181 contains naval limitations:

     "After a period of two months from the coming into
     force of the present Treaty the German naval forces in
     commission must not exceed:

          Six battleships of the Deutschland or Lothringen
          type
          Six light cruisers
          Twelve destroyers
          Twelve torpedo boats
          
     or an equal number of ships constructed to replace them
     as provided in Article 190.
     "No submarines are to be included.
     "All other warships, except where there is provision to
     the contrary in
     the present Treaty, must be placed in reserve or
     devoted to commercial
     purposes." (TC-10)

Article 183 limits naval personnel to fifteen thousand,
including officers and men of all grades and corps.

                                                  [Page 661]

Article 191 provides:

     "The construction or acquisition of any submarines,
     even for commercial purposes, shall be forbidden in
     Germany." (TC-10)

Article 198, the first of the Air Clauses, commences:
     
     "The armed forces of Germany must not include any
     military or naval air forces." (TC-10)

The formal statement made at the German Air Ministry about
the re-inauguration of the Air Corps is reproduced in TC-44.
The public proclamation of compulsory military service is
contained in TC-4.

F. Treaty between the United States and Germany Restoring
Friendly Relations.

The purpose of this treaty (TC-11) was to complete the
official cessation of hostilities between the United States
of America and Germany; it also incorporated certain parts
of the Treaty of Versailles. The relevant portion is Part 5,
which repeats the clause of the Treaty of Versailles which
have been discussed immediately

G. Treaty of Mutual Guarantee between Germany, Belgium,
France, Great Britain, and Italy, done at Locarno, 16 October 1925

Several treaties were negotiated at Locarno; they all go
together and are to a certain extent mutually dependent. At
Locarno, Germany negotiated five treaties: (a) the Treaty of
Mutual Guarantee between Germany, Belgium, France, Great
Britain, and Italy (TC-12); (b) the Arbitration Convention
between Germany and France; c) the Arbitration Convention
between Germany and Belgium; (d) the Arbitration Treaty
between Germany and Poland; and (e) an Arbitration Treaty
between Germany and Czechoslovakia.

Article 10 of the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee (TC-12)
provided that it should come into force as soon as
ratifications were deposited at Geneva in the archives of
the League of Nations, and as soon as Germany became a
member of the League of Nations. The ratifications were
deposited on 14 September 1926, and Germany became a member
of the League of Nations.

The two arbitration conventions and the two arbitration
treaties provided that they shall enter into force under the
same conditions as the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee. (Article
21 of the arbitration conventions and Article 22 of the
arbitration treaties.)

                                                  [Page 662]

The most important of the five agreements is the Treaty of
Mutual Guarantee (TC-12). One of the purposes was to
establish in perpetuity the borders between Germany and
Belgium, and Germany and France. It contains no provision
for denunciation or withdrawal therefrom and provides that
it shall remain in force until the Council of the League of
Nations decides that the League of Nations ensures
sufficient protection to the parties to the Treaty -- an
event which never happened -- in which case the Treaty of
Mutual Guarantee shall expire one year later.

The general scheme of the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee is that
Article 1 provides that the parties guarantee three things:
the border between Germany and France, the border between
Germany and Belgium, and the demilitarization of the
Rhineland.

Article 2 provides that Germany and France, and Germany and
Belgium agree that they will not attack or invade each
other, with certain inapplicable exceptions; and Article 3
provides that Germany and France, and Germany and Belgium
agree to settle all disputes between them by peaceful means.
(TC-12)

The first important violation of the Treaty of Mutual
Guarantee appears to have been the entry of German troops
into the Rhineland on 7 March 1936. The day after, France
and Belgium asked the League of Nations Council to consider
the question of the German reoccupation of the Rhineland and
the purported repudiation of the treaty. On 12 March, after
a protest from the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Italy recognized
unanimously that the reoccupation was a violation of this
treaty. On 14 March, the League Council duly and properly
decided that reoccupation was not permissible and that the
Rhineland clauses of the pact were not voidable by Germany
because of the alleged violation by France in the Franco-
Soviet Mutual Assistance Pact.

That is the background to the treaty. The relevant articles
are 1, 2, and 3, already mentioned; 4, which provides for
the bringing of violations before the Council of the League,
as was done; and 5, which deals with the clauses of the
Versailles Treaty already mentioned. It provides:

     "The provisions of Article 3 of the present Treaty are
     placed under the guarantee of the High Contracting
     Parties as provided by the following stipulations:
     
     "If one of the Powers referred to in Article 3 refuses
     to submit a dispute to peaceful settlement or to comply
     with an arbitral or judicial decision and commits a
     violation of Article 2 of the present Treaty or a
     breach of Article 42 or 43 of the Treaty of Versailles,
     the provisions of Article 4 of the present Treaty shall
     apply." (TC-12)
     
                                                  [Page 663]
                                                            
That is the procedure requiring reference to the League in
the case of a flagrant breach or of more stringent action.

It may be recalled that Hitler had promised that the German
Government would scrupulously maintain their treaties
voluntarily signed, even though they were concluded before
Hitler's accession to power. No one has ever argued that
Stresemann was in any way acting involuntarily when he
signed this Locarno act on behalf of Germany, along with the
other representatives. (The signature is not in Stresemann's
name, but by Herr Hans Luther.) This treaty, which repeats
the violated provisions of the Versailles Treaty, was freely
entered into and binds Germany in that regard. Article 8
deals with the preliminary enforcement of the Treaty by the
League:

     "The present Treaty shall be registered at the League
     of Nations in accordance with the Covenant of the
     League. It shall remain in force until the Council,
     acting on a request of one or other of the High
     Contracting Parties notified to the other signatory
     Powers three months in advance, and voting at least by
     a two-thirds majority, decides that the League of
     Nations ensures sufficient protection to the High
     Contracting Parties; the Treaty shall cease to have
     effect on the expiration of a period of one year from
     such decision." (TC-12)

Thus, in signing this Treaty, the German representative
clearly placed the question of repudiation or violation of
the Treaty in the hands of others. Germany was at the time a
member of the League, and a member in the Council of the
League. Germany left the question of repudiation or
violations to the decision of the League.

H. Arbitration Treaty between Germany and Czechoslovakia
signed at Locarno in October 1925.

Article I is the governing clause of this treaty (TC-14). It
provides:

     "All disputes of every kind between Germany and
     Czechoslovakia with regard to which the Parties are in
     conflict as to their respective rights, and which it
     may not be possible to settle amicably by the normal
     methods of diplomacy shall be submitted for decision
     either to an arbitral tribunal, or to the Permanent
     Court of International Justice as laid down hereafter.
     It is agreed that the disputes referred to above
     include, in particular, those mentioned in Article 13
     of the-Covenant of the League of Nations. This
     provision does not apply to disputes arising out of or
     prior to the
     
                                                  [Page 664]
                                                            
     present Treaty and belonging to the past. Disputes for
     the settlement of which a special procedure is laid
     down on other conventions in force between the High
     Contracting Parties, shall be settled in conformity
     with the provisions of those Conventions."

This treaty was registered with the Secretariat of the
League in accordance with Article 22, the second sentence of
which shows that the Treaty was entered into and its terms
in force under the same conditions as the Treaty of Mutual
Guarantee. (TC-12)

This is the Treaty to which President Benes unsuccessfully
appealed during the crisis in the Autumn of 1938.

I. Arbitration Convention Between Germany and Belgium,
signed at Locarno, October 1925.

(This treaty, TC-13, is discussed in Section 10 of this
chapter dealing with the invasion of Belgium, Netherlands
and Luxembourg.)

J. Arbitration Treaty Between Germany and Poland, signed at
Locarno, 16 October 1925.

(This treaty, TC-15, is discussed in Section 8 of this
chapter dealing with the invasion of Poland.)

K. Declaration of the Assembly of the League of Nations of
24 September 1927.

Germany had become a member of the League of Nations on 10
September 1926, a year before this Declaration was made.

The importance of this Declaration is not only its effect on
International Law, but to the fact that it was unanimously
adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, of which
Germany was a free and active member at the time. Referring
to the unanimous adoption of the Declaration, M. Sokal, the
Polish Rapporteur, had this to say:

     "The Committee was of opinion that, at the present
     juncture, a solemn resolution passed by the Assembly,
     declaring that wars of aggression must never be
     employed as a means of settling disputes between
     States, and that such wars constitute an international
     crime, would have a salutary effect on public opinion,
     and would help to create an atmosphere favorable to the
     League's future work in the matter of security and
     disarmament.
     
     "While recognizing that the draft resolution does not
     constitute a regular legal instrument, which would be
     adequate
     
                                                  [Page 665]
                                                            
     in itself and represent a concrete contribution towards
     security, the Third Committee unanimously agreed as to
     its great moral and educative value." (TC-18)

M. Sokal then asked the Assembly to adopt the draft
resolution, the terms of which show what so many nations,
including Germany, had in mind at that time. The resolution
recited that the Assembly

"*** recognizing the solidarity which unites the community
of nations, being inspired by a firm desire for the
maintenance of general peace, being convinced that a war of
aggression can never serve as a means of settling
international disputes, and in consequence an international
crime; considering that the solemn renunciation of all wars
of aggression would tend to create an atmosphere of general
confidence calculated to facilitate the progress of the work
undertaken with a view to disarmament:

     "Declares: 1. That all-wars of aggression are and shall
     always be prohibited.
     
     "2. That every pacific means must be employed to settle
     disputes of every description, which may arise between
     States. "That the Assembly declares that the States
     Members of the League are under an obligation to
     conform to these principles." (TC-18)

The fact of the solemn renunciation of war was taken in the
form of a roll call, and the President announced that:

     "All the delegations having pronounced in favour of the
     declaration submitted by the Third Committee, I declare
     it unanimously adopted." (TC-18)

L. The Kellogg-Brand Pact of 1928.

(This treaty, TC-19, is discussed in Sir Hartley Shawcross's
opening address for Great Britain, to be found in Section 5,
supra.)

M. Assurances.

(1) Austria. On 21 May 1935 Hitler made a speech containing
this assurance:

     "Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the
     domestic affairs of Austria, to annex Austria, or to
     attach that country to her. The German people and the
     German Government have, however, the very
     comprehensible desire, arising out of the simple
     feeling of solidarity due to a common national descent,
     that the right to self-determination should
     
                                                  [Page 666]
                                                            
     be guaranteed not only to foreign nations, but to the
     German people everywhere.
     
     "I myself believe that no regime which is not anchored
     in the people, supported by the people, and desired by
     the people, can exist permanently." (TC-26)

Similarly, in the Agreement between the German Government
and the Government of the Federal State of Austria, on 11
July 1936, paragraph one stated as follows:

     "The German Government recognizes the full sovereignty
     of the Federal State of Austria in the sense of the
     pronouncements of the German Leader and Chancellor of
     21 May 1935." (TC-22)

 (2) Czechoslovakia. The German Assurance to Czechoslovakia
is contained in the letter from M. Jan Masaryk to Viscount
Halifax on the date of 12 May 1938 (TC-27). The first
paragraph shows that Field Marshall Goering used the
expression "Ich gebe Ihnen Mein Ehrenwort." That means, "I
give my word of honor." The third paragraph shows that
Goering had asked that there would not be a mobilization of
the Czechoslovak Army. The fourth paragraph reads:

     "M. Mastny was in a position to give him definite and
     binding assurances on this subject, and today he spoke
     with Baron von Neurath, who, among other things,
     assured him on behalf of Herr Hitler that Germany still
     considers herself bound by the German-Czechoslovak
     Arbitration Convention concluded at Locarno in October
     1925." (TC-27)

So that in 1935 Baron von Neurath was speaking on behalf of
Germany on an agreement voluntarily concluded. Had there
been the slightest doubt of that question, von Neurath gave
the assurance on behalf of Hitler that Germany still
considered itself bound by the German-Czechoslovakia
Arbitration Convention on the 12 March 1938, six months
before Dr. Benes made a hopeless appeal to it before the
crisis in the Army in 1938.

Czechoslovakia's difficult position is set out in the
pregnant last paragraph:

     "They can not however fail to view with great
     apprehension the sequel of events in Austria between
     the date of the bilateral agreement between Germany and
     Austria, 11 July 1936, and yesterday, 11 March 1938."
     (TC-27)

On 26 September  1938, Hitler made an assurance to
Czechoslovakia which contains important points as to the
alleged German policy of getting Germans together in the
Reich, for which the Nazi conspirators had purported to
request a considerable time:

                                                  [Page 667]
                                                            
     "I have a little to explain. I am grateful to Mr.
     Chamberlain for all his efforts, and I have assured him
     that the German people want nothing but peace; but I
     have also told him that I can not go back beyond the
     limits of our patience." ( TC-28)

(This occurred between the Godesberg Treaty and the Munich
Pact) .

     "I assured him, moreover, and I repeat it here, that
     when this problem is solved there will be no more
     territorial problems for Germany in Europe. And I
     further assured him that from the moment when
     Czechoslovakia solves its other problems, that is to
     say, when the Czechs have come to an arrangement with
     their other minorities peacefully, and without
     oppression, I will no longer be interested in the Czech
     State. And that, as far as I am concerned, I will
     guarantee it. We don't want any Czechs. But I must also
     declare before the German people that in the Sudeten
     German problem my patience is now at an end. I made an
     offer to Herr Benes which was no more than the
     realization of what he had already promised. He now has
     peace or war in his hands. Either he will accept this
     offer and at length give the Germans their freedom, or
     we will get this freedom for ourselves." (TC-28)

The Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938 (TC-23) was signed
by Hitler, later by Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Daladier, and
Mussolini. It is largely a procedural agreement by which the
entry of German troops into Sudeten-Deutsche territory is
regulated. That is shown by the
preliminary clause:

     "Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking
     into consideration the agreement which has been already
     reached in principle for the cession to Germany of the
     Sudeten German territory have agreed on the following
     terms and conditions governing the said cession and the
     measures consequent thereon, and by this agreement they
     each hold themselves responsible for the steps
     necessary to secure fulfillment." (TC-23)

Article 4 states that "The occupation by stages of the
predominantly German territory by German troops will begin
on 1 October." The four territories are marked on the
attached map. Article 6 provides that "The final
determination of the frontiers will be carried out by the
international commission." (TC-23)

The agreement provides also for various rights of option and
release from the Czech forces of Sudeten Germans (TC-23).
That was what Hitler was asking for in the somewhat
rhetorical passage previously referred to (TC-28).

                                                  [Page 668]

There is an annex to the Munich Agreement which is most
significant:

"Annex to the Agreement:

     "His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the
     French Government have entered into the above Agreement
     on the basis that they stand by the offer contained in
     Paragraph 6 of the Anglo-French Proposal of the 19th
     September, relating to an international guarantee of
     the new boundaries of the Czechoslovak-State against
     unprovoked aggression. "When the question of the Polish
     and Hungarian minorities in Czechoslovakia has been
     settled Germany and Italy, for their part, will give a
     guarantee to Czechoslovakia." (TC-23)

The provision concerns "the Polish and Hungarian
minorities," not the question of Slovakia. That is why that
the German action of the 15th of March was a flagrant
violation of the letter and spirit of that Agreement. (For
fuller discussion see Section 4 of this Chapter relating to
aggression against Czechoslovakia.)


           LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS
                RELATING TO TREATY VIOLATIONS
                              
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6 (a). Vol. I Pg. 5

International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Sections V; VI; Appendix C.  Vol. I Pg. 29, 30,73

[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates that
the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg trial.
A double asterisk (**) before a document number indicates
that the document was referred to during the trial but was
not formally received in evidence, for the reason given in
parentheses following the description of the document. The
USA series number, given in parentheses following the
description of the document, is the official exhibit number
assigned by the court.]

                                                  [Page 669]
                                                            
*2289-PS; Hitler's speech in the Reichstag, 7 March 1936, published in Voelkischer Beobachter, Berlin Edition, No. 68, 8 March 1936. (USA 56) Vol. IV Pg.994

*2798-PS; German Foreign Office minutes of the meeting between Hitler and President Hacha o Czechoslovakia, 15 March 1939. (USA 118; GB 5) Vol. V Pg.  433

*TC-1; Hague Convention for Pacific Settlement of International Disputes signed at The Hague, 29 July  1899. (GB 1) Vol. VIII Pg.273

Document *TC-2; Hague Convention (1) for Pacific Settlement of International Disputes -- 1907. (GB 2) Vol. VIII Pg.276

*TC-3; Hague Convention (3) Relative to opening of Hostilities. (GB 2) Vol. VIII Pg.279

*TC-4; Hague Convention (5) Respecting Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in War on Land. (GB 2) Vol. VIII Pg.282

*TC-5; Versailles Treaty, Article 42-44. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.288

*TC-6; Versailles Treaty, Section VI,
Article 80, Austria. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.289

Document *TC-7; Versailles Treaty, Section VII,
Article 81, Czecho-Slovak State. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.289

                                                  [Page 670]
                                                            
*TC-8; Versailles Treaty, Section X,
Article 99, Memel. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.289

*TC-9; Versailles Treaty, Section XI,
Article 100, Free City of Danzig. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.290

*TC-10; Versailles Treaty, Part V,
Military, Naval and Air Clauses. (GB 3) Vol. VIII Pg.291

*TC-11; Treaty between the United
States and Germany restoring friendly relations, 25 August
1921. (USA 12) Vol. VIII Pg.308

*TC-12; Treaty of Mutual Guarantee
between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Italy,
done at Locarno, 16 October 1925. (GB 13) Vol. VIII Pg.313

*TC-13; Arbitration Convention
between Germany and Belgium at Locarno, 16 October 1925. (GB
15) Vol. VIII Pg. 320

*TC-14; Arbitration Treaty
between Germany and Czechoslovakia, signed at Locarno, 16
October 1925. (GB 14) Vol. VIII Pg. 325

*TC-15; Arbitration Treaty between
Germany and Poland at Locarno, 16 October 1925. (GB 16) Vol.
VIII Pg. 331

*TC-18; Declaration concerning wars
of aggression; resolution of 3rd Committee of League of
Nations, 24 September 1927. (GB 17) Vol. VIII Pg. 357

*TC- 19; Kellogg-Briand Pact at
Paris. 1929 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, No. 9, pp. 97-101.
(GB 18) Vol. VIII Pg. 359

*TC-21; German-Polish Declaration, 26
January 1934. (GB 24) Vol. VIII Pg. 368

*TC-22; Agreement between Austria and
German Government and Government of Federal State of
Austria, 11 July 1936. (GB 20) Vol. VIII Pg. 369

                                                  [Page 671]

*TC-23; Agreement between Germany,
the United Kingdom, France and Italy, 29 September 1938. (GB
23) Vol. VIII Pg.370

*TC-25; Non-aggression Treaty between
Germany and USSR and announcement of 25 September 1939 relating to
it. (GB 145) Vol. VIII Pg.375

*TC-26; German assurance to Austria,
21 May 1935, from Documents of German Politics, Part III, p.
94. (GB 19) Vol. VIII Pg. 376

*TC-27; German assurances to
Czechoslovakia, 11 March 1938 and 12 March 1938, as reported
by M. Masaryk, the Czechoslovak Minister to London to
Viscount Halifax. (GB 21) Vol. VIII Pg. 377

*TC-28; German assurance to
Czechoslovakia, 26 September  1938, from Documents of German
Politics, Part VI, pp. 345-346. (GB 22) Vol. VIII Pg. 378

*TC-44; Notice by German government
of existence of German Air Force, 9 March 1935. (GB 11) Vol.
VIII Pg. 386

TC-45; Proclamation to German People
of 16 March 1935. Vol. VIII Pg. 388

TC-46; German memorandum to
Signatories of Locarno Pact reasserting full German
sovereignty over Rhineland, 7 March 1936. Vol. VIII Pg. 394

TC-47; Hitler's Proclamation of
Invasion of Austria, 12 March 1938. Vol. VIII Pg. 398

*TC-49; Agreement with
Czechoslovakia, 15 March 1939, signed by Hitler, von
Ribbentrop, Hacha and Chvalkovsky, from Documents of German
Politics, Part VII, pp. 498499. (GB 6) Vol. VIII Pg. 402

                                                  [Page 672]

*TC-50; Proclamation of the Fuehrer
to the German people and Order of the Fuehrer to the
Wehrmacht, 15 March 1939, from Documents of German Politics,
Part VII, pp. 499-501. (GB 7) Vol. VIII Pg. 402

*TC-51; Decree establishing the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, 16 March 1939. (GB 8)
Vol. VIII Pg.404

*TC-52; Formal British protest
against the annexation of Czechoslovakia in violation of the
Munich Agreement, 17 March 1939. (GB 9) Vol. VIII Pg.407

*TC-53; Formal French protest against
the annexation of Bohemia and Moravia in violation of the
Munich Agreement, 17 March 1939. (GB 10) Vol. VIII Pg.407

*TC-53-A; Marginal note to decree of
final incorporation of Memel with German Reich, 23 March
1939, from Documents of German Politics, Part VII, p. 552.
(GB 4) Vol. VIII Pg. 408

*TC-54; Proclamation of the Fuehrer
to German Armed Forces, 1 September 1939. (GB 73) Vol. VIII
Pg.408

*TC-54-A; "Danzig's return to the
Reich", from Documents of German Politics, Part VII, p. 575.
(GB 73) 409

TC-62; German declaration of war on
USA., 11 December 1941, from Documents of German Politics, Part
IV, p.497. Vol. VIII Pg. 432

**Chart No. 13; Violations of
Treaties, Agreements and Assurances. (Enlargement displayed
to Tribunal.) Vol. VIII Pg. 782


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