A World at Arms (195 page)

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Authors: Gerhard L. Weinberg

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8
Especially important is the section by Jürgen Forster in DRuZW, 4, and the book by Helmut Krausnick and Hans-Heinrich Wilhelm,
Die Truppe des Weltanschauungskrieges: Die Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD, 1938–1942
(Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1981). The intention to wage the war in the East in an exceptionally brutal fashion was known to the German general in Croatia by May 5, 1941; see Peter Broucek (ed.),
Ein General im Zwielicht
, 3: 108.

9
See the entry for 5 June 1941 in the von Bock diary, BA/MA, N 22/1, f. 21.

10
An important survey in Rohwer and Jäckel,
Der Mord
; a recent analysis in Breitman,
Architect of Genocide
.

11
Krausnick and Wilhelm,
Truppe des Weltanschauungskrieges
, Part I, chaps. 1 and 2.

12
Ibid., chap. 3; also Streit,
Keine Kameraden
, chap. 3.

13
This is made particularly clear by Andreas Hillgruber in “Die ‘Endlösung’ und das deutsche Ostimperium als Kernstück des rassenideologischen Programms des Nationalsozialismus,” reprinted in his collection,
Deutsche Grossmacht–und Weltpolitik im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert
(Düsseldorf: Droste, 1977), pp. 252–75.

14
A preliminary survey in Weinberg,
Germany and the Soviet Union
, p. 122; more details in Salewski,
Seekriegsleitung
1. See also KTB Skl A 16, 29 Dec. 1940, BA/MA, RM 7/19, f. 232–40. Jod I’s 3 Dec. 1940 memorandum placing the offensive against England at the top of the priority list, with the defense against England second and the attack on the Soviet Union third, reflects his assessment of the relative
difficulty
of these operations, not their
desirability
; see
DRuZW
, 4: 177–78.

15
DRuZW
, 4: 283–84,

16
Schwerin von Krosigk to Goring, 19 April 1941, BA, R 2/24243.

17
See esp.
VjZ
23 (1975),333–40; see also Oron J. Hale Interrogation of Kostring, 30–31 Aug. 1945, U.S. Army Center for Military History files.

18
ADAP
,
D, 12, No. 423; Hewel Diary, 28 Apr. 1941, Institut für Zeitgeschichte.

19
ADAP
, D, 12, No. 419.

20
See the diary of Hamburg’s Lord Mayor Carl Vincent Krogmann for 26 May 1941, in Hamburg, Forschungsstelle fur die Geschichte des Nationalsozialismus in Hamburg, 11k9.

21
Weinberg,
Germany and the Soviet Union
, pp. 118–19; in more detail,
DRuZW
, 4: 168–89, 259–72, 5/1: 488ff, 786ff, 833ff.

22
Best survey in
DRuZW
, 4: 277–86, 299–317; a good analysis and useful statistics in Murray,
Luftwaffe
, pp. 59, 83–84.

23
Note the quotation from the Goebbels diary in
DRuZW
, 4: 317. See also Hinsley,
British Intelligence
, 2: 193.

24
DRuZW
, 4: 98–161.

25
See
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 651 n 6; numerous documents in AA, St.S., “Japan,” Bd. 2 and 3.

26
Ueberschär,
Hitler und Finnland
, pp. 210–13;
DRuZW
, 4: 876.

27
Ueberschär, pp. 221–25; Weizsäcker to Ribbentrop, “St.S. No. 812," of 2 Nov. 1940 enclosing a memorandum by Blücher of 1 Nov. 1940, AA, St.S., “Aufzeichnungen über interne Angelegenheiten," Bd. 2, fr. 235330–32.

28
KTB Halder
, 16 Dec. 1940 (
also
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 54); Weinberg,
Germany and the Soviet Union
, pp. 149–50;
ADAP
, D, 11, p. 1024.

29
This was especially obvious in the German attitude toward the Finnish-Soviet negotiations about the nickel concession at Petsamo, see Krosby,
Petsamo Dispute.

30
DRuZW
, 4: map 24; Hewel Diary, 15 May 1941, Institut für Zeitgeschichte. The Finns provided the Germans with a list of demands to be made of Russia if there were a negotiated settlement but were informed that there would be a military, not a diplomatic solution (
ADAP
, D, 12, No. 592).

31
Lutzhöft,
Deutsche Militärpolitik
, pp. 109–21, 160–63;
DRuZW
, 4: 41. For Swedish insistence on a form of neutrality, see Helsinki No. 321 of 10 May 1941, AA, Gesandtschaft Helsinki, “Berichte 251–550," fr. H 067181. Had Sweden been willing to join in fully, Hitler was prepared to take the Aland Islands from Finland and give them to Sweden (
KTB OKW
, 1: 229;
DRuZW
, 4: 408).

32
The conflict in Romanian internal affairs in January 1941, discussed below, led to the abandonment of initial plans for a major offensive into the Ukraine from Romania; see Jürgen Forster, “Rumaniens Weg in die deutsche Abhangigkeit,”
MGM
25 (1979),67.

33
Beauftragte für den Vierjahresplan, “Ergebnisse der Vierjahresplan-Arbeit, ein Kurzbericht nach dem Stande vom Frühjahr 1942,” BA, R 261/18, f. 33.

34
KTB OKW
, 1:227; Fröhlich,
Goebbels Tagebucher
, 26 Nov. 1940, 4:41; Gyorgy Ranki, “Hitlers Verhandlungen mit osteuropaischen Staatsmannern, 1939–1944,” in Klaus Hildebrand and Reiner Pommerin (eds.),
Deutsche Frage und europäisches Gleichgewicht
, (Cologne: Böhlau, 1985), pp. 195–228. See also Weizsacker to Heydrich, 30 Mar. 1941, AA, S1.S., “Politischer Schriftwechsel," Bd. 6, fr. 331594.

35
See, e.g.,
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 381, 389, 12, No. 614. Antonescu also lectured Mussolini (Fabricius tel. 2131 of 18 Nov. 1940, AA, U.St.S., “Südosten,” Bd. 4, fr. 177247–48; Ciano,
Diary
, 14 Nov. 1940).

36
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 17, 19,21,652,691,696,699,700,705,706,709,715, 12, No. 94; Hillgruber,
Hitler, Kijnig Carol
, pp. 119ff; Welles to FDR with enclosure, 1 Feb. 1941, FDRL, PSF Box 96, State, Welles, Jan.-May 1941; Forster, “Rumaniens Weg," pp. 6366; Clodius to Ribbentrop, 18 Nov. 1940, AA, U.S1.5., “Südosten," Bd. 4, fr. 17725157; Armin Heinen,
Die Legion “Erzengel Michael" und Rumänien
(Munich: Oldenbourg, 1986), pp. 242–53; General Hansen’s account in Institut für Zeitgeschichte, ZS 1130;
and notes by a German correspondent in Bucharest, in BA, Brammer, ZSg 101/38, f. 13 1–67. Carol had abdicated in favor of his son Michael on Sept. 5, 1940.

37
See
ADAP
,
D 12, Nos. 387, 398. Nothing was spelled out to Antonescu before the attack on the Soviet Union, but as in the case of Finland, restoration of the territory recently lost to the Soviet Union plus a bonus on the other side of the old border was anticipated.

38
Useful surveys of Turkish policy are Önder,
Türkische Aussenpolitik;
Krecker, Diringil,
Turkish Foreign Policy;
and, in spite of some serious defects, Weber,
Evasive Neutral.
See also Weizsäcker’s memorandum, “St.S., Nr. 109,” 12 Feb. 1941, AA, St.S., “Türkei,” Bd. 2, fr. 172600–1.

39
The best account remains Toscano,
Designs in Diplomacy,
chap. 3. Some additional documents are in AA, St.S., “Italien,” Bd. 4.

40
Miklös Szinai and László Szucs (eds.), “Horthy’s Secret Correspondence with Hitler,”
New Hungarian Quarterly
4 (1963), 189–90;
ADAP
, D, 12, Nos. 43 1, 631.

41
ADAP
, D, 12, No. 511; ibid., p. 769; Oshima to Tokyo from Rome, 14 May 1941, NA, RG 457, SRDJ 11693–94.

42
Köstring to Tippelskirch, 19 Sept. 1940, BA/MA, N 123; Hermann Teske,
General Ernst Kóstring
(FrankfurtlM: Mittler, 1966), p. 272;
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 113.

43
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 1,7, 13,24.

44
On the journey of the
Komet
, code-named “Schiff 45,” see above, Chap. 3 n 164. In Aug. 1940 the navy gave up its base on the Murmansk coast since all of Norway was by then under German control.

45
German naval attache Moscow KTB, 11 Jan. 1941, BA/MA, PG 48803, fr. 38; KTB Ski A 2I, 2I May 1941, RM 7/24; Memorandum by Baumbach, 27 Jan. 1941, Case 20/3, PG 48807. The ship returned to Germany in November 1941 and was sunk with all hands in October 1942.

46
Teske, Köstring, p. 271;
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 111,128,275; KTB Skl A 13,20 Sept. 1940, BAlMA, RM 7/16, f. 269; Moscow tel. 2613 of 30 Nov. 1940, AA, St.S., “Russland,” Bd. 3, fr. 112691.

47
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 277, 539; Moscow tel. 2225 of 20 Oct. 1940, AA, St.S., “Russland," Bd. 3, fr. 112607.

48
Ettel (Teheran) to Hewel, 16 Nov. 1940, AA, Handakten Hewel, “Deutschland E-H,” fr. 371017–19; Ronald Lewin,
The American Magic: Codes, Ciphers and the Defeat oJJapan
(New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1982), p. 206.

49
Milan Hauner,
India in Axis Strategy
(Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1981 ), pp. 239–44; Weizsacker to Kabul, No. 31 of 2 Feb. 1941, AA, St.S., “England,” Bd. 4, fr. 108640, and Schulenburg No. 278 of 10 Feb., ibid., fr. 108650.

50
Kaslas, “Lithuanian Strip”;
ADAP
, D, 8, No. 376 n 5; official Soviet note of 12 Aug. 1940, in AA, Botschaft Moskau, “Pol. Beziehungen Sowjetunion-Deutschland,” Bd. 3, fr. 35776–78. It should be noted that in the fall of 1939 the Germans had asked for minor changes in the September border in Poland. The Soviets had offered some alterations; but when the Germans did not accept or answer promptly, Moscow withdrew the offer and insisted that with one minimal exception the originally agreed border be kept. The Soviets clearly wanted to avoid the uncertainties and disturbances of repeated redrawing of the lines.

51
Memorandum of Rintelen, 19 Sept. 1940, AA, St.S., “Russland,” Bd. 3, fr. 112524–25; Schulenburg tel. 1734 of 23 Aug. 1940, St.S., “Litauen,” fr. 193360, and St.S. No. 717 of 20 Sept. 1940, ibid., fr. 193361. The area contained about 1100 square miles with a population of 180,000 including eight to nine thousand Germans; see Botschaft Moskau, “Litauischer Grenzstreifen," fr. 204147–52. There is a good map in the German edition of
ADAP
, D 11, Annex V; the map in the English language edition does not distinguish the former Lithuanian territory from the former Polish territory around Suvalki and thus gives an erroneous impression.

52
ADAP
,
D, 11, Nos. 109, 176,211; see also Richthofen tel. “Pol V 3372,” 30 Oct. 1940, AA, Botschaft Ankara, “Geheime Erlasse,” Bd. 12, fr. E 028345.

53
ADAP
, D, 11, Nos. 309, 317–19. The German draft was provided to the Japanese ambassador in Berlin, whose report No. 1440 to Tokyo of 11 Nov. 1940 was intercepted and read by the U.S., see NA, RG 457, SRDJ 7794–95.

54
Directive 18 is in
ADAP
,
D, 11, No. 323. The original draft of this directive had gone out on Nov. 7; see
KTB Halder,
7 Nov. 1940; Heinz Holldack,
Was wirklich geschah
(Munich: Nymphenburger Verlagsgesellschaft, 1949), p. 424.

55
The British had intended to send Cripps only for the special negotiations; Sir Maurice Peterson was to have been ambassador (note by Halifax, 25 May 1940, N 5660/40/38, PRO, FO 371/24847).

56
Heinrich Bartel,
Frankreich und die Sowjetunion 1938–1940
(Stuttgart: Steiner, 1986), pp. 314ff.

57
See Butler-Halifax talk of 13 Sept. 1939, C 13856/15/18, PRO FO 371/22833; War Cabinets 67, 112, 116(39) of 1 Nov., 12 Dec. and 15 Dec. 1939, CAB 65/2, f. 24, 266, 290; War Cabinet 66(41) of 12 Mar. 1940, CAB 65/6, f. 62–63.

58
Word of a possible British–Soviet deal without Polish participation had so worried the Polish government-in-exile that its leader, General Sikorski, tried for a rapprochement with the Soviet Union himself. The Soviets were not interested and Sikorski was almost dropped (Terry,
Poland’s Place in Europe,
pp. 51–55; C 14114/62, PRO, FO 371/26419).

59
Cripps reports 591 of 8 Aug. 1940, N 6105/40/98, PRO, FO 371/24847, and 715 of 31 Aug. 1940, N 6458/283/38, FO 371/24852; Cripps to Halifax, 10 Oct. 1940, Fa 800/322, f. 353–60.

60
Accounts in Woodward,
British Foreign Policy
, 1: 467–96; Medlicott,
Economic Blockade
, 1: 312–17,633–48; Miner,
Between Churchill and Stalin
, pp. 74ff. See also Dalton to Halifax, 30 Oct. 1940, PRO, FO 800/322, f. 361–63; Foreign Office comments on Cripps No. 976 of 10 Nov. 1940, N 7163/283/38, FO 371/24852; Halifax to Cripps, 27 Nov. 1940, FO 800/322, f. 365–70; Cripps Nos. 1077–78 of 8 Dec. 1940, N 7387/40/38. For German information on these negotiations and their failure, see Weizsacker to Schulenburg, “Pol VII 75gRs.” 13 Feb. 1941, AA, St.S., “Türkei,” Bd. 2, fr. 172597.

61
See Cripps No. 980, N 7164/283/38, PRO, FO 371/24852.

62
Weinberg,
Germany and the Soviet Union
, pp. 141–44; Kostring to Tippelskirch, 14 Nov. 1940, BA/MA, N 123; Ski memorandum, 16 Nov. 1940, RM 6/73, f. The German propaganda directives on the visit were apparently removed from the German records by the East Germans or the Soviets; see Boelcke,
Kriegspropaganda
, pp. 194, 565.

63
While urging the Soviet Union to take over Iran, the Germans were reassuring the Iranian Minister in Berlin that there was nothing to worry about (St.S., No. 838 of 18 Nov. 1940, AA, Buro RAM, “Iran,” fr. 45242).

64
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 404.

65
Ibid., No. 403. The similarity to Soviet calls for treaties of mutual assistance with the Baltic States in Sept.-Oct. 1939 is striking.

66
Ibid., Nos. 409, 412, 425, 437.

67
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 568; Ministry of Finance Memorandum of 16 Jan. 1941, BA, R 2/17315; Russland-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft, “Orientierung der Firmen über das deutsch-russische Wirtschaftsabkommen vom 10. Januar 1941,” 17 Jan. 1941, R 2/17282; “Wirtschaftliche Pressekonferenz vom 11. Januar 1941,” and “... vom 14. Januar 1941,” ZSg. 115/3.

68
ADAP
, D, 11, No. 669.

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