I finally repeated to him very solemnly the main note of the whole conversation so far as I was concerned, namely, that it lay with him as to whether he preferred a unilatoral solution which would mean: war as regards Poland, or British friendship. If he were prepared to pay the price of the latter by a generous gesture as regards Poland, he could at a stroke change in his favour the whole of public opinion not only in England but in the world. I left nq doubt in his mind as to what the alternative would be, nor did he dispute the point.
At the end Herr von Ribbentrop asked me whether I could guarantee that the Prime Minister could carry the country with him in a policy of friendship with Germany. I said there was no possible doubt whatever that he could and would, provided Germany ce-operated with him. Herr Hitler asked whether England would be willing to accept an alliance with Germany. I said, speaking person: ly, I did not exclude such a possibility provided the developments of events justified it.
Conversation was conducted in quite a friendly atmosphere, in spite of absolute firmness'on both sides. Herr Hitler's general attitude was that he could give me no real reply until he had carefully studied the answer of His Majesty's Government, He said that he would give me a written reply tomorrow, Tuesday. I told him that I would await it, but was quite prepared to wait. Herr Hitler's answer was that there was no time to wait.
I did not refer to the question of a truce. I shall raise that point tomorrow if his answer affords any real ground for hope that he is prepared to abandon war for the sake of British understanding.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.