Page 133 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

120 The French Diplomats

too soon for France to be sure about Hitler’s course in foreign affairs. He
again advocated a “wait and see” approach by his government. 53
it did not take long for Hitler to make a move that undermined the
ambassador’s advice. On March 16, François-Poncet received a call from
the chancellor’s office inviting him to a meeting with Hitler, who showed
his guest the text of a new law establishing obligatory military service in
Germany and increasing the size of the army to twelve corps and thirty-six
divisions. Hitler asserted that Germany had the right to enlarge its army
and again vowed not to attack any other country. He also repeated his dis-
avowal of any thought of German hegemony in europe. François-Poncet
responded that as the representative of a country that had signed the treaty
of Versailles he felt obliged to register a protest against Germany’s new law;
and he made a point of stressing that over the preceding two years France
had not increased the size of its military forces. Hitler’s reply was brief and,
at least on the surface, reasonable: he declared that he was always ready to
debate this issue. as was true of his previous meetings with Hitler, Fran-
çois-Poncet did not detect any aberrant behavior on the chancellor’s part. 54
But when two senior British officials were reported to have made fa-
vorable comments about the Führer, François-Poncet, always suspicious of
Britain’s intentions in foreign affairs, exploded. the outburst had its origins
in a visit that sir John simon, the foreign minister, and his subordinate
anthony eden had paid to Germany, during which they met Hitler pri-
vately on March 24, 1935. the Führer’s lieutenants quickly spread the word
that the British guests had been impressed by their host as an “absolutely
candid” leader who delivered his arguments forcefully and persuasively.
and the two Britons had found Hitler to be altogether reasonable. sir
John had never challenged him and left the meeting convinced that the
chancellor was “an honorable and serious partner” in tackling international
issues. in a private conversation, the British ambassador, sir eric Phipps,
gave François-Poncet the impression that Hitler’s subordinates were not
“absolutely” wrong in making these claims. as related by François-Poncet,
rather than being a dictator who ordered the decapitation of women and
the shooting of his friends, Hitler had struck simon as “well brought up
and amiable[; he] spoke on all matters thoughtfully [and] was capable of
arguing with shrewdness.” Phipps also confirmed that simon was so im-
pressed by Hitler that in the future the foreign minister would not favor
any new european international arrangements that were concluded with-
out Germany’s participation. 55

On the visit to Hitler by simon and eden, see also above, pp. 60–61.