The Secret History of the Tripartite Alliance
Ribbentrop（Episode５）
RAM
In November 1937, his official declaration of appointment as Foreign Minister before and after the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Rome inflicted Hitler's wrath on him, and was the subject of much attention in Munich. Hitler harshly blamed Ribbentrop for declaration in public of his inauguration of Foreign Minister.Heartbrokenly,at a loss for hopelessness of his promotion ,he went back to London.As the last hope, with the aide of his wife,he wrote up Ambassador‘s report A5522 early part of January 1938 and immediately put it forth to Hitler. It is written that Britain is the biggest enemy and that now is the time to go to war when British preparations for war are not complete. There were many candidates such as Göring and Goebbels, but they were examined from the viewpoint of who was the most suitable for the immediate annexation of Austria, the elimination of the Czech Republic, and the reversion of Danzig and Memel. Following the dismissal of Defense Minister Blomberg and Chief of the General Staff Frisch, Foreign Minister Neurath was also dismissed. Though he was nominated to Forein Minister and would be as busy as a bee with things as to the annexation of Austria, a lot of British people wondered why Ribbentrop was here in London March 1938, and after the ceremonies of parting,when Ribbentrop arrived in Vienna, the first group invading Austria had already left. He must have asked himself whether he was trusted. Perhaps it is precisely because he is uncertain whether he is trusted or not that he has persevered in his aggressive stance on the Czech and Polish problems.
Austria was supported by hinterlands such as Bohemia, an industrial zone, and Hungary, a breadbasket, but the above two became independent during the First World War and lost their trading ports, making it difficult for them to become economically independent. Until the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain prohibited the merger with Germany, the Austrians thought that Germany and Austria were the natural course of events. Thanks to the cooperation of the Entente countries, it managed to survive in the 1920s, but when the economy collapsed due to the effects of the Great Depression, the Nazi Party began to operate in Austria, and after the Hitler administration was established, they started violent activities with financial support. Although the Nazi Party was banned, it continued to operate illegally. Although Hitler was not supposed to be directly involved in the assassination of Dorfuss in 1934, he made efforts to improve relations by appointing Deputy Chancellor Papen as ambassador to Austria for the sake of Italy, which supports Austria. Austria's independence itself was threatened due to the closer German-Italian relations, such as the aggression against Ethiopia and the Spanish civil war, the mutual visits of Hitler and Mussolini, and the conclusion of the Tripartite Defense Pact. The British showed their understanding of the rearmament, the annexation of the Saar, and the occupation of the Rhineland and France also followed, so we could not expect much from Britain and France this time as well. On February 12, 1938, Schuschunigg accepted an invitation to meet Hitler in person. Guido,Schmidt who would later cooperate with the Nazis, accompanied him to Berghof. Papen, the ambassador to Austria, was instrumental in making this visit possible, and accompanied the two of them to the Berghof. Arriving at exactly 10 o'clock, the meeting began in Hitler's study, but when the two were fascinated by the superb view, Hitler and others entered the room, and at the beginning, appeared the trusted chief of the Supreme Command, General Keitel, and other local military commanders. It was a kind of intimidation to introduce a few generals stationed near the border to Schuschunigg Hitler went straight to the point and the two Austrians were asked to join Inquart's government and to be organized by the Austrian Nazi Party,in addition,to take anti Jewish and anti Czech Republic policy. At 10:00 p.m., they were dispersed and returned to Austria. After returning home, Schuschunigg had no choice but to appeal to a referendum. When Hitler announced this implementation on March 9, he was enraged and ordered the immediate advance, so both Schuschunigg and President Miklas had no choice but to accept Germany's annexation.
The role of the Austrians in Nazi Germany was remarkable. Hitler was originally an Austrian, and so was Ribbentrop's secretary, Spizzi. Kaltenbrunner, number two in the SS, and Eichmann, who is in charge of the final solution to the Jewish question, are too many to mention. Concentration camp personnel accounted for 40% of the staff, and the most brutal Einsatzgruppen had a higher proportion of Austrians. The story of the Austrian robbery is familiar from the movie "Sound of Music", but when I first saw it, Colonel Trapp's authoritarian educational methods did not go as far as the Nazis, but I felt a considerable nationalistic tendency. German generals and officers were similar to this, wishing for Germany's recovery and prosperity and supporting Hitler, but it was too late when they realized how brutal and reckless they were. So did Colonel Stauffenberg, who planted the bomb at Hitler's feet.
Among the first troops to occupy Austria, SS was included, arresting all the Jews hunted and dissidents all over the country and sent them to concentration camps. Right-wing Dolfuss faction was also targeted. In Vienna alone, 1,100 Jewish people committed suicide. Even the famous Dr. Freud found it difficult to escape, and when interrogated by the Gestapo, he wrote, "I gladly recommend the Gestapo," and was finally released. The prominent Remitz family at Castle Fuschl, near the old border, were arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp, where they were executed. It would be used by the Ribbentrops as an outlying area to avoid bombing or a waiting area for Hitler's contact from the nearby Berghof.
The first of the four problems Hitler presented to Ribbentrop as foreign minister - Austria, Czechoslovakia, Memel and Danzig - was resolved. As for the second Czechoslovakia problem, the invasion started first with the German problem and then with the Slovak problem. Since the principle of national self-determination at the end of World War I was synonymous with the establishment of a buffer zone against the Soviet theory of world revolution, it was not applied to the whole of Europe and Asia, which had nothing to do with it. The westernmost Sudetenland was part of the new Czech Republic, although it was inhabited by Germans, but although it was far behind the Bohemian majority in terms of population, the sense of superiority and prejudice against the Slavs that had continued since the days of Austrian rule continued and remained strong. Even in international resorts such as Karlsbad and Marienbad, guests preferred to speak German so as not to be mistaken for servants. The birth of Hitler's government in 1933 provided a perfect opportunity to improve this situation, and Hitler also had a perfect pretext for an invasion, as it was an area that he had to pass through in order to acquire living space(lebensraum in German). There were frequent clashes between the Slavs and the Germans, but after the Nazi Party was banned, the Germans founded the Sudeten German Party with Konrad Henlein, a former gymnastics teacher, as its leader. On March 3 and 28, Henlein visited Hitler at Berghof and was promised to annex the Sudeten, taking advantage of the concentration of powers on Austria during the annexation of Austria. South Tyrol was made Italian territory and stabilized, Britain and Italy maintained the status quo in the Mediterranean Sea and approved the annexation of Ethiopia in April, Hitler's visit to Italy in May secured stability in the south, and autonomy by German residents in the Sudetenland was established. He pressed the Czech government to demand the formation of a government. Predicting that it would be carried out as lightning as in the case of the Austrian invasion, President Benes was convinced that the German army must be waiting near the border and issued a mobilization order. When the British military officer investigated, there were no soldiers. Reports at the time said that Hitler had withdrawn his troops because the Czech Republic had issued a mobilization order, and Hitler, angry, gave him an excuse to prepare a plan to invade the Czech Republic, called Green. This was a great opportunity for the anti-Hitler faction, and the army, led by General Beck, planned a coup d'état. It was forming a Hitler siege net by conveying the latest information. However, all was turned upside down with a telegram from British Prime Minister Chamberlain on 14 September. The intervention of the United States was also not expected due to the neutralism of Joseph Kennedy, the ambassador to the United Kingdom, who was influenced by Lindbergh and his expectation of Britain's defeat at the coming war. The following day, the 15th, Prime Minister Chamberlain, who had never traveled by air, was the first British Prime Minister to visit Germany since Disraeli, who attended the Berlin Conference. The people of Munich welcomed us wonderfully, but when we entered Hitler's mountain villa Berghof, we had a meeting without Ribbentrop, with only the interpreter Schmidt present, but Schmidt tried to pass the interpreter's memorandum to the British side in accordance with customary practice. At that time, Ribbentrop came in and instructed, 'Just show it to the Führer,' which caused a strong protest from Chamberlain. Nevertheless, he agreed to the cession of Sudetenland and temporarily returned to England for cabinet approval. A second meeting took place in Bad Godesberg. At the beginning of the talks, Chamberlain had not only obtained the consent of the Cabinet, but also the assent of France, but Hitler insisted that the territorial claims of Hungary and Poland should also be discussed. Furthermore, the situation was complicated by setting a deadline of 48 hours before the cession. He sensed the coldness of the public reaction to the parade of tank divisions in Berlin and decided it was too early. A third meeting, including the Italian Mussolini and Ciano in and excluding the Czech Masaryk and Mastony to the room next door, took place at Hitler's home in Munich. When Chamberlain returned home, he asked for the signature of a document stating that future disputes would be resolved through peaceful negotiations, and he readily agreed. Spizzi, the foreign minister's secretary, was appalled to hear him whisper, going down the stairs with Ribbentrop ,incredible contempt and criticism against the conclusion. In response to this agreement, Czech President Beneš resigned, Poland stationed in the Orsa district, and Hungary also stationed in a part of the south like a vulture. Mr. and Mrs. Ribbentrop were probably the most sullen at this time. It was a great chance to go to war with Britain, who was not even included in the negotiations and was not ready, but the agreement was concluded. Mrs. Annelise argued that it was wrong to settle matters in Munich, and her husband agreed. Annelise was often referred to as Lady Macbeth, read her important telegrams before her husband, and allegedly manipulated her husband behind her back. However, from Hitler's side, he must have felt that his eyes were certain that there was no one more useful to achieve their goals than Mr. and Mrs.Ribbentrop.
On October 6 1938, immediately after the conclusion of the Munich Agreement, the eastern half of Slovakia became independent with Bratislava as its capital. Due to Reverend Tiso's radical demands for Prague, the Prague government occupied Bratislava and appointed the more moderate Sidr as the new president. Tiso appealed to Germany for help, forcing the Czech President's former Supreme Court Judge Emil Haha to agree to a meeting with Hitler. On March 14 1939, he arrived at Berlin Station by train at 22:40 with his daughter, who also served as a nurse, and moderate Foreign Minister Kvalkovsky. After being kept waiting for about two hours, we entered into a meeting in Hitler's office after 1 o'clock in the morning. Göring and Ribbentrop were present and demanded that the Defense Minister cease resistance and agree to leave everything to Hitler for the maintenance of law and order at the request of the Czech Republic. At that time, President Haha suddenly fainted and Dr. Morell injected him with saline to restore him to consciousness. The president and Foreign Minister Kvalkovsky have instructed to accept the two requirements over the phone. It was dispersed at 3:25, but the reality seems to be that Goering and Ribbentrop chased the two Czech representatives and forced them to hold the pen and sign it. Hitler entered Prague that same day and appointed former Foreign Minister Baron Neurath as governor of the new protectorate. There were surprisingly few complaints from foreign countries. We have now solved 2 of the 4 problems and are working on the remaining 2.
Austria was supported by hinterlands such as Bohemia, an industrial zone, and Hungary, a breadbasket, but the above two became independent during the First World War and lost their trading ports, making it difficult for them to become economically independent. Until the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain prohibited the merger with Germany, the Austrians thought that Germany and Austria were the natural course of events. Thanks to the cooperation of the Entente countries, it managed to survive in the 1920s, but when the economy collapsed due to the effects of the Great Depression, the Nazi Party began to operate in Austria, and after the Hitler administration was established, they started violent activities with financial support. Although the Nazi Party was banned, it continued to operate illegally. Although Hitler was not supposed to be directly involved in the assassination of Dorfuss in 1934, he made efforts to improve relations by appointing Deputy Chancellor Papen as ambassador to Austria for the sake of Italy, which supports Austria. Austria's independence itself was threatened due to the closer German-Italian relations, such as the aggression against Ethiopia and the Spanish civil war, the mutual visits of Hitler and Mussolini, and the conclusion of the Tripartite Defense Pact. The British showed their understanding of the rearmament, the annexation of the Saar, and the occupation of the Rhineland and France also followed, so we could not expect much from Britain and France this time as well. On February 12, 1938, Schuschunigg accepted an invitation to meet Hitler in person. Guido,Schmidt who would later cooperate with the Nazis, accompanied him to Berghof. Papen, the ambassador to Austria, was instrumental in making this visit possible, and accompanied the two of them to the Berghof. Arriving at exactly 10 o'clock, the meeting began in Hitler's study, but when the two were fascinated by the superb view, Hitler and others entered the room, and at the beginning, appeared the trusted chief of the Supreme Command, General Keitel, and other local military commanders. It was a kind of intimidation to introduce a few generals stationed near the border to Schuschunigg Hitler went straight to the point and the two Austrians were asked to join Inquart's government and to be organized by the Austrian Nazi Party,in addition,to take anti Jewish and anti Czech Republic policy. At 10:00 p.m., they were dispersed and returned to Austria. After returning home, Schuschunigg had no choice but to appeal to a referendum. When Hitler announced this implementation on March 9, he was enraged and ordered the immediate advance, so both Schuschunigg and President Miklas had no choice but to accept Germany's annexation.
The role of the Austrians in Nazi Germany was remarkable. Hitler was originally an Austrian, and so was Ribbentrop's secretary, Spizzi. Kaltenbrunner, number two in the SS, and Eichmann, who is in charge of the final solution to the Jewish question, are too many to mention. Concentration camp personnel accounted for 40% of the staff, and the most brutal Einsatzgruppen had a higher proportion of Austrians. The story of the Austrian robbery is familiar from the movie "Sound of Music", but when I first saw it, Colonel Trapp's authoritarian educational methods did not go as far as the Nazis, but I felt a considerable nationalistic tendency. German generals and officers were similar to this, wishing for Germany's recovery and prosperity and supporting Hitler, but it was too late when they realized how brutal and reckless they were. So did Colonel Stauffenberg, who planted the bomb at Hitler's feet.
Among the first troops to occupy Austria, SS was included, arresting all the Jews hunted and dissidents all over the country and sent them to concentration camps. Right-wing Dolfuss faction was also targeted. In Vienna alone, 1,100 Jewish people committed suicide. Even the famous Dr. Freud found it difficult to escape, and when interrogated by the Gestapo, he wrote, "I gladly recommend the Gestapo," and was finally released. The prominent Remitz family at Castle Fuschl, near the old border, were arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp, where they were executed. It would be used by the Ribbentrops as an outlying area to avoid bombing or a waiting area for Hitler's contact from the nearby Berghof.
The first of the four problems Hitler presented to Ribbentrop as foreign minister - Austria, Czechoslovakia, Memel and Danzig - was resolved. As for the second Czechoslovakia problem, the invasion started first with the German problem and then with the Slovak problem. Since the principle of national self-determination at the end of World War I was synonymous with the establishment of a buffer zone against the Soviet theory of world revolution, it was not applied to the whole of Europe and Asia, which had nothing to do with it. The westernmost Sudetenland was part of the new Czech Republic, although it was inhabited by Germans, but although it was far behind the Bohemian majority in terms of population, the sense of superiority and prejudice against the Slavs that had continued since the days of Austrian rule continued and remained strong. Even in international resorts such as Karlsbad and Marienbad, guests preferred to speak German so as not to be mistaken for servants. The birth of Hitler's government in 1933 provided a perfect opportunity to improve this situation, and Hitler also had a perfect pretext for an invasion, as it was an area that he had to pass through in order to acquire living space(lebensraum in German). There were frequent clashes between the Slavs and the Germans, but after the Nazi Party was banned, the Germans founded the Sudeten German Party with Konrad Henlein, a former gymnastics teacher, as its leader. On March 3 and 28, Henlein visited Hitler at Berghof and was promised to annex the Sudeten, taking advantage of the concentration of powers on Austria during the annexation of Austria. South Tyrol was made Italian territory and stabilized, Britain and Italy maintained the status quo in the Mediterranean Sea and approved the annexation of Ethiopia in April, Hitler's visit to Italy in May secured stability in the south, and autonomy by German residents in the Sudetenland was established. He pressed the Czech government to demand the formation of a government. Predicting that it would be carried out as lightning as in the case of the Austrian invasion, President Benes was convinced that the German army must be waiting near the border and issued a mobilization order. When the British military officer investigated, there were no soldiers. Reports at the time said that Hitler had withdrawn his troops because the Czech Republic had issued a mobilization order, and Hitler, angry, gave him an excuse to prepare a plan to invade the Czech Republic, called Green. This was a great opportunity for the anti-Hitler faction, and the army, led by General Beck, planned a coup d'état. It was forming a Hitler siege net by conveying the latest information. However, all was turned upside down with a telegram from British Prime Minister Chamberlain on 14 September. The intervention of the United States was also not expected due to the neutralism of Joseph Kennedy, the ambassador to the United Kingdom, who was influenced by Lindbergh and his expectation of Britain's defeat at the coming war. The following day, the 15th, Prime Minister Chamberlain, who had never traveled by air, was the first British Prime Minister to visit Germany since Disraeli, who attended the Berlin Conference. The people of Munich welcomed us wonderfully, but when we entered Hitler's mountain villa Berghof, we had a meeting without Ribbentrop, with only the interpreter Schmidt present, but Schmidt tried to pass the interpreter's memorandum to the British side in accordance with customary practice. At that time, Ribbentrop came in and instructed, 'Just show it to the Führer,' which caused a strong protest from Chamberlain. Nevertheless, he agreed to the cession of Sudetenland and temporarily returned to England for cabinet approval. A second meeting took place in Bad Godesberg. At the beginning of the talks, Chamberlain had not only obtained the consent of the Cabinet, but also the assent of France, but Hitler insisted that the territorial claims of Hungary and Poland should also be discussed. Furthermore, the situation was complicated by setting a deadline of 48 hours before the cession. He sensed the coldness of the public reaction to the parade of tank divisions in Berlin and decided it was too early. A third meeting, including the Italian Mussolini and Ciano in and excluding the Czech Masaryk and Mastony to the room next door, took place at Hitler's home in Munich. When Chamberlain returned home, he asked for the signature of a document stating that future disputes would be resolved through peaceful negotiations, and he readily agreed. Spizzi, the foreign minister's secretary, was appalled to hear him whisper, going down the stairs with Ribbentrop ,incredible contempt and criticism against the conclusion. In response to this agreement, Czech President Beneš resigned, Poland stationed in the Orsa district, and Hungary also stationed in a part of the south like a vulture. Mr. and Mrs. Ribbentrop were probably the most sullen at this time. It was a great chance to go to war with Britain, who was not even included in the negotiations and was not ready, but the agreement was concluded. Mrs. Annelise argued that it was wrong to settle matters in Munich, and her husband agreed. Annelise was often referred to as Lady Macbeth, read her important telegrams before her husband, and allegedly manipulated her husband behind her back. However, from Hitler's side, he must have felt that his eyes were certain that there was no one more useful to achieve their goals than Mr. and Mrs.Ribbentrop.
On October 6 1938, immediately after the conclusion of the Munich Agreement, the eastern half of Slovakia became independent with Bratislava as its capital. Due to Reverend Tiso's radical demands for Prague, the Prague government occupied Bratislava and appointed the more moderate Sidr as the new president. Tiso appealed to Germany for help, forcing the Czech President's former Supreme Court Judge Emil Haha to agree to a meeting with Hitler. On March 14 1939, he arrived at Berlin Station by train at 22:40 with his daughter, who also served as a nurse, and moderate Foreign Minister Kvalkovsky. After being kept waiting for about two hours, we entered into a meeting in Hitler's office after 1 o'clock in the morning. Göring and Ribbentrop were present and demanded that the Defense Minister cease resistance and agree to leave everything to Hitler for the maintenance of law and order at the request of the Czech Republic. At that time, President Haha suddenly fainted and Dr. Morell injected him with saline to restore him to consciousness. The president and Foreign Minister Kvalkovsky have instructed to accept the two requirements over the phone. It was dispersed at 3:25, but the reality seems to be that Goering and Ribbentrop chased the two Czech representatives and forced them to hold the pen and sign it. Hitler entered Prague that same day and appointed former Foreign Minister Baron Neurath as governor of the new protectorate. There were surprisingly few complaints from foreign countries. We have now solved 2 of the 4 problems and are working on the remaining 2.
