GERMAN DEMANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 September 1939, Page 6

GERMAN DEMANDS

REPLY TO BRITISH NOTE / RETURN OF DANZIG FORTHWITH PLEBISCITE TO DECIDE , FATE OF CORRIDOR. EXPELLED GERMANS TO RETURN TO VOTE. (Received This Day, 12.37 p.m.) LONDON, August 31. The Berlin radio stations announced that the German reply to the British Note contains sixteen points. Some oi these are: — (1) Danzig, on account of its purely German character and the unanimous will of its population, shall return to the Reich unconditionally forthwith. (2) The Polish Corridor shall decide itself whether it desires to belong to Germany or Poland ,for which purpose a plebiscite shall be held. (3) Those entitled to vote in the plebiscite will be all Germans and Poles resident in the Corridor since January 1, 1918, or born therein. All Germans expelled from the Corridor, or forced to leave, will return in order to vote. (4) In order to guarantee- objective voting, an international commission will be constituted, similar to that for the Saar plebiscite, to consist of representatives of Italy, the Soviet, France and Britain. The commission will exercise sovereign rights in the territory. (5) The Polish, military and other authorities must leave the Corridor at the shortest possible notice, except Gydnia, which unconditionally remains Polish. The exact German-Polish frontier between Gydnia and Germany must be determined by agreement between Berlin and Warsaw. (7) The plebiscite will be decided by a simple majority. (8) In order to guarantee the safety of traffic between Germany and East Prussia in case the plebiscite should result in a partition of. the Corridor, special motor roads and railroads shall be granted which will not embrace a strip of territory wider than one kilometre. This strip shall be declared an extra-territorial zone. (9) If the plebiscite decides that the Corridor shall remain Polish, Germany is prepared to carry out an exchange of population. (10) Special privileges fought by Poland in Danzig will be laid down in a manner analagous to German privileges in Gdynia. (11) In order to obviate all feeling of insecurity on the part of the population, both Gdynia and Danzig will be declared mere “centres,” which will not be fortified. The peninsula of Hel will in any case be demilitarised. (12) For the settlement of possible complaints by the German and Polish minorities, both contracting parties agree that these complaints should be submitted to an international commis-. sion, which would investigate each case on its merits. (13) Germany and Poland mutually agree to repair and recompense all economic damages caused by their respective minorities since 1918. (14) Minorities remaining in either country after the plebiscite will by mutual agreement be exempted from military service and enjoy full social and cultural freedom.

German quarters describe the British mobilisation measures as a definite aggravation and say the situation has worsened in the last two days, owing first to Poland’s refusal to enter into serious negotiations’, secondly, to Poland’s menace to Slovakia; thirdly, to Britain’s failure to place concrete proposals before Germany. The official news agency announced that the Foreign Office had protested to Poland against her alleged action in compelling German Consulates at Llow and Teschen to close down. f j?he official “Diplomatische Korrespondenz” accuses Poland of preparing world opinion for war in accordance with the terms of the Anglo-Polish Treaty by alleging that she is threatened by military preparations in Slovakia. Site is wilfully applying an erroneous interpretation to the treaty. Germany cannot neglect this. TIME LIMIT SET , ... ■ z REJECTION OF THE GERMAN PROPOSALS. (Received This Day, 1.40 p.m.)

RONDON. August 31. The German proposals were made subject to a-time limit which expired at‘midnight on Wednesday. An essential condition was that Polish plenipotentiary able to reach a final agreement should come to Berlin on Wednesday. The Polish Ambassador attended at the Foreign Office, but said he had no power to negotiate. Thus, as the conditions were not fulfilled, Germany decided that the proposals had been rejected.