SUPPRESSING THE FACTS

Evening Star, Issue 23381, 26 September 1939, Page 7

SUPPRESSING THE FACTS

THE NAZI WAY ISSUES OF THE GERMAN-POLISH CRISIS (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 24. (Received September 25, at 11 a.ra.) A comparison of a German official publication, * The Lust Phase of the German-Polish Crisis,’ and two British official publications shows that 15 out of 26 documents, which is all the former contains, were among a total of 130 made public by tb tish Government, while the Gcnm . . oreign Office has omitted a number of documents recording facts of great importance. There is no account of the interviews on August 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, and 31, Sir Nevilo Henderson’s records of which were one of the most interesting sec-* tions of the second British White Paper, revealing as they did the violent and menacing language used by Hitler and Ribbentrop. Readers of the German documents who had no access to the fuller British publication would be unaware, for example, that the British Government protested at once against the German demand for the arrival of the Polish plenipotentiary in Berlin to receive and accept the German demands by midnight on August 30. They would not know that the German Government, while insisting on August 29 that this demand was not an ultimatum, stated on midnight on August 30 that it regarded its proposals as already rejected because the demand for the arrival of a Polish plenipotentiary had not been accepted. It would have been concealed from German readers that the Nazi Government refused absolutely the repeated suggestions made by Britain and accepted by Poland that the Polish-German negotiations should take the ordinary form; that is, that any German proposals should bo given to the Polish Ambassador for transmission to his Government, and that at midnight on August 30 Ribbentrop refused to give the British Ambassador a written communication stating the German proposals or to suggest to the Polish Government any method of negotiation other than that of facing a Polish plenipotentiary and unwilling to listen to Polish counter-proposals.

Again later in the introduction there was a clumsy attempt by the omission of dates and times to give the impression that on August 30 Sir Nevile Henderson was given the German proposals, which were explained to him in detail. In fact, on the night of August 30-31, .Herr vou Ribbentrop’s method of explanation was, in Sir Nevile Henderson’s own words, “to read out a lengthy document in German at top speed.” Herr von Ribbentrop refused to give Sir Nevile Henderson a copy of these proposals, adding that in any case he considered the proposals—which the Polish Government bad not seen—were rejected because the Polish plenipotentiary had not arrived to accept them en bloc before midnight. The proposals were not given to Sir- Nevile Henderson until 9.15 p.m. on August 31, when the German Government again repeated that the proposals were rejected because the Polish Government had not agreed to what in effect was a German intention to obtain a dictated settlement in Berlin with a series of demands which the Polish plenipotentiary would have been expected to accept without consultation with his Government. The method of stating the case adopted by Herr von Ribbentrop bas an obvious advantage so long as it is intended only for those who. can be prevented from obtaining fuller information, but it is not likely to impress any who have access to the statements of both sides. The introduction to tho German Foreign Office’s selection of documents is no less tendentious than the selection itself. It is implied that the British guarantee to Poland was given before tho Polish rejection' of the German offer in March, 1939. In fact, the British guarantee was not offered to Poland until after these terras had been refused by the Polish Government as incompatible with’ Polish independence.

PARTIAL DEMOBILISATION ORDERED BY LITHUANIA KAUNAS, September 25. (Received September 26, at 11.5 a.m.) Partial demobilisation has been ordered, which indicates that direct danger to Lithuanian security has diminished.

SOVIET-GERMAN TRADE TALKS BERLIN, September 25. (Received September 26, at 1 p.m.) A German Economic Mission has left Berlin for Moscow to discuss trade prospects in accordance with the terms of the recently-signed pact. SOVIET COUP FEARED IN RUMANIA (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. September 25. (Received September 26, lit 1 p.m.) The mussing of 100 divisions of Russian troops on the Bessarabian frontier has roused fears of a Soviet coup in Bucharest. All precautions against air raids aro being taken in Bucharest*