The Day We Went to War Page 3

  10 February, WORTHING

  ‘A remarkable character, and devoted to the cause of peace.’ (Joan Strange on the Pope’s death)

  14 February, WILHELMSHAVEN

  Germany’s latest battleship, the 35,000-ton Bismarck, is launched. In his political testament Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote that it was a mistake on the part of the Kaiser’s Germany to antagonise Britain by building a fleet to rival the Royal Navy. But it now looks as if he too is intending to challenge Britain’s naval superiority.

  15 February, TEDDINGTON

  ‘£580,000,000 to be spent on defence for the year. What an abominable wicked thing due to one paltry Austrian paranoiac.’ (Helena Mott)

  25 February, LONDON

  The first Anderson shelters are delivered in Tiber and Carlsbad Streets, Islington. Mrs Treadwell of Tiber Street tells the Daily Telegraph: ‘I hope we shall never have to use it. Still if trouble does come, I’ll feel safer there than in the house. In any case, we can always use it as a summer house!’

  26 February, WORTHING

  ‘And today we hear the British Government proposes to recognise Franco – blow!’ (Joan Strange)

  28 February, LONDON and PARIS

  The British and French governments formally recognise General Franco’s regime as the legitimate government of Spain. In the House of Commons, there is an Opposition vote of censure about the recognition. Amid angry scenes, in which there are shouts of ‘Heil Chamberlain’, it is defeated by 344 votes to 137. In Paris, head of government Edouard Daladier persuades eighty-two-year-old Marshal Philippe Petain, the Hero of Verdun, to become France’s first ambassador to Franco.

  March

  2 March, VATICAN

  Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the Vatican Secretary of State, is elected pope and takes the title Pius XII. He was Papal Nuncio in Bavaria at the time of the Soviet republic there twenty years ago, and the experience has left him with a fear and loathing of communism. Many Vatican experts believe that this might make him turn a blind eye to the worst excesses of the Nazi regime.

  10 March, LONDON

  At Chelsea Town Hall, Home Secretary and staunch Chamberlain supporter Sir Samuel Hoare delivers a speech to his constituents. He has asked the Prime Minister what tone he should adopt. ‘Cheerful,’ Chamberlain replied, ‘there is every reason for it.’ Now Hoare tells his audience that a Golden Age could be in the offing: ‘Five men in Europe (Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin), if they worked with a singleness of purpose and a unity of action, might in an incredibly short space of time transform the whole history of the world . . .’

  ‘Well, I suppose we should feel safer, but I think I should stay in bed – until the guns began. I might go outside then.’ Anderson shelters being loaded onto carts, ready for distribution at Wilbraham Road, Manchester, February 1939.

  ‘It was always my fate to see him when he was under stress of some emotion or other.’ British Ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson (left) and Hitler at a reception, 1 March 1939. Hitler’s interpreter, Dr Paul Schmidt, translates for the two men.

  10 March, MOSCOW

  Soviet dictator Josef Stalin delivers a major speech on Soviet foreign policy. He tells the members of the Communist Party Congress that it is still Soviet policy to resist aggression and warns Britain and France against ‘retreating and retreating’, and making one con cession after another to the dictators. This policy, Stalin tells the delegates, will in the end lead to war. But he then warns that the Soviet Union will not allow itself ‘to be drawn into conflicts by warmongers who are accustomed to have others pull the chestnuts out of the fire for them’.

  10 March, PRAGUE

  In an attempt to preserve the unity of Czecho-Slovakia, the Prague government dismisses Monsignor Jozef Tiso, the premier of the autonomous Slovakian government. Ever since Munich, forces inside and outside the country have been intent on destabilising the administration of Emil Hacha, who became president after Eduard Benes resigned last October.

  13 March, BERLIN

  Hitler receives Tiso. He tells him, ‘I am disappointed in Slovakia. The way your people have been behaving lately, they might almost be Czechs.’ The Fuehrer then goes on to advise the Slovakian premier to declare his country’s independence from Prague. Germany, Hitler assures Tiso, will guarantee that independence.

  13 March, LONDON

  At Holborn Town Hall there is a testing of gas helmets designed to protect babies and infants. The test proves successful and the Government announces that 1,400,000 gas helmets will be distributed within a few months.

  14 March, BRATISLAVA

  The Slovak Diet votes to break away from Prague and declares Slovakian independence.

  14 March, BERLIN

  At 11pm, sixty-six-year-old President Emil Hacha of Czecho-Slovakia, accompanied by his daughter and his foreign minister Frantisek Chvalkovsky, arrive in the German capital. The two Czech politicians have come to discuss the worsening situation in their country. The Czechs are taken to Germany’s foremost hotel, the Adlon, where there is a large box of chocolates from the Fuehrer waiting for Hacha’s daughter. At midnight, Hacha and Chvalkovsky set out for the Reich Chancellery where Hitler has just been watching a film called A Hopeless Case.

  15 March, BERLIN

  Just after midnight Hitler, accompanied by von Ribbentrop and Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, receive Hacha and Chvalkovsky. Hitler bluntly tells the two Czechs that ‘in order to restore order’ he has ordered the German Army to occupy the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. He tells them that any resistance will be useless and Goering threatens to bomb Prague ruthlessly if any is shown. Hacha, under great physical and mental stress, gives way. He telephones Prague and orders that no resistance is to be offered to the German invaders. He then signs a document stating that he has ‘confidently placed the fate of the Czech people in the hands of the Fuehrer of the German Reich’. In the same document Hitler accepts Hacha’s declaration and ‘expressed his intention of taking the Czech people under the protection of the German Reich and of guaranteeing them an autonomous development of their ethnic life as suited to their character’.

  Ecstatic at his success, Hitler tells two of his female secretaries, pointing to his cheeks, ‘So, children, each of you give me a kiss there and there . . . This is the happiest day of my life . . . I will go down as the greatest German in history.’

  15 March, LONDON

  In the House of Lords, Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax announces that Hitler’s action in occupying Prague ‘is inconsistent with the spirit of the Munich Agreement’, while in the Commons, Chamberlain tells MPs: ‘I bitterly regret what has now occurred. But do not let us on that account be deflected from our course . . . We will continue to pursue our policy of appeasement.’

  In and outside Parliament, the Prime Minister’s statement attracts a lot of unfavourable comment. He is accused of bringing ‘humiliation and shame’ on Britain. His personal shuttle diplomacy last September is now condemned as being ‘a fatal mistake’. Even the faithful Chamberlain supporter and industrialist Lord Nuffield says, ‘If it weren’t for Neville Chamberlain’s feelings, I would advocate the starting of war against Germany tomorrow.’

  15 March, PRAGUE

  Hitler arrives at Hradcany Castle to view his latest conquest. At a buffet in the castle’s banqueting hall, the normally teetotal Hitler picks up a small glass of Pilsner lager and drains it dry. He grimaces and then laughs. Returning to Berlin he tells his entourage, ‘marching into Prague pleased me more than all that shilly-shallying at Munich’.

  15 March, WORTHING

  ‘Another wretched crisis in Czecho-slovakia – Hitler appealed to, and off to Prague immediately. The whole state built up by Masaryk completely disrupted and Hitler snaps up all the valuable pieces. The whole world aghast at Hitler’s arrogance. His flag hoisted on the wonderful old palace of Hungarian royalty. The Czechs humiliated to the dust – suicides, imprisonments, the Gestapo and all manner of dreadful things.’ (Joan
Strange)

  15 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Hitler’s troops marched into Prague. The people hissed and booed and sang the Czech national anthem . . . German troops entered Slovakia – in response to an appeal from the Slovak government. I wonder!!! So many lies are told and such atrocious deeds done that no reliance can be placed on any statement that comes out of Berlin. No words are fit for Hitler who, maniac though he is, is allowed to do anything without let or hindrance – much to our shame.’ (Helena Mott)

  16 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Hitler (may he be damned) proclaims Czech state part of German empire. Bohemia and Moravia to be known as the Protectorate. He’s taken Slovakia also . . . 5,000 Czechs have been arrested by the Gestapo. Himmler is in Prague with Hitler (two fine specimens of cruel evil, ruthless brigands).’ (Helena Mott)

  17 March, LONDON

  Virgil Tilea, Roumanian Minister in London, hears a rumour that his country is about to be attacked by Germany. He asks Lord Halifax if Roumania can expect British support if the Nazis invade. The next day, the Foreign Office hears officially from Bucharest that there is not a word of truth in the rumour.

  17 March, BIRMINGHAM

  Chamberlain is genuinely surprised at the vehemence of parliamentary and public opinion against Hitler’s Prague coup. Now, on his home ground of Birmingham, the Prime Minister acknowledges, ‘Public opinion in the world has received a sharper shock than has yet been administered to it, even by the present regime in Germany . . .’ and asks, ‘Is this the end of an old adventure or is it the beginning of a new? Is this the last attack upon a small state, or is it to be followed by others. Is this, in fact, a step in the direction of an attempt to dominate the world by force?’ In either case, Chamberlain concludes, ‘Others, too, knowing that we are not disinterested in what goes on in South-East Europe, will wish to have our counsel and advice.’

  As a gesture of British disapproval, Ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson, who has only just returned to Berlin after an operation for throat cancer, is now recalled to London, ‘to report’.

  17 March, WORTHING

  ‘The whole European situation looks almost as black as it did last September.’ (Joan Strange)

  18 March, BERLIN

  French Ambassador Robert Coulondre delivers France’s protest at the occupation of Prague. Like Sir Nevile, he too is recalled ‘for consultations’.

  18 March, PARIS

  The Chamber of Deputies, followed by the Senate, votes full powers to Daladier, President of the Council of Ministers, to deal with the ongoing international crisis.

  19 March, MOSCOW

  The Soviet Government refuses to recognise the legality of Hitler’s Prague coup. It describes the latest German aggression as having ‘dealt a fresh blow to the feeling of security of the peoples of Europe’.

  21 March, WASHINGTON DC

  The State Department strongly condemns the German occupation of the Czech lands and the ‘temporary extinguishment of free and independent people’.

  21 March, LONDON

  French President Albert Lebrun arrives on a state visit to London to demonstrate the solidarity between France and Britain and the firmness of the Entente Cordiale. The visit is a great success, but disaster is only narrowly averted. At a reception at the Foreign Office, a sofa topples over and three British ministers are very nearly catapulted onto the King and Queen and their French guests. ‘How Hitler would have laughed,’ thinks Tory MP and devoted Chamberlainite Henry ‘Chips’ Channon.

  21 March, BERLIN

  Polish ambassador Jozef Lipski has an interview with von Ribbentrop. Beck has instructed Lipski to protest at Germany’s recent move against Czecho-Slovakia. Poland is now threatened on three sides. Von Ribbentrop counters by saying that Hitler’s patience with Poland is wearing thin. A solution to the problem of Danzig and the Polish Corridor must be found soon. This, von Ribbentrop tells Lipski, is a prerequisite for the peaceful future of German – Polish relations. Furthermore, Colonel Beck should himself come to Berlin to discuss the situation.

  21 March, KAUNAS

  The Lithuanian Government, under threat of German military action, are forced to agree to Hitler’s demand to hand over the port of Memel and its hinterland. Lithuania seized the German-inhabited territory back in 1923.

  21 March, WORTHING

  ‘Memel is about to return to Germany – the Jews there panic-stricken.’ (Joan Strange)

  21 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Halifax states new policy. The Government has decided to take initiative in forming a powerful league against aggression . . . Russia, I do not think, will be cozened too easily. “Isvestia” [sic] says what is the value of lamentations like the British Premier’s at Birmingham? French and British statesmen are not children. The authors of the dangerous non-aggression game are now reaping the new fruits of their policy.’ (Helena Mott)

  21 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Franco sent a telegram of congratulation to Hitler on his raping of Czecho-slovakia and Hitler thanks him in a return message. Thieves’ honour!!!’ (Helena Mott)

  22 March, BERLIN

  From today, each evening at 8.15pm, German radio’s Reichssender is to broadcast the news in English. This will, the Nazi press assures readers, ‘give to the listener in foreign lands something quite new – the truth’.

  22 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Memel has been surrendered by Lithuania to Germany . . . Ribbentrop demanded absolute and immediate submission. And still we sit back and do not do anything, even protest.’ (Helena Mott)

  Dr Emile Hacha (left) arrives in Berlin to receive, at Hitler’s hands, ‘the old tested methods of political tactics’, 14 March 1939.

  ‘If you apply a bit of pressure, things happen.’ Lithuanian and German foreign ministers, Juozas Urbsys and Joachim von Ribbentrop (seated left to right), sign the formal agreement transferring Memel and district to the Reich, 22 March 1939.

  22 March, WORTHING

  ‘Memel now under German Nazi rule. The ultimatum was delivered to Lithuania last night and accepted tonight – another “bloodless victory”(?)’ (Joan Strange)

  24 March, BERLIN

  It is announced that any German who listens to foreign radio broadcasts and spreads the news contained in them is now liable to five years’ imprisonment.

  23 March, MEMEL

  Hitler arrives in the port on the pocket battleship Deutschland. Since leaving Swinemuende yesterday, the Fuehrer has suffered from severe seasickness. He only spends three hours in the newly ‘liberated’ territory, before returning to Berlin. Hitler nonchalantly tells his SS manservant Heinz Linge, ‘we now perform these trifles as a matter of course’.

  27 March, LONDON

  Chamberlain tells his cabinet that he is prepared to offer Poland a unilateral guarantee of her independence. The Prime Minister believes that Poland is going to be Hitler’s next objective and he hopes that a guarantee will both deter the Fuehrer and stiffen the Poles in their resistance to Nazi demands.

  28 March, MADRID

  The Spanish capital finally falls to General Franco’s forces. Throughout the Civil War, Franco has had the support of Italian ‘volunteers’ and Germany’s Condor Legion of airmen and armoured troops.

  28 March, WARSAW

  Polish foreign minister Beck warns the German ambassador that any attempt by Germany to use force to gain Danzig will lead to war.

  28 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Madrid surrendered at 2pm after two years and four months marvellous hold out. I only hope the treatment they receive may be free from cruelty. Poor things, they’ve suffered enough.’ (Helena Mott)

  29 March, LONDON

  The Government announces plans to double Britain’s Territorial Army to bring its strength up to 340,000 men. The move is seen as part recognition that, in the event of war, Britain will have to furnish extensive land forces as well as the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. But one eager would-be recruit, on presenting himself at a recruiting office, is firs
t asked, ‘Could you come back tomorrow morning?’ On doing so, he is told, ‘Well, you see, we can’t do anything until after Easter, but you’ll certainly get a letter from us then.’

  30 March, WARSAW

  At the Foreign Ministry, British ambassador Sir Howard Kennard delivers the terms of Britain’s guarantee to Poland. Colonel Beck accepts them ‘between two flicks of his cigarette ash’.

  31 March, LONDON

  In the House of Commons, Chamberlain announces the news of the British guarantee to Poland. He tells MPs, ‘In the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist with their national forces, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power.’

  Labour’s deputy leader Arthur Greenwood says, ‘The Prime Minister’s statement may prove as momentous as any made in this House for a quarter of a century.’ And anti-appeaser Alfred Duff Cooper, who resigned over Munich, is incredulous at Chamberlain’s reversal of policy: ‘Never before in our history have we left in the hands of one of the smaller powers the decision whether or not Great Britain goes to war.’

  31 March, BERLIN

  Hitler, on hearing of the British guarantee, falls into a terrible rage. ‘I’ll a brew them a devil’s stew that they’ll choke on,’ he raves to his staff.

  31 March, Bucharest

  Roumanian foreign minister Grigore Gafencu, on hearing of the guarantee, says, ‘The British must be mad. Poland is the least moral country in Europe.’

  31 March, WORTHING

  ‘Mr Chamberlain made an important announcement to the Commons which was specially broadcast at four o’clock, committing us definitely to Poland.’ (Joan Strange)

  31 March, TEDDINGTON

  ‘Chamberlain three o’clock in the House – England will go to war for Poland – well! Well! Well! “Bound to give Polish government all the help in our power.” Question . . . whether Russia and other powers will not join in a conference against aggression?’ (Helena Mott)