Chapter 110 Chapter Eighteen "Crystal Night" (3)

In the past year, Hitler has destroyed one sovereign state, disintegrated and paralyzed another, and brought the West to its knees in the process. 1939 heralded even greater political conquest. On January 1, Mussolini finally made up his mind and accepted the proposal made by Germany last autumn to change the "Against the Comintern Pact" from a treaty with only propaganda effects into a military alliance treaty. "During the month," Ciano wrote in his diary, "he planned to make public opinion accept his views—of which he was dismissive." Reason: Mussolini's fear of war with the West, It is now inevitable.

In his New Year's message, Hitler declared that the German government had but one hope: "...in the new year we hope to contribute successfully to world peace." In his "peace" plan, the next step Is full control of Czechoslovakia.For some time he deeply regretted the Treaty of Munich because, obviously, he could have annexed the whole of the Czech Republic without reprisals.Now, he was looking for some acceptable excuse to march on the Czech Republic and get the remnants. In February, he directed Goebbels to launch a propaganda campaign against the Czech government: it was still terrorizing pagan German citizens, amassing troops on the Sudeten border, secretly conspiring with the Soviet Union, and brutally abusing the population of Slovakia.The last accusation was the most fruitful, for certain radical nationalists in Slodeck had long since jumped at the bait and began to propose full independence.The situation was explosive, and if an inexperienced senior official in the Czech government was not careful, another crisis would follow-giving Hitler the leverage he needed.

In London, anti-appeasement sentiment was revived by a false report from German Foreign Office official Erich Koert.Colter tipped off a British official that Hitler planned to bomb London in the near future (this was a pretentious move by the anti-Hitler group in Germany to bring Britain to war with Germany. One of a series of disinformation issued by concerned foreign ministry officials).Chamberlain took the bombing talk so seriously that he called a cabinet meeting for it.Although no Nazi planes were seen, the temperature of suspicion was still rising.Henderson, the British ambassador to Berlin, was also called back to report on his duties and made a report on whether Hitler would take military action.Henderson had a hard time convincing Juddgan, Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that the Germans "were not considering immediate risk, and that their pointer was pointing towards peace."He said Hitler's intentions were "extremely disgraceful," but he also had little faith in reports that Hitler was about to invade Czechoslovakia.

On his return to Berlin, Henderson continued to send optimistic reports valuing the situation.He reported that rumors of Nazi adventures in Ukraine or the Netherlands had died down. "While some say the current calm may be a prelude to another storm, I personally do not take such a pessimistic view at the moment." The next night, however, Hitler's actions at the annual dinner for the diplomatic corps worried him. "At this dinner, the friendliness of the motor show was conspicuously lost," Henderson wrote in his memoirs. "He fixed his eyes on my right shoulder, and only talked about general topics, but he also emphasized one point: Central Europe, there is no British business, and don't keep meddling in Germany." Although the attitude of the head of state made Henderson "vaguely feel a little uneasy." , which was not mentioned in the next report to London.

The German plot soon became apparent. On March 6, Newton, the British ambassador to the Czech Republic, reported from Prague that the relationship between the Czech Republic and Slovakia "appeared to be heading in the direction of crisis." The situation reached a fever pitch as Slovakia demanded financial assistance. "What role did Germany play in this dispute"—if Germany intervened—" is open to speculation, but it is worth noting that Slovakia's ministers of commerce and transport, accompanied by experts, , visited Berlin last week." For some reason the telegram was delayed for 48 hours.By this time, Henderson had woken up from "vague uneasiness". On March 9, he wrote a long letter to Halifax.In his letter, he expresses his firm belief that both Hitler and the German people desire peace. "Hitler himself fought in the world wars and was vehemently opposed to bloodshed, or any method that resulted in the death of Germans." Nazi extremists might clamor for continued aggression, but, as a demagogue, Hitler, But it tends to please the many rather than the crazy few. "Because I can't find evidence to support the theory that Hitler was mad or on the verge of madness, which is one of the reasons why I don't think he was thinking about war today."