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| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has |
| been preserved. |
| |
| Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For |
| a complete list, please see the end of this document. |
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| |
| The Book and the Author |
| |
| John L. Spivak comes closer to the popular conception of the |
| ace journalist than any other living writer. Combining the |
| instinct of a detective with the resourcefulness of a |
| reporter, and gifted with a hard-hitting, breezy style, he |
| has time and again "scooped the world," "gotten the |
| story"--despite powerful opposition and personal danger that |
| might well have daunted less hardy souls. |
| |
| But there is an important difference that sets Spivak apart |
| from most other gentlemen of the press. For several years he |
| has devoted his bright and sharp pen solely to uncovering |
| evidence of fascist activities in the United |
| States--evidence that is credited with having set off |
| several official investigations exposing un-American, |
| foreign-dominated propaganda. |
| |
| SECRET ARMIES climaxes Spivak's exposures. His sensational |
| inside story of Hitler's far-flung, under-cover poison |
| campaign in the Americas would seem scarcely credible, were |
| it not so thoroughly documented with original letters and |
| records, citing chapter and verse, naming names, dates and |
| places. His unanswerable, uncontradicted facts should go far |
| toward jolting many of us out of our false sense of |
| security. |
| |
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_Books by John L. Spivak_
THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE
GEORGIA NIGGER
AMERICA FACES THE BARRICADES
EUROPE UNDER THE TERROR
SECRET ARMIES
_The New Technique of Nazi Warfare_
[Illustration]
JOHN L. SPIVAK
MODERN AGE BOOKS, INC.
432 FOURTH AVENUE NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT 1939 BY JOHN L. SPIVAK
PUBLISHED BY MODERN AGE BOOKS, INC.
432 Fourth Avenue
New York City
_All rights in this book are reserved, and it may not be
reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from
the holder of these rights. For information address the
publishers._
_First Printing, February 1939_
_Second Printing, March 1939_
_Printed in the United States of America_
_CONTENTS_
CHAPTER PAGE
Preface 7
I Czechoslovakia--Before the Carving 9
II England's Cliveden Set 17
III France's Secret Fascist Army 31
IV Dynamite Under Mexico 43
V Surrounding the Panama Canal 56
VI Secret Agents Arrive in America 73
VII Nazi Spies and American "Patriots" 84
VIII Henry Ford and Secret Nazi Activities 102
IX Nazi Agents in American Universities 118
X Underground Armies in America 130
XI The Dies Committee Suppresses Evidence 137
XII Conclusion 155
_ILLUSTRATIONS_
PAGE
Application in the Secret Order of '76 by Sidney Brooks 77
Letter from Harry A. Jung 82
Anti-Semitic handbill 85
Letter from Peter V. Armstrong 89
Letter to Peter V. Armstrong 90
Account card of Reverend Gerald B. Winrod 104
Sample of "Capitol News & Feature Service" 106
Letter from _Wessington Springs Independent_ 107
Letter from General Rodriguez 111
Letter from General Rodriguez 113
Letter from Henry Allen 115
Anti-Semitic sticker and German titlepage of book by
Henry Ford 117
Letter from Olov E. Tietzow 125
Judgment showing conviction of E.F. Sullivan 138-139
Letter from Carl G. Orgell 151
Letter from G. Moshack 153
Letter from E.A. Vennekohl 154
_Preface_
The material in this small volume just barely scratches the surface of
a problem which is becoming increasingly grave: the activities of Nazi
agents in the United States, Mexico, and Central America. During the
past five years I have observed some of them, watching the original,
crudely organized and directed propaganda machine develop, grow and
leave an influence far wider than most people seem to realize. What at
first appeared to be merely a distasteful attempt by Nazi Government
officials at direct interference in the affairs of the American people
and their Government, has now assumed the more sinister aspect of also
seeking American naval and military secrets.
Further studies in Central America, Mexico and the Panama Canal Zone
disclosed an espionage network directed by the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis
and operating against the peace and security of the United States. A
scrutiny of the Nazi Fifth Column[1] in a few European countries,
especially in Czechoslovakia just before that Republic was turned over
to Germany's mercy by the Munich "peace" and in France where Nazi and
Italian agents built an amazing secret underground army, has made the
fascist activities in the Western Hemisphere somewhat clearer to me.
I have included one chapter detailing events which cannot, so far as I
have been able to discover, be traced directly to Nazi espionage; but
it shows the influence of Nazi ideology upon England's now notorious
"Cliveden set," which maneuvered the betrayal of Austria, sacrificed
Czechoslovakia and is working in devious ways to strengthen Hitler in
Europe. The "Cliveden set" has already had so profound an effect upon
the growth and influence of fascism throughout the world, that I
thought it advisable to include it.
The sources for most of the material, by its very nature, naturally
cannot be revealed. Those conversations which I quote directly came
from people who were present when they occurred or, as in the case of
the Cagoulards in France, from official records. In the chapter on
Czechoslovakia I quote a conversation between a Nazi spy and his
chief. The details came to me from a source which in the past I had
found accurate. Subsequently, the spy was arrested by Czech secret
police, and his confession substantiated the conversation as I have
given it.
Much of the material in this volume has been published in various
periodicals from time to time, but so many Americans feel that concern
over Nazi penetration in this country is exaggerated, that I hope even
this brief and incomplete picture will serve to impress the reader, as
it has impressed me, with the gravity of the situation.
J.L.S.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When the Spanish Insurgents were investing Madrid early in November,
1936, newspaper correspondents asked Insurgent General Emilio Mola which
of his four columns would take the city. Mola replied enigmatically:
"The Fifth Column." He referred to the fascist sympathizers within
Madrid--those attempting to abet the defeat of the Spanish Government by
means of spying, sabotage and terrorism. The term "Fifth Column" is
today widely used to describe the various fascist and Nazi organizations
operating within the borders of non-fascist nations.
I
_Czechoslovakia--Before The Carving_
It is pretty generally admitted now that the Munich "peace" gave
Germany industrial and military areas essential to further
aggressions. Instead of helping to put a troubled Europe on the road
to lasting peace, Munich strengthened the totalitarian powers,
especially Germany, and a strengthened Germany inevitably means
increased activities of the Nazis' Fifth Column which is, in all
quarters of the globe, actively preparing the ground for Hitler's
greater plans.
If we can divine the future by the past, the Fifth Column, that
shadowy group of secret agents now entrenched in every important
country throughout the world, is an omen of what is to come. Before
Germany marched into Austria, that unhappy country witnessed a large
influx of Fifth Column members. In Czechoslovakia, especially in those
months before the Republic's heart was handed to Hitler on a platter,
there was a tremendous increase in the numbers and activities of
agents sent into the Central European country.
During my stay there in the brief period immediately preceding the
"peace," I learned a little about the operations of the Gestapo's
secret agents in Czechoslovakia. Their numbers are vast and those few
of whom I learned, are infinitesimal to the actual numbers at work
then and now, not only in Czechoslovakia but in other countries. What
I learned of those few, however, shows how the Gestapo, the Nazi
secret service, operates in its ruthless drive.
For years Hitler had laid plans to fight, if he had to, for
Czechoslovakia, whose natural mountain barriers and man-made defensive
line of steel and concrete stood in the way of his announced drive to
the Ukrainian wheat fields. In preparation for the day when he might
have to fight for its control, he sent into the Republic a host of
spies, provocateurs, propagandists and saboteurs to establish
themselves, make contacts, carry on propaganda and build a machine
which would be invaluable in time of war.
In a few instances I learned the details of the Nazis' inexorable
determination and their inhuman indifference to the lives of even
their own agents.
Arno Oertel, _alias_ Harald Half, was a thin, white-faced spy trained
in two Gestapo schools for Fifth Column work. Oertel was given a
German passport by Richter, the Gestapo district chief at
Bischofswerda on what was then the Czechoslovak-German frontier.
"You will proceed to Prague," Richter instructed him, "and lose
yourself in the city. As soon as it is safe, go to Langenau near
Boehmisch-Leipa and report to Frau Anna Suchy.[2] She will give you
further instructions."
Oertel nodded. It was his first important espionage job--assigned to
him after the twenty-five-year-old secret agent had finished his
intensive course in the special Gestapo training school in Zossen
(Brandenburg), one of the many schools established by the Nazi secret
service to train agents for various activities.
After his graduation Oertel had been given minor practical training
in politically disruptive work in anti-fascist organizations across
the Czech border where he had posed as a German emigre. There he had
shown such aptitude that his Gestapo chief at sector headquarters in
Dresden, Herr Geissler, sent him to Czechoslovakia on a special
mission.
Oertel hesitated. "Naturally I'll take all possible precautions
but--accidents may happen."
Richter nodded. "If you are caught and arrested, demand to see the
German Consul immediately," he said. "If you are in a bad predicament,
we'll request your extradition on a criminal charge--burglary with
arms, attempted murder--some non-political crime. We've got a treaty
with Czechoslovakia to extradite Germans accused of criminal acts
but--" The Gestapo chief opened the top drawer of his desk and took a
small capsule from a box. "If you find yourself in an utterly hopeless
situation, swallow this."
He handed the pellet to the nervous young man.
"Cyanide," Richter said. "Tie it up in a knot in your handkerchief. It
will not be taken from you if you are arrested. There is always an
opportunity while being searched to take it."
Oertel tied the pellet in a corner of his handkerchief and placed it
in his breast pocket.
"You are to make two reports," Richter continued. "One for Frau Suchy,
the other for the contact in Prague. She'll get you in touch with
him."
Anna Suchy, when Oertel reported to her, gave him specific orders: "On
August 16 [1937], at five o'clock in the afternoon, you will sit on a
bench near the fountain in Karlsplatz in Prague. A man dressed in a
gray suit, gray hat, with a blue handkerchief showing from the breast
pocket of his coat, will ask you for a light for his cigarette. Give
him the light and accept a cigarette from the gentleman. He will give
you detailed instructions on what to do and how to meet the Prague
contact to whom in turn you will report."
At the appointed hour Oertel sat on a bench staring at the fountain,
watching men and women strolling and chatting cheerfully on the way to
meet friends for late afternoon coffee. Occasionally he looked at the
afternoon papers lying on the bench beside him. He felt that he was
being watched but he saw no one in a gray suit with a blue
handkerchief. He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, partly
because of the heat, partly because of nervousness. As he held the
handkerchief he could feel the tightly bound capsule.
Precisely at five he noticed a man in a gray suit with a gray hat and
a blue handkerchief in the breast pocket of his coat, strolling toward
him. As the man approached he took out a package of cigarettes,
selected one and searched his pockets for a light. Stopping before
Oertel, he doffed his hat and smilingly asked for a light. Oertel
produced his lighter and the other in turn offered him a cigarette. He
sat down on the bench.
"Report once a week," he said abruptly, puffing at his cigarette and
staring at two children playing in the sunshine which flooded
Karlsplatz. He stretched his feet like a man relaxing after a hard
day's work. "Deliver reports to Frau Suchy personally. One week she
will come to Prague, the next you go to her. Deliver a copy of your
report to the English missionary, Vicar Robert Smith, who lives at 31
Karlsplatz."
Smith, to whom the unidentified man in the gray suit told Oertel to
report, was a minister of the Church of Scotland in Prague, a British
subject with influential connections not only with English-speaking
people but with Czech government officials.[3] Besides his ministerial
work, the Reverend Smith led an amateur orchestra group giving free
concerts for German emigres. On his clerical recommendation, he got
German "emigre" women into England as house servants for British
government officials and army officers.
The far-flung Gestapo network in Czechoslovakia concentrated much of
its activities along the former German-Czech border. In Prague, even
today when Germany has achieved what she said was all she wanted in
Europe, the network reaches into all branches of the Government, the
military forces and emigre anti-fascist groups. The country, before it
was cut to pieces and even now, is honeycombed with Gestapo agents
sent from Germany with false passports or smuggled across the border.
Often the Gestapo uses Czech citizens whose relatives are in Germany
and upon whom pressure is put. The work of these agents consists not
only of ferreting out military information regarding Czech defense
measures and establishing contacts with Czech citizens for permanent
espionage, but of the equally important assignment of disrupting
anti-fascist groups--of creating opposition within organizations
having large memberships in order to split and disintegrate them.
Agents also make reports on public opinion and attitudes, and record
carefully the names and addresses of those engaged in anti-fascist
work. A similar procedure was followed in Austria before that country
was invaded, and it enabled the Nazis to make wholesale arrests
immediately upon entering the country.
Prague, with a German population of sixty thousand is still the
headquarters for the astonishing espionage and propaganda machine
which the Gestapo built throughout the country. Before Czechoslovakia
was cut up, most of the espionage reports crossed the frontier into
Germany through Tetschen-Bodenbach. The propaganda and espionage
center of the Henlein group was in the headquarters of the _Sudeten
Deutsche Partei_ at 4 Hybernska St. A secondary headquarters, in the
_Deutscher Hilfsverein_ at 7 Nekazanka St., was directed by Emil
Wallner, who was ostensibly representing the Leipzig Fair but was
actually the chief of the Gestapo machine in Prague. His assistant,
Hermann Dorn, living in Hanspaulka-Dejvice, masqueraded as the
representative of the _Muenchner Illustrierte Zeitung_.
Some aspects of the Nazi espionage and propaganda machine in
Czechoslovakia hold especial interest for American immigration
authorities since into the United States, too, comes a steady flow of
the shadowy members of the Nazis' Fifth Column. It is well to know
that the letters and numbers at the top of passports inform German
diplomatic representatives the world over that the bearer usually is a
Gestapo agent. Whenever American immigration authorities find German
passports with letters and numbers at the top, they may be reasonably
sure that the bearer is an agent. These numbers are placed on
passports by Gestapo headquarters in Berlin or Dresden. The agent's
photograph and a sample of his (or her) handwriting is sent via the
diplomatic pouch to the Nazi Embassy, Legation, Consulate or German
Bund in the country or city to which the agent is assigned. When the
agent reports in a foreign city, the resident Gestapo chief, in order
to identify him, checks the passport's top number with the picture and
the handwriting received by diplomatic pouch.
Rudolf Walter Voigt, _alias_ Walter Clas, _alias_ Heinz Leonhard,
_alias_ Herbert Frank--names which he used throughout Europe in his
espionage work will serve as an illustration. Voigt was sent to Prague
on a delicate mission. His job was to discover how Czechs got to Spain
to fight in the International Brigade, a mystery in Berlin since such
Czechs had to cross Italy, Germany or other fascist countries which
cooperate with the Gestapo.
Voigt was given passport No. 1,128,236 made out in the name of Walter
Clas, and bearing at the top of the passport the letters and numbers
1A1444. He was instructed, by Leader Wilhelm May of Dresden, to report
to the Henlein Party headquarters upon his arrival in Prague. Clas,
_alias_ Voigt, arrived October 23, 1937, reported at the Sudeten Party
headquarters and saw a man whom I was unable to identify. He was
instructed to report again four days later, since information about
the agent had not yet arrived.
Voigt was trained in the Gestapo espionage schools in Potsdam and
Calmuth-Remagen. He operates directly under Wilhelm May whose
headquarters are in Dresden. May is in charge of Gestapo work over
Sector No. 2. Preceding the granting to Hitler of the Sudeten areas in
Czechoslovakia, the entire Czech border espionage and terrorist
activity was divided into sectors. At this writing the same sector
divisions still exist, operating now across the new frontiers. Sector
No. 1 embraces Silesia with headquarters at Breslau; No. 2, Saxony,
with headquarters at Dresden; and No. 3, Bavaria, with headquarters at
Munich. After the annexation of Austria, Sector No. 4 was added,
commanded by Gestapo Chief Scheffler whose headquarters are in Berlin
with a branch in Vienna. Sector No. 4 also directs _Standarte II_
which stands ready to provide incidents to justify German invasion
"because the situation has got out of control of the local
authorities."
Another way in which immigration authorities, especially in countries
surrounding Germany, can detect Gestapo agents is by the position of
stamps on the German passport. Stamps are placed, in accordance with
German law, directly under the spot provided for them on the passport
on the front page, upper right hand corner. Whenever the stamps are on
the cover facing the passport title page, it is a sign to Gestapo
representatives and Consulates that the bearer is an agent who crossed
the border hurriedly without time to get the regular numbers and
letters from Gestapo headquarters. The agent is given this means of
temporary identification by the border Gestapo chief.
Also, whenever immigration authorities find a German passport issued
to the bearer for less than five years and then extended to the
regulation five-year period, they may be certain that the bearer is a
new Gestapo agent who is being tested by controlled movements in a
foreign country. For his first Gestapo mission in Holland, for
instance, Voigt was given a passport August 15, 1936, good for only
fourteen days. His chief was not sure whether or not Voigt had agreed
to become an agent just to get a passport and money to escape the
country; so his passport period was limited.
When the fourteen-day period expired, Voigt would have to report to
the Nazi Consulate for a renewal. In this particular instance, the
passport was marked "Non-renewable Except by Special Permission of the
Chief of Dresden Police." When Voigt performed his Holland mission
successfully, he was given the usual five-year passport.
Any German whose passport shows a given limited time, which has been
subsequently extended, gives proof that he has been tested and found
satisfactory by the Gestapo.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Frau Suchy was one of the most active members of Konrad Henlein's
_Deutscher Volksbund_, a propaganda and espionage organization
masquerading as a "cultural" body in the Sudeten area. She is today a
leading official in the new German Sudetenland.
[3] The Rev. Smith returned to England when he learned that the
Czechoslovakian secret police were watching him. At the present writing
he had not returned to his church in Prague.
II
_England's Cliveden Set_
The work of foreign agents does not necessarily involve the securing
of military and naval secrets. Information of all kinds is important
to an aggressor planning an invasion or estimating a potential enemy's
strength and morale; and often a diplomatic secret is worth far more
than the choicest blueprint of a carefully guarded military device.
There are persons whom money, social position, political promises or
glory cannot interest in following a policy of benefit to a foreign
power. In such instances, however, protection of class interests
sometimes drives them to acts which can scarcely be distinguished from
those of paid foreign agents. This is especially true of those whose
financial interests are on an international scale and who consequently
think internationally.
Such class interests were involved in the betrayal of Austria to the
Nazis only a few months before aggressor nations were invited to cut
themselves a slice of Czechoslovakia; and it will probably never be
known just how much the Nazis' Fifth Column, working in dinner jackets
and evening gowns, influenced the powerful personages involved to
chart a course which sacrificed a nation and a people and which
foretold the Munich "peace" pact.
The story begins when Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of England,
accepted an invitation to spend the week-end of March 26-27, 1938, at
Cliveden, Lord and Lady Astor's country estate at Taplow,
Buckinghamshire, in the beautiful Thames Valley. When the Prime
Minister and his wife arrived at the huge Georgian house rising out of
a fairyland of gardens and forests with the placid river for a
background, the other guests who had already arrived and their hosts
were under the horseshoe stone staircase to receive them.
The small but carefully selected group of guests had been invited "to
play charades" over the week-end--a game in which the participants
form opposing sides and act a certain part while the opponents try to
guess what they are portraying. Every man invited held a strategic
position in the British government, and it was during this "charades
party" week-end that they secretly charted a course of British policy
which will affect not only the fate of the British Empire but the
course of world events and the lives of countless millions of people
for years to come.
This course, which indirectly menaces the peace and security of the
United States, deliberately launched England on a series of maneuvers
which made Hitler stronger and will inevitably lead Great Britain on
the road to fascism. The British Parliament and the British people do
not know of these decisions, some of which the Chamberlain government
has already carried out.
And without a knowledge of what happened during the talks in those
historic two days and what preceded them, the world can only puzzle
over an almost incomprehensible British foreign policy.
Present at this week-end gathering, besides the Astors and the Prime
Minister and his wife, were the following:
Sir Thomas Inskip, Minister for Defense.
Sir Alexander Cadogan, who replaced Sir Robert Vansittart as adviser
to the British Cabinet and who acts in a supervisory capacity over
the extraordinarily powerful British Intelligence Service.
Geoffrey Dawson, editor of the London _Times_.
Lord Lothian, Governor of the National Bank of Scotland, a determined
advocate of refusing arms to the Spanish democratic government while
Hitler and Mussolini supplied Franco with them.
Tom Jones, adviser to former Premier Baldwin.
The Right Honorable E.A. Fitzroy, Speaker of the House of Commons.
The Baroness Mary Ravensdale, sister-in-law of Sir Oswald Mosley,
leader of the British fascist movement.
To understand the amazing game played by the Cliveden house guests, in
which nations and peoples have already been shuffled about as pawns,
one must remember that powerful German industrialists and financiers
like the Krupps and the Thyssens supported Hitler primarily in order
to crush the German trade-union and political movements which were in
the late 1920's threatening their wealth and power.
The Astors are part of the same family in the United States. Lady
Nancy Astor, born in Virginia, married into one of the richest
families in England. Her interests and the interests of Viscount
Astor, her husband, stretch into banking, railroads, life insurance
and journalism. Half a dozen members of the family are in Parliament:
Lady Astor, her husband, their son, in the House of Commons; and two
relatives in the House of Lords. The Astor family controls two of the
most powerful and influential newspapers in the world, the London
_Times_ and the London _Observer_. In the past these papers, whose
influence cannot be exaggerated, have been strong enough to make and
break Prime Ministers.
Cliveden House, ruled by the intensely energetic and ambitious
American-born woman, had already left its mark upon current history
following other week-end parties. Lady Astor and her coterie had been
playing a more or less minor role in the affairs of the largest empire
in the world, but decisions recently reached at her week-end parties
have already changed the map of Europe, after almost incredible
intrigues, betrayals and double-crossings, carried through with the
ruthlessness of a conquering Caesar and the boundless ambitions of a
Napoleon.
The week-ends at Cliveden House which culminated in the historic one
of March 26-27, began in the fall of 1937. Lady Astor had been having
teas with Lady Ravensdale and had entertained von Ribbentrop, Nazi
Ambassador to Great Britain, at her town house. Gradually the
Astor-controlled London _Times_ assumed a pro-Nazi bias on its very
influential editorial page. When the _Times_ wants to launch a
campaign, its custom is to run a series of letters in its famous
correspondence columns and then an editorial advocating the policy
decided upon. During October, 1937, the _Times_ sprouted letters
regarding Hitler's claims for the return of the colonies taken from
Germany after the war.
Rather than have Germany attack her, England preferred to see Hitler
turn his eyes to the fertile Ukrainian wheat fields of the Soviet
Union. It meant war, but that war seemed inevitable. If Russia won,
England and her economic royalists would be faced with "the menace of
communism." But if Germany won, she would expand eastward and,
exhausted by the war, would be in no condition to make demands upon
England. The part Great Britain's economic royalists had to play,
then, was to strengthen Germany in her preparations for the coming war
with Russia and at the same time prepare herself to fight if her
calculations went wrong.
Cabinet ministers Lord Hailsham (sugar and insurance interests), Lord
Swinton (railroads, power, with subsidiaries in Germany, Italy, etc.),
Sir Samuel Hoare (real estate, insurance, etc.), were felt out and
thought it was a good idea. Chamberlain himself had a hefty interest
(around twelve thousand shares) in Imperial Chemical Industries,
affiliated with _I.G. Farbenindustrie_, the German dye trust which is
very actively supplying Hitler with war materials. The difficulty was
Anthony Eden, British Foreign Minister, who was opposed to fascist
aggressions because he feared they would eventually threaten the
British Empire. Eden would certainly not approve of strengthening
fascist countries and encouraging them to still greater aggressions.
At one of the carefully selected little parties the Astors invited
Eden. In the small drawing room banked with flowers the idea was
broached about sending an emissary to talk the matter over with
Hitler--some genial, inoffensive person like Lord Halifax (huge land
interests) for instance. Eden understood why the _Times_ had suddenly
raised the issue of the lost German colonies to an extent greater even
than Hitler himself, and Eden emphatically expressed his disapproval.
Such a step, he insisted, would encourage both Germany and Italy to
further aggressions which would ultimately wreck the British Empire.
Nevertheless, the cabinet ministers who had been consulted brought
pressure upon Chamberlain and while the Foreign Secretary was in
Brussels on a state matter, the Prime Minister announced that Halifax
would visit the Fuehrer. Eden was furious and after a stormy session
tendered his resignation. At that period, however, Eden's resignation
might have thrown England into a turmoil--so Chamberlain mollified
him. Public sympathy was with Eden and before he was eased out, the
country had to be prepared for it.
In the quiet and subdued atmosphere of the diplomats' drawing rooms in
London they tell, with many a chuckle, how Lord Halifax, his bowler
firmly on his head, was sent to Berlin and Berchtesgaden in
mid-November, 1937, with instructions not to get into any arguments.
Lord Halifax, in the mellow judgment of his close friends, is one of
the most amiable and charming of the British peers, earnest, well
meaning and--not particularly bright.
In Berlin Halifax met Goering, attired for the occasion in a new and
bewilderingly gaudy uniform. In the course of their conversation
Goering, resting his hands on his enormous paunch, said:
"The world cannot stand still. World conditions cannot be frozen just
as they are forever. The world is subject to change."
"Of course not," Lord Halifax agreed amiably. "It's absurd to think
that anything can be frozen and no changes made."
"Germany cannot stand still," Goering continued. "Germany must expand.
She must have Austria, Czechoslovakia and other countries--she must
have oil--"
Now this was a point for argument but the Messenger Extraordinary had
been instructed not to get into any arguments; so he nodded and in his
best pacifying tone murmured, "Naturally. No one expects Germany to
stand still if she must expand."
After Austria was invaded and Halifax was asked by his close friends
what he had cooked up over there, he told the above story, expressing
the fear that his conversation was probably misunderstood by Goering,
the latter taking his amiability to mean that Great Britain approved
Germany's plans to swallow Austria. The French Intelligence Service,
however, has a different version, most of it collected during
February, 1938, which, in the light of subsequent events, seems far
more accurate.
Lord Halifax, these secret-service reports state, pledged England to a
hands-off policy on Hitler's ambitions in Central Europe if Germany
would not raise the question of the return of the colonies for six
years. Within that period England estimated that Hitler would have
expanded, strengthened his war machine and fought the Soviet Union to
a victorious conclusion.
Late in January 1938, Lord and Lady Astor invited some guests for a
week-end at Cliveden. The Prime Minister of England came and so did
Lord Halifax, Lord Lothian, Tom Jones and J.L. Garvin, editor of the
Astor-controlled London _Observer_. When Chamberlain returned to
London, he asked Eden to open negotiations with Italy to secure a
promise to stop killing British sailors and sinking British merchant
vessels in the Mediterranean. During this time the British Foreign
Office was issuing statements that Mussolini was "cooperating" in the
hunt for the "unidentified" pirates.
British opinion, roused by the sinking of English ships, might hamper
deals with the fascist leaders if such attacks were not ended. In
return for the cessation of the piratical attacks, Chamberlain was
ready to offer recognition of Abyssinia and even loans to Italy to
develop her captured territory. It was paying tribute to a pirate
chieftain, but Chamberlain was ready to do it to quiet opposition at
home to the sinking of British vessels and to give him time in which
to develop his policy.
Eden, who had fought for sanctions against the aggressor when
Abyssinia was invaded, obeyed orders but insisted that Italy must
first get her soldiers out of Spain. He did not want Mussolini to get
a stranglehold upon Gibraltar, one of the strategic life lines of the
British Empire. Mussolini refused and told the British Ambassador in
Rome that he and Great Britain would never to able to get together
because Eden insisted on the withdrawal of Italian troops from Spain,
and that it might help if a different Foreign Secretary were
appointed. Hitler, working closely with Mussolini in the Rome-Berlin
axis, also began to press for a different Foreign Secretary but went
Mussolini one better. Von Ribbentrop informed Chamberlain that Der
Fuehrer was displeased with the English press attacks upon him, Nazis
and Nazi aggressions. Der Fuehrer wanted that stopped.
The Foreign Office of the once proud and still biggest empire in the
world promptly sent notes to the newspapers in Fleet Street
requesting that stories about Nazis and Hitler be toned down "to aid
the government," and most of the once proud and independent British
newspapers established a "voluntary censorship" at what amounted to an
order from Hitler relayed through England's Foreign Office. The
explanation the newspapers gave to their staffs was that the world
situation was too critical to refuse the government's request and,
besides that refusal would probably mean losing routine Foreign Office
and other government department news sources. The more than average
British citizen doesn't know even today how his government and
"independent" press took orders from Hitler.
In the latter part of January, 1938, the French Intelligence Service,
still not knowing of the secret deal Halifax had made, learned that
Hitler intended to invade Austria late in February and that
simultaneously both Italy and Germany, instead of withdrawing troops
as they had said they would, planned to intensify their offensive in
Spain. When the French Intelligence learned of it, M. Delbos, then
French Foreign Minister, and Eden were in Geneva attending a meeting
of the Council of the League. Delbos excitedly informed Eden who,
never dreaming that Great Britain had not only agreed to sacrifice
Austria and betray France but was also double-crossing her own Foreign
Minister, telephoned Chamberlain from Geneva.
The Prime Minister listened attentively, thanked him dryly, hung up,
and promptly telephoned Sir Eric Phipps, British Ambassador to France.
Sir Eric was instructed to get hold of M. Chautemps, the French
Premier at the time, and ask that Chautemps instruct Delbos to stop
frightening the British Foreign Secretary. But all during February the
French Intelligence kept getting more information about the planned
invasion of Austria and the proposed intensified offensive in Spain,
and relayed it to England with insistent suggestions for joint
precautions. Eden in turn relayed it to Chamberlain who always thanked
him.
The date set for the invasion was approaching but Eden was still in
office and Hitler began to fear that perhaps "perfidious Albion" with
all her overtures of friendship might really be double-crossing
Germany. If England could send a special emissary to offer to sell out
Austria and double-cross her ally France, she might be quite capable
of tricking Germany. Simultaneously the Gestapo stumbled upon
information that the British Intelligence had reached into the top
ranks of the German Army and was working with high officers. Hitler,
not knowing how far the British Intelligence had penetrated, shook up
his cabinet, made Ribbentrop Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and
prepared for war in the event that England was leading him into a
trap.
There are records in the British Foreign Office which show that
Hitler, before invading Austria, tested England to be sure he wasn't
being led into a trap. Von Ribbentrop informed Eden and Chamberlain
that Hitler intended to summon Schuschnigg, the Austrian Chancellor,
and demand that Austria rearrange her cabinet, take in Dr.
Seyss-Inquart and release imprisoned Nazis. Hitler knew that
Schuschnigg would immediately rush to England and France for aid. If
they turned Austria down it was safe to proceed with the invasion.
The British Foreign Office records show that Schuschnigg did rush to
England and France for support, that France was ready to give it, but
that England refused, thereby forcing France to keep out of it.
While these frantic maneuvers were going on, the Astor-controlled
_Times_ and _Observer_, the Nazi and the Italian press simultaneously
started a campaign against Eden. The date set for the sacrifice of
Austria was approaching and Eden had to go or it might fail. The
public, however, was with Eden; so another kind of attack was
launched. Stories began to appear about the Foreign Secretary's
health. There were sighs, long faces, sad regrets, but Eden stuck to
his post in the hope that he could do something. On February 19,
Hitler, tired of waiting, bluntly demanded that he be removed, and
with the newspaper campaign in full swing, Chamberlain "in response to
public opinion" removed him the very next day.
The amiable Lord Halifax was appointed Foreign Secretary. Pro-fascists
like A.L. Lennon-Boyd, stanch supporter of Franco and admirer of
Hitler and Mussolini, were given ministerial posts.
The Austrian invasion was delayed for three weeks because of the
difficulty in getting Eden out. When the news flashed to a startled
world that Nazi troops were thundering into a country whose
independence Hitler had promised to respect, M. Corbin, the still
unsuspecting French Ambassador, rushed to the Foreign Office to
arrange for swift joint action. This was at four o'clock in the
afternoon of March 11, 1938. Instead of receiving him immediately,
Lord Halifax kept him waiting until nine o'clock in the evening. By
that time Austria was Nazi territory. There was nothing to do but
protest; so Lord Halifax, with a straight face, joined France in a
"strong protest." It was not until a week after Austria had been
absorbed that the French Intelligence Service learned the details of
the Halifax deal and finally understood why England had side-stepped
the pleas for joint action and why the French Ambassador had been kept
cooling his heels until the occupation of Austria was completed.
From Austria Hitler got more men for his army, large deposits of
magnesite, timber forests and enormous water-power resources for
electricity. From Czechoslovakia, if he could get it, Hitler would
have the Skoda armament works, one of the biggest in the world,
factories in the Sudeten area, be next door to Hungarian wheat and
Rumanian oil, dominate the Balkans, destroy potential Russian air and
troop bases in Central Europe, and place Nazi troops within a few
miles of the Soviet border and the Ukrainian wheat fields he has eyed
so long.
Five days after Austria was invaded, on March 16, at 3:30 in the
afternoon, Lord Halifax personally summoned the Czechoslovakian
Minister. At four o'clock the Minister came out of the conference with
a dazed and bewildered air. Lord Halifax had made some "suggestions."
Revealing complete ignorance of what had happened and was happening in
Czechoslovakian politics, Halifax was nevertheless laying down the
law.
It was obvious that the British Foreign Secretary was getting orders
from someone else, for Halifax suggested that the Central European
Republic try to conciliate Germany (which it had been doing for
months) and that a German be taken into the cabinet (there were
already three in it). On March 22 there was another meeting at which
the Minister learned that Halifax wanted the Czech Government to take
a Nazi into the cabinet--as Austria took Dr. Seyss-Inquart at Hitler's
orders.
This pressure from England for Czechoslovakian Nazis to be given more
power in the government was virtually telling the beleaguered little
democracy to fashion a strong rope and hang itself. Subsequent events
showed that Chamberlain personally supplied the rope.
Then came the historic week-end of March 26-27, 1938.
The walls of the small drawing room at Cliveden House are lined with
shelves filled with books. The laughing and chatting guests had
gathered there after a delightful dinner. For the Prime Minister of
England to go through all sorts of contortions in a game of charades
might prove a trifle undignified; so the hostess suggested that they
play "musical chairs."
Everyone thought it was a splendid idea and men servants in their
impressive blue liveries arranged the chairs in the required order,
carefully spacing the distances between them. One of the laughing and
bejeweled women took her place at the piano. In "musical chairs" there
is one person more than the number of chairs. When the music starts
the players march around the chairs. The moment the music stops
everyone dives for the nearest chair leaving the extra person standing
and subject to the hilarious jibes of the other players and those
rooting from the bleachers. It's one of the ways statesmen relax.
The music started and the dour Prime Minister of the greatest empire
in the world, the Minister in charge of the Empire's defense measures,
the editor of England's most powerful newspaper, the Right Honorable
Speaker of the House of Commons, the sister-in-law of England's
leading fascist and several others started marching while the piano
tinkled its challenging tune. The Prime Minister, perhaps because he
is essentially conservative, marched cautiously and stepped quickly
between the spaces while Lady Astor eyed him shrewdly and the others
suppressed giggles. The Prime Minister tried to maintain at least the
dignity of his banking background but managed "to look only a little
porky" as one expressed it afterward. Suddenly the music stopped.
Everyone lunged for the nearest chair. The Prime Minister managed to
get one and plopped into it heavily.
After half an hour or so some of the strategic rulers of Great Britain
got a little winded and quit. A conversation started on foreign
affairs and most of the wives retired to another room. When the
discussion was ended the little Cliveden house party had come to six
major decisions which will change the face of the world if
successfully carried through.
Those decisions (maneuvers to put some of them into effect have
already begun) are:
1. To inform France that England will go to her aid if she is
attacked, unless the attack results from a treaty obligation with
another power.
2. To introduce peace time conscription in England.
3. To appoint three ministers to coordinate industrial defense
(conscription in peace time); supervise military conscription; and,
coordinate the "political education of the people" (propaganda).
4. To reach an agreement with Italy to preserve the legitimate
interest of both countries in the Mediterranean.
5. To discuss mutual problems with Germany.
6. To express the hope to Germany that her methods of self-assertion
be such as will not hinder mutual discussions by arousing British
public opinion against her.
The two most important decisions in this plan are the one for the
conscription of labor in peace time and the effort to force France to
break the Franco-Soviet pact by choosing between England and Russia.
Consider conscription first and the motives behind it:
When any country whose workers are strongly organized starts veering
towards fascism, it must either win over the trade-unions in one way
or another or destroy them, for rebellious labor can prevent fascism
by means of the general strike. British labor is known to hate fascism
since it has learned that fascism destroys, among other things, the
value of the trade-unions and all that they have gained after many
years of struggle. Any veering by England toward fascism and fascist
alliances spells trouble with the trade-unions; hence, the decision
"to coordinate the political education of the people." This move is
particularly necessary since some trade-union leaders, especially in
the important armament industry, have already stated publicly that
unless the workers were given assurances that the arms labor was
manufacturing would be used in defense of democracy and not to destroy
it, they would not cooperate.
Hence "the education of the people" and the conscription of labor in
peace time which would ultimately lead to government control over the
unions. With some variations it is the same procedure followed by
Hitler in getting control of the once extremely powerful German
trade-unions.
A few days after this historic week-end, the _Times_ came out for
"national organization" and the wisdom of "national registration."
National registration, as the history of fascist countries has shown,
is the first step in the conscription of labor. With this opening gun
having been fired, it is a safe prophecy that if the Chamberlain
government remains in office British labor will witness one of the
most determined attacks ever made upon it in its history. All
indications point to the ground being laid and it may result in
splitting the trade-union movement, for some of the leaders are
willing to go with the government while others have already indicated
that they will refuse unless they know that it's for democracy and not
for fascism.
The second important decision is to exert pressure upon France to
break her pact with the Soviet Union--something Hitler has been
unsuccessfully trying to accomplish for a long time. At the moment it
appears that Great Britain will succeed just as she has already
succeeded in breaking the Czechoslovakian-Soviet pact--another rupture
Hitler was determined upon.
England has a reputation for shrewd diplomacy. In the past she has
used nations and peoples, played one against the other, betrayed,
sacrificed, double-crossed in the march of her empire. Since the
Cliveden week-end, however, with its resultant intrigues, England has,
to all appearances, finally double-crossed herself.
Those who guide her destiny and the destinies of her millions of
subjects have apparently come to the conclusion that democracy, as
England has known it, cannot survive and that it is a choice between
fascism and communism. Under communism, the ruling class to which the
Cliveden week-end guests belong, stand to lose their wealth and power.
It is the fatuous hope of the economic royalists that under fascism
they will still sit on top of the roost, and so the Cliveden
week-enders move toward fascism.
Hitler's Fifth Column finds strange allies.
III
_France's Secret Fascist Army_