rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich-william-shirer-pdf

THE LAST DAYS OF PEACE 495that he sent Ribbentrop out to get Ciano on the long-distance telephone, butthe Foreign Minister was unable to get through to him. Attolico, Schmidt says,was dismissed ”with scant courtesy.” 612For some days Hitler had been receiving warnings from Rome that his Axispartner might go back on him at the crucial moment of the attack on Poland,and this intelligence was not without foundation. No sooner had Ciano returnedfrom his disillusioning meetings with Hitler and Ribbentrop on August 11 to 13,than he set to work to turn Mussolini against ihe Germans – an action whichdid not escape the watchful eyes of the German Embassy in Rome. The FascistForeign Minister’s diary traces the ups and downs of his efforts to make theItalian dictator see the light and disassociate himself, in time, from Hitler’swar. 613 On the evening of his return from Berchtesgaden on August 13, Cianosaw the Duce and after describing his talks with Hitler and Ribbentrop tried toconvince his chief that the Germans ”have betrayed us and lied to us” and ”aredragging us into an adventure.”The Duce’s reactions are varied [Ciano noted in his diary that night].At first he agrees with me. Then he says that honor compels himto march with Germany. Finally, he states that he wants his part ofthe booty in Croatia and Dalmatia.August 14. – I find Mussolini worried. I do not hesitate to arousein him every possible anti-German reaction by every means in mypower. I speak to him of his diminished prestige and his playingthe role of second fiddle. And, finally, I turn over to him documentswhich prove the bad faith of the Germans on the Polish question.The alliance was based on premises which they now deny; they aretraitors and we must not have any scruples in ditching them. ButMussolini still has many scruples.On the next day, Ciano talked it out with Mussolini for six hours.August 15. – The Duce . . . is convinced that we must not marchblindly with the Germans. However . . . he wants time to preparethe break with Germany . . . He is more and more convinced thatthe democracies will fight . . . This time it means war. And wecannot engage in war because our plight does not permit us to doso.August 18. – A conversation with the Duce in the morning; his usualshifting feelings. He still thinks it possible that the democracies willnot march and that Germany might do good business cheaply, fromwhich business he does not want to be excluded. Then, too, hefears Hitler’s rage. He believes that a denunciation of the pact orsomething like it might induce Hitler to abandon the Polish questionin order to square accounts with Italy. All this makes him nervousand disturbed.August 20. – The Duce made an about-face. He wants to supportGermany at any cost in the conflict which is now close at hand . . .Conference between Mussolini, myself, and Attolico. [The ambassadorhad returned from Berlin to Rome for consultations.] This is