Page 123 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

110 The French Diplomats

statesmanship, that he would resist becoming intoxicated by his victory,
and that he would avoid extremist goals. although the ambassador thought
that Hitler might adopt such a position, he was not sure that the Führer’s
supporters would follow him on the path of moderation. after noting the
danger of an “inflamed Hitlerism” that would cast aside restraint, press for
revision of the treaty of Versailles, and step up rearmament, François-Pon-
cet returned to his previous disdain for Nazism: “the Hitler movement,
installed in the heart of europe, constitutes an immense peril. it rests on
an ideology inflated with fanaticism and violence. in what direction will its
dynamism finally move? What prize will it pounce on? there is no infallible
means of measuring the sincerity of Hitler; but there are a thousand reasons
to attribute to him and his regime hidden and alarming motives.” Or, as he
put it nine days later, the Nazi leaders were “above all, mystics of a political
doctrine. they are inspired by the ideas of race, authority, and morality.”
François-Poncet found some solace in the fact that the Nazis still lacked a
practical program, especially in the critical field of the national economy. as
if to reassure Paris that he had not lost his way, the ambassador told Paul-
Boncour that he was not under any illusion about Hitler’s aims, and he
advised the foreign minister that to frustrate the Führer’s aggressive moves
France would have to be “firm, flexible as well as smart.” 31
On November 24 and december 11, François-Poncet again met Hitler.
and once again the ambassador noted that Hitler was “amiable and cor-
dial” during most of the first meeting, although he began the conversa-
tion with a vehement protest against the charge in the French journal Petit
parisien that he and all his supporters were “impostors.” Judging from the
ambassador’s initial account, it was a strong but short protest. Five days
later, however, François-Poncet elaborated on Hitler’s outburst, calling it “a
veritable explosion” of “venom” and “indignation.” the ambassador tried
to reassure Hitler that the editors of the French journal were serious people
and that they must have seen some documents on the Nazi leaders that they
believed to be authentic. Unwilling to tolerate any criticism, the Führer
made it clear that he was not mollified.
eventually, François-Poncet steered the conversation to a more serious
subject, German plans to rearm. He referred to recent statements by lead-
ing Nazis that focused on “honor” and “equality of rights,” which suggested
that they were committed to increasing expenditures on the military. Hitler
tried to deflect the charge by emphasizing his “horror of war” and by sug-
gesting that all the great powers immediately launch a program of sub-
stantial disarmament. if they agreed, Germany would not demand permis-