760F.62/1911: Telegram
The Minister in Czechoslovakia (Carr) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 26—2:20 p.m.]
7. I visited the Foreign Minister64 yesterday. In contrast with his appearance at the end of December he seemed worn and dispirited but this may have been due to the fact that he had not been well and carried out his recent trip to Berlin despite a high fever.
The Reichs Chancellor, he said, had expressed himself as dissatisfied with Czech attitude toward several matters principally the Jews, the press, the army and the German minority. Hitler had said that he would not be content until every Jew had been driven out of Germany and that he thought that Czechoslovakia, if it wished to show its loyalty to Germany and establish proper relations with it, should pursue a like course instead. No drastic measures had been taken against the Jews and many of them still occupied high positions in the Government as they had under Beneš.65 The Minister for Foreign Affairs had replied that it was absolutely impossible for Czechoslovakia to pursue toward the Jews the same course which had been pursued in Germany. Hitler’s reply had been that he was not telling Czechoslovakia what to do but that if the Jewish question were not settled to Germany’s satisfaction Czechoslovakia would have to abide by the consequences. The bulk of Hitler’s delineations had been in relation to the Jews and he had made it clear that until that question was settled no satisfactory relations could be established between Germany and Czechoslovakia. The Government was now considering this matter.
Hitler had also asked that the Czechoslovak Army be reduced and that the country agree to be neutralized or at least to place itself in much the position of Holland and Denmark. Germany, Hitler had said, had no desire ever to attack either of those countries and would have the same attitude toward Czechoslovakia if she should reduce her army and bring herself into harmony with the policies of the Reich. In response to my question the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Hitler positively did not want the Czechoslovak Army enlarged or to utilize it to supplement the German Army.
[Page 35]Another demand of Hitler had been that the Germans now in Czechoslovakia should have the right to develop their National Socialist philosophy in this country without hindrance.
Unless these things should be done it would be impossible for Hitler to guarantee boundaries and establish satisfactory relations with Czechoslovakia.
In response to my question the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Germany had not asked for a customs union and that in fact Dr. Hitter, connected with Foreign Office, had told him positively that Germany had no intention of doing so. The Minister for Foreign Affairs added that Germany is this country’s largest buyer and that she wants to buy more but frankly says that she will pay only in German goods and she wants to enter into an understanding as to the precise goods which are to be accepted in payment.
It is interesting to note that the Minister for Foreign Affairs’ return has been followed by the liquidation of a number of Communist labor unions and the suppression of the newspaper which was the organ of the pro-Beneš legionnaire group.