Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression [Page 760]
The independence of Belgium, which for so many centuries was
the cockpit of Europe, was guaranteed by the great European
powers in 1839. That guarantee was observed for 75 years,
until it was broken by the Germans in 1914, who brought all
the horrors of war, and the even greater horrors of German
occupation, to Belgium. History was to repeat itself in a
still more catastrophic fashion some 25 years after, in
1940.
Among the applicable treaties are the Hague Convention of
1907 (TC-3; TC-4), the Locarno Arbitration and Conciliation
Convention of 1925, in which Belgium's independence and
neutrality were guaranteed by Germany; the Kellogg-Briand
Pact of 1928, by which all the Powers renounced recourse to
war; and the Hague Convention of Arbitration and
Conciliation May 1926 between Germany and the Netherlands
(TC-16). Article I of the latter treaty provides:
"The contracting parties" (the Netherlands and the German
Reich) "undertake to submit all disputes of any nature
whatever which may arise between them which it has not been
possible to settle by diplomacy, and which have not been
referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice, to
be dealt with by arbitration or conciliation as provided."
(TC-16)
Subsequent clauses deal with the machinery of conciliation.
The last article, Article 21, provides that the Convention
shall be valid for ten years, and then shall remain in force
for successive periods of five years until denounced by
either party. And this treaty never was denounced by Germany
at all.
The last of the applicable treaties, all of which belong to
the days of the Weimar Republic, is the Treaty of
Arbitration and Conciliation between Germany and Luxembourg,
executed at Geneva in 1929 (TC-20). The first few words of
Article 1 are familiar:
"The contracting parties undertake to settle by
peaceful means all disputes of any nature whatever
which may arise between them and which it may not be
possible to settle by diplomacy." (TC-20)
Then follow clauses dealing with the machinery for peaceful
settlement of disputes, which are in the common form.
Those were the treaty obligations between Germany and
Belgium at the time when the Nazi Party came into power in
1933. Hitler adopted and ratified the obligations of Germany
under the
[Page 761]
Weimar Republic with regard to the treaties which had been
entered into. Nothing more occurred to alter the position of
Belgium until March 1936. Germany reoccupied the Rhineland
and announced the resumption of conscription. And Hitler, on
7 March 1936 purported in a speech to repudiate the
obligations of the German Government under the Locarno Pact,
the reason being given as the execution of the Franco-Soviet
Pact of 1935. There was no legal foundation for this claim
that Germany was entitled to renounce obligations under the
Locarno Pact. But Belgium was left in the air, in the sense
that it had itself entered into various obligations under
the Locarno Pact in return-for the liabilities which other
nations acknowledged, and now one of those liabilities,
namely, the liability of Germany to observe the act, had
been renounced.
And so on 30 January 1937, perhaps because Hitler realized
the position of Belgium and of the Netherlands, Hitler gave
solemn assurance he used the word "solemn" -- which amounted
to a full guarantee (TC-3). In April 1937, France and
England released Belgium from her obligations under the
Locarno Pact. Belgium gave guarantees of strict independence
and neutrality, and France and England gave guarantees of
assistance should Belgium be attacked. It was because of
those facts that Germany on 13 October 1937, gave a clear
and unconditional guarantee to Belgium:
"I have the honor on behalf of the German Government to
make the following communication to Your Excellency:
The German Government has taken cognizance with
particular interest of the public declaration in which
the Belgium Government defines the international
position of Belgium. For its part, it has repeatedly
given expressions, especially -through the declaration
of the Chancellor of the German Reich in his speech of
30 January 1937, to its own point of view. The German
Government has also taken cognizance of the declaration
made by the British and French Governments on 24 April
1937 ***
"Since the conclusion of a treaty to replace the Treaty
of Locarno may still take some time, and being desirous
of strengthening the peaceful aspirations of the two
countries, the German Government regards it as
appropriate to define now its own attitude towards
Belgium. To this end, it makes the following
declaration: First, the German Government has taken
note of the views which the Belgian Government has
thought fit to express. That is to say, (a) of the
policy of independence which it intends to exercise in
full sover-
[Page 762]
eignty; (b) of its determination to defend the
frontiers of Belgium with all its forces against any
aggression or invasion and to prevent Belgian territory
from being used for purposes of aggression against
another state as a passage or as a base of operation by
land, by sea, or in the air, and to organize the
defense of Belgium in an efficient manner to this
purpose. Two: The German Government considers that the
inviolability and integrity of Belgium are common
interests of the Western Powers. It confirms its
determination that in no circumstances will it impair
this inviolability and integrity and that it will at
all times respect Belgian territory except, of course,
in the event of Belgium's taking part in a military
action directed against Germany in an armed conflict in
which Germany is involved. The German Government, like
the British and French Governments, is prepared to
assist Belgium should she be subjected to an attack or
to invasion. ***" (TC-34)
The following reply was made:
"The Belgian Government has taken note with great
satisfaction of the declaration communicated to it this
day by the German Government. It thanks the German
Government warmly for this communication." (TC-34)
Thus, in October 1937, Germany gave a solemn guarantee to
this small nation of its peaceful aspiration towards her,
and its assertion that the integrity of the Belgian frontier
was a common interest between her and Belgium and the other
Western Powers: Yet eighteen months afterwards Germany had
violated that assurance.
That this declaration of October 1937 meant very little to
the leaders and to the high command of Germany can be seen
from a document which came into existence on 24 August 1938,
at the time when the Czechoslovakia drama was unfolding, and
when it was uncertain whether there would be war with the
Western Powers. This Top Secret document is addressed to the
General Staff of the 5th Section of the German Air Force,
and deals with the subject, "Extended Case Green --
Appreciation of the Situation with Special Consideration of
the Enemy." Apparently some staff officer had been asked to
prepare this appreciation. The last paragraph (No. H) reads:
"Requests to Armed Forces Supreme Command, Army and
Navy. ***
"Belgium and the Netherlands would, in German hands,
represent an extraordinary advantage in the prosecution
of the air war against Great Britain as well as against
France.
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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Volume
I Chapter IX
Aggression Against Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg
(Part 1 of 6)