“Then, at the conclusion of the French campaign came the
Führer’s offer to England. The offer, as is known, was refused.
This made me all the more firm in my belief that under these
circumstances I had to execute my plan. During the subsequent
period came the air war between Germany and England, which, on
the whole, meant heavier losses and damages for England than for
Germany. Consequently, I had the impression that England could
not give in at all without suffering considerable loss of
prestige. That is why I said to myself, ‘Now I must realize my
plan all the more, for if I were over in England, England could
be enabled to take up negotiations with Germany without loss of
prestige.’”
I turn now to Page 97 of the document book. After a short incidental
remark by Dr. Mackenzie, Hess continued:
“I was of the opinion that, apart from the question of the terms
for an agreement, there would be still in England a certain
general distrust to overcome. I must confess that I faced a very
grave decision, the gravest in my life, of course, and I believe
I was aided by continuously keeping before my inner vision the
picture of an endless row of children’s coffins with the mothers
weeping behind them on the German side as well as on the English
side...”
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Seidl, have you got the original document there
before you?
DR. SEIDL: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Might it be handed up?
DR. SEIDL: Yes.
[_The document was handed to the President._]
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go on.
DR. SEIDL: “...and vice versa, the coffins of mothers with the
children behind them.
“I want to mention certain points which, I believe, have a
certain importance from the psychological point of view. I must
go back a bit. After Germany’s defeat in the World War, the
Versailles Treaty was imposed on her, and no serious historian
is today still of the opinion that Germany was responsible for
the World War. Lloyd George has said that the nations stumbled
into the war. I recently read an English historian, Farrar, who
wrote about Edward VII and his policy at that time. This
historian, Farrar, lays the main guilt for the war, on the
policies of Edward VII. After her collapse Germany had this
treaty imposed upon her, which was not only a frightful calamity
for Germany but also for the whole world. All attempts of
politicians, of statesmen in Germany, before the Führer came to
power—that is to say, when Germany was a pure democracy—to
obtain any sort of relief failed.”
I forego the reading of the following part of the minutes literally. A
conversation followed on various points. Among other things the subject
of the conversation then was the air strength of Germany at that time
and the preparations with regard to the building of U-boats. I do not
believe that these questions are relevant in the present connection, and
so I shall turn at once to that part of the minutes where mention is
made of the proposals which Hess made to Lord Simon. This is on Page 152
of the document book. From the minutes we can see that Hess had
previously written down the proposals which he wanted to submit. He gave
these notes to Dr. Mackenzie and Mr. Kirkpatrick, who then read and
translated them, and now I quote on Page 152, at the bottom of the page,
literally:
“Basis for an understanding.” And here I have to ask the Tribunal to
turn from Page 152 of the document book to Page 159 of the document book
because the first point in the proposal obviously has been presented in
the wrong fashion. On Page 159, about the middle of the page, there is a
statement by Dr. Mackenzie which expresses the first point correctly,
and I quote:
“In order to prevent future wars between the Axis and England,
the limits of the spheres of interest should be defined. The
sphere of interest of the Axis is Europe, and England’s sphere
of interest is the Empire.”
I ask now that you turn back, namely to Page 153 of the document book.
Here we find on the last line the second point of the proposals which
Hess made. Dr. Mackenzie is reading:
“2. Return of German Colonies.”
I turn to Page 154 of the document book and begin to quote at the top of
the page—it is possible that the figure “2” is inadvertently repeated
here in the document book. It should be:
“3. Indemnification of German citizens who before or during the
war had their residence within the British Empire, and who
suffered damage to life and property through measures of a
Government of the Empire or as a result of pillage, riot, _et
cetera_; indemnification of British subjects by Germany on the
same basis.
“4. Armistice and peace to be concluded with Italy at the same
time.”
Then there is a personal remark by Hess as follows:
“The Führer in our conversation repeatedly presented these
points to me in general as the basis for an understanding with
England.”