REUTER: Yes.
M. FAURE: You are President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg?
REUTER: Yes.
M. FAURE: You had been exercising these functions at the time of the
invasion of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by the German troops?
REUTER: Yes.
M. FAURE: Can you give us any indication on the fact that the Government
of the Reich had, a few days before the invasion of Luxembourg, given to
the Government of the Grand Duchy assurances of their peaceful
intentions?
REUTER: In August 1939 the German Minister for Luxembourg gave to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country a statement according to
which the German Reich, in the event of a European war, would respect
the independence and neutrality of the country, provided that Luxembourg
would not violate its own neutrality. A few days before the invasion, in
May 1940, the Germans constructed pontoon bridges over half of the
Moselle River which separates the two countries. An explanation from the
German Minister in Luxembourg represented such construction of pontoon
bridges as landing stages in the interest of navigation. In the general
public opinion of the country, these installations were really of a
military character.
M. FAURE: Can you tell us about the situation of public authorities in
Luxembourg following the departure of Her Royal Highness, the Grand
Duchess, and of her government?
REUTER: The continuity of administration in the country was assured by a
government commission which possessed the necessary powers bestowed upon
it by the competent constitutional authorities. There was, therefore, no
lack of authority in the administration.
M. FAURE: Is it not true, however, that the Germans claimed, upon their
arrival in that country, that the government had failed to carry out its
functions; and, following the departure of the government, that there
was no regular authority in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?
REUTER: Yes, such declaration was made by the Ministers of the Reich in
Luxembourg before a Parliamentary Commission.
M. FAURE: Do I understand correctly that these statements on the part of
the German authorities did not in fact correspond to the truth inasmuch
as you have told us that there did exist a higher organism for the
administration of the country?
REUTER: This statement did not correspond to the reality. It was
obviously aimed at usurping authority.
M. FAURE: M. Reuter, the Germans never proclaimed by law the annexation
of Luxembourg. Do you consider that the measures adopted by the Germans
in that country were equivalent to annexation?
REUTER: The measures that were taken by the Germans in the Grand Duchy
were obviously equivalent to a _de facto_ annexation of that country.
Shortly after the invasion the leaders of the Reich in Luxembourg stated
in public and official speeches that the annexation by law would occur
at a time which would be freely selected by the Führer. The proof of
this _de facto_ annexation is shown in a clear manner by the whole
series of ordinances which the Germans published in the Grand Duchy.
M. FAURE: The Germans organized an operation which was called a census
in Luxembourg. In the form that was given the inhabitants of Luxembourg
to effect the census, there was one question concerning the native or
usual language and another question as to the racial background of the
individual. Are you prepared to assert that in view of these two
questions this census was considered as having the character of a
plebiscite, a political character?
REUTER: From the menacing instructions published by the German
authorities in connection with this census, the political purpose was
obvious; therefore public opinion never envisaged this census except as
a sort of attempt to achieve a plebiscite camouflaged as a census, a
political operation destined to give a certain justification to the
annexation which was to follow.
M. FAURE: The report of the Luxembourg Government does not give any
indication of the statistical results of this census, specifically with
regard to the political question of which I spoke a moment ago. Would
you be kind enough to tell us why these statistical data are not to be
found in any document?
REUTER: The complete statistical data have never been collected because
after a partial examination of the first results the German authorities
noted that only an infinitesimal fraction of the population had answered
the two tricky questions in the German sense. The German authorities
then preferred to stop the operation, and the forms distributed in the
country for obtaining the answers were never collected.