Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Ribbentrop was not unreceptive to Henlein's suggestion. The
conversations Henlein had proposed took place in the Foreign
Office in Berlin on 29 March 1938. The previous day Henlein
had conferred with Hitler himself. The captured German
Foreign Office notes of the conference on 29 March read as
follows:
"The Reichsminister started out by emphasizing the
necessity to keep the conference which had been
scheduled strictly a secret; he then explained, in view
of the directives which the Fuehrer himself had given
to Konrad Henlein personally yesterday afternoon that
there were two questions which were of outstanding
importance for the conduct of policy of the Sudeten
German Party ***"
*******
[Page 548]
"The aim of the negotiations to be carried out by the
Sudeten German party with the Czechoslovakian
Government is finally this: to avoid entry into the
Government by the extension and gradual specification
of the demands to be made. It must be emphasized
clearly in the negotiations that the Sudeten German
Party alone is the party to the negotiations with the
Czechoslovakian Government, not the Reich Cabinet
(Reichsregierung). The Reich Cabinet itself must refuse
to appear toward the Government in Prague or toward
London and Paris as the advocate or peacemaker of the
Sudeten German demands. It is a self-evident
prerequisite that during the impending discussion with
the Czechoslovak Government the Sudeten Germans would
be firmly controlled by Konrad Henlein, would maintain
quiet and discipline, and would avoid indiscretions.
The assurances already given by Konrad Henlein in this
connection were satisfactory.
"Following these general explanations of the Reich
Minister the demands of the Sudeten German Party from
the Czechoslovak Government as contained in the
enclosure were discussed and approved in principle. For
further cooperation, Konrad Henlein was instructed to
keep in the closest possible touch with the
Reichsminister and the Head of the Central Office for
Racial Germans (mit dem Leiter der Volksdeutschen
Mittelstelle), as well as the German Minister in
Prague, as the local representative of the Foreign
Minister. The task of the German Minister in Prague
would be to support the demands of the Sudeten German
Party as reasonable, not officially, but in more
private talks with the Czechoslovak politicians without
exerting any direct influence on the extent of the
demands of the Party.
"In conclusion there was a discussion whether it would
be useful if the Sudeten German Party would cooperate
with other minorities in Czechoslovakia, especially
with the Slovaks. The Foreign Minister decided that the
Party should have the discretion to keep a loose
contact with other minority groups if the adoption of a
parallel course by them might appear appropriate.
"Berlin, 29 March 1938.
Not the least interesting aspect of this secret meeting is
the list of those who attended. Konrad Henlein, his
principal deputy, Karl Hermann Frank, and two others
represented the Sudeten German Party. Professor Haushofer
and SS Obergrup-
[Page 549]
penfuehrer Lorenz represented the Volksdeutsche
Mittelstelle, the Central Office for Racial Germans. The
Foreign Office was represented by a delegation of eight.
These eight included Ribbentrop, who presided at the meeting
and did most of the talking, von Mackensen, Weiszacker, and
Minister Eisenlohr from the German Legation at Prague. (2788-
PS)
In May Henlein came to Berlin for more conversations with
the Nazi conspirators. At this time the plans for Case
Green, the attack on Czechoslovakia, were already on paper,
and it may be assumed that Henlein was briefed on the role
he was to play during the summer months. The entry for 22
May 1938 in General Jodl's diary reads as follows:
"22 May: Fundamental conference between the Fuehrer and
K. Henlein" (see enclosure). (1780-PS)
The enclosure, unfortunately, is missing.
It will be recalled that in his speech in Vienna, Henlein
had admitted that he had been selected by the Nazi
conspirators in the fall of 1933 to take over the political
leadership of the Sudeten Germans (2863-PS). The foregoing
documents show conclusively the nature of Henlein's mission.
They demonstrate that Henlein's policy, his propaganda, eve
his speeches were controlled by Berlin. Furthermore, from
the year 1935 the Sudeten German Party had been secretly
subsidized by the German Foreign Office. A secret
memorandum, captured in the German Foreign Office files,
signed by Woermann and dated Berlin, 19 August 1938, was
occasioned by the request of the Henlein Party for
additional funds. This memorandum reads
MEMORANDUM
"The Sudeten German Party has been subsidized by the
Foreign Office regularly since 1935 with certain
amounts, consisting of a monthly payment of 15,000
Marks; 12,000 Marks of this are transmitted to the
Prague Legation for disbursement, and 3000 Marks are
paid out to the Berlin representation of the party
(Bureau Buerger). In the course of the last few months
the tasks assigned to the Bureau Buerger have increased
considerably due to the current negotiations with the
Czech Government. The number of pamphlets and maps
which are produced and disseminated has risen; the
propaganda activity in the press has grown immensely;
the expense accounts have increased especially because
due to the necessity for continuous good information,
the expenses for trips to Prague, London, and Paris
(including the financing of travels of Sudeten German
deputies and agents) have grown considerably heavier.
Under these conditions the
[Page 550]
Bureau Buerger is no longer able to get along with the
monthly allowance of 3000 Marks if it is to do
everything required. Therefore, Mr. Buerger has applied
to this office for an increase of this amount, from
3000 Marks to 5500 Marks monthly. In view of the
considerable increase in the business transacted by the
Bureau, and of the importance which marks the activity
of the Bureau in regard to the cooperation with the
Foreign Office, this desire deserves the strongest
support.
"Herewith submitted to the Dep: Pers(onnel) with a
request for approval. It is requested to increase the
payments with retroactive effect from 1 August.*
"Berlin, 19 August 1938
"*Volkesdeutsche Mittelstelle (Central Office for
Racial Germans) will be informed by the Political Dept.
[handwritten marginal note]." (3059-PS; also 3061-PS)
As the military preparations to attack Czechoslovakia moved
forward in the late summer and early fall of 1938, the Nazi
command made good use of Henlein and his followers. About
the first of August the Air Attache at the German Legation
in Prague, Major Moericke, acting on instructions from
Luftwaffe headquarters in Berlin, visited the Sudeten German
leader in Freudenthal. With his assistance, and in the
company of the local leader of the FS (the Henlein
equivalent of the SS), he reconnoitered the surrounding
countryside to select possible airfield sites for German
use. The FS leader, a Czech reservist then on leave, was in
the uniform of the Czech armya fact which, the attache
noted, served as excellent camouflage.
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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Volume
I Chapter IX
The Execution of the Plan to Invade Czechoslovakia(Part 16 of 29)
"R [Initial]"
/s/ Woermann