STORY OF INTRIGUE WITH HITLER TOLD

Chronicle (Levin), 6 March 1946, Page 5

STORY OF INTRIGUE WITH HITLER TOLD

Press Assn.

Franco Backed Down After Promise To Enter War Eeared Consepences of Anglo-Saxon Victory

By, Telegraph

-Copyright

Received Tuesday, 8.10 p.m. LONDON, March 5. General Franco promised Hitler that Spain would enter the war against the Allies, h'ut backed down after- protracted - negotiations about supplies andi assistance. These facts were made clear in- a batch of'letters between Franco and Hitler which the United States Army discovered in Germany and sent to the State Department, which has now passed them on to the French Government, says Reuter's Paris correspondent. Franco promised tn enter the war on two conditions : Firstly, he wanted Gibraltar, French Morocco' and part of Algeria; secondly, he required economic and military assistance. The letters showed that Franco for a considerable period had been preparing plans for an assault on Gibraltar, which he told Hitler could be finished off in a mat-ter of days. The second condition caused long bickering, after which Franco withdrew on the grounds that he feared his own annihilation in the event of victory by the Angld-Saxons.

A memorandum by the German anibassador in Madrid, Dr. Eberhard von Itohrer, recalled Spain's promise maue | on -August 8, 1940, to enter the war. A' letfcer from Franco to Mussoim I discussed the bright prospects resultxng j from France's defeat. One of Franco 's letters, written per- | sonally to Hitler, described his prepara ! tions for the attaek on G-ihraltar and | gave uetans oi tne pians to ciestroy j strongpoints with artillery. Franco conveyed to Hitler " an as J suran.ee of my unchangeable and sin j cere adherence to you personaiLy and tc j the German people and to the cause f or J which you fight." 1

I Franco met Hitler at Hendaye on ' October 23, 1940, and toki Hitler: r'Spain will gladly fight at Germany s side. ' ' A German Foreign Office memoran dmn included documents providing evi dence that Spain aided German U-boat war f are. The memorandum cjuoted i naval command order for the dispatci of tankers to fuel German destroyeiv. "in out-of-the-way bays on the Spanis . eoast." The memorandum aided. ' ' The naval command has in this connection aiready pomted out the lacc that the Spanish Government has showu similar willingness to ohlige in supplying U-hoats."