I saw Herr von Ribbentrop at exactly midnight, before which hour the German Government had ostensibly counted on the arrival of a Polish emissary at Berlin í say ostensibly" since it seems hard): possible that it cannot have occurred to either Herr Hitler or his Minister for Foreign Affairs that it was utterly unreasonable to expect a Polish Plenipotentiary to present himself at Berlin without even knowing in advance the basis of the proposals about which he was expected to negotiate. It is conceivable that the Army Leaders had been representing to their Fuehrer that even 24 hours' delay involved the risk of bad weather holding up the rapidity of the German advance into Poland, but, even so, it is difficult not to draw the conclusion that the proposals in themselves were but dust to be thrown in the eyes of the world with a view to its deception and were never intended to be taken seriously by the German Government itself.
Be that as it may, it is probable that Herr Hitler's mood in the hour when he had to decide between peace or war was not an amiable one. It was reflected in Herr von Ribbentrap, whose reception of me that evening was, from the outset, one of intense hostility, which increased in violence as T made each communica tion in tu He kept leaping from his chair in a state of great excitement, and asking if 1 had anything more to say. I kept replying that 1 had, and, if my own attitude was no less unfriendly than his own, 1 cannot but say in all sincerity that 1 had every justification for it. When 1 told him that 1 would not fail to report his comments and remarks t my Government, he calmed down a little and said that they were his own, and that it was for Herr Hitler to decide. As for inviting the Polish Ambassador to come and see him, such a course would, he indignantly said, be utterly unthinkable and intolerable.
After I had finished making my various communications to him, he produced a lengthy document which he read out to me in German, or other gabbled through to me as fast as he could, in a tone of the utmost annoyance. Of the sixteen articles in it I was able to gather the gist of six or seven, but it would have been quite impossible to guarantee even the exact accuracy of these without a careful study of the text itself. When he had finished, I accordingly asked him to let me see it. Herr von Ribbentrop refused categorically, threw the document with a contempt trious gesture on the table and said that it was now out of date ("über-holt"), since no Polish Emissary had arrived at Berlin by midnight. I Observed that in that case the sentence in the German note of August 29, to which I had drawn his and his Füehrer's attention on the preceding evening had, in fact, constituted an ultimatum in spite of their categorical denials. Herr von Ribbentrap's answer to that was that the idea of an ultimatum was a figment of my own imagination and creation.
Unpleasant Interview I do not desire to stress the unpleasant nature of this interview. The hour was a critical one and Herr von Ribbentrop's excitability at such a moment was understandable It seemed to me, however, that he was wilfully throwing away the last chance of a peaceful solution, and it was difficult to remain indifferent when faced with such a calamity. I would merely add that, contrary to what was subsequently published in the German press, I did not discuss a single detail of the German proposals with Herr von Ribbentrop, who flatly declined to do so. While it is true that they were read to me. it was in such a manner as to make them practically unintelligible
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.