Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

704 DER FUEHRERToward France his tone again was cordial, almost imploring; andsince the question of the Saar 'is the only territorial issue between thetwo countries that is still unsetded,' Germany would be ready to makeextraordinary concessions once this stumbling block were removed. Inthe Locarno Treaty, Germany had not only given up all her claims toAlsace-Lorraine, but had even renounced the right to fortify her ownfrontiers along the Rhine — and even with these conditions Hitlercheerfully promised to be satisfied; once the Saar was returned, 'theGerman government is ready and determined to accept the spirit of theLocarno Treaty as well as its terms.' With these words he promisedsomething unbelievable: not to fortify Germany's western frontier.It is true that when he made this statement he apparendy had failed inhis attempt to come to an understanding with France by negotiatingdirectly with her; no interview had taken place between the leaders ofthe two countries — partly because no one could tell who was the realleader of France; the Premiers who were in power for only a fewmonths at a time seldom measured up to such a task and never hadenough authority for it. But if France did not come to an agreement withGermany, the other powers did. When it became clear that Hitler had nointention of making an army out of his three million S.A. men, but thathe would be satisfied with three hundred thousand, many peoplethought that a great and unexpected step forward had been taken.The French government insisted that it could not treat with Germanydirectly, but only through the League of Nations and demanded thatGermany should therefore return to that body. The English and Italiangovernments then indicated, at the end of January, 1934, that theyconsidered Germany's return to the League desirable. However, this wasno longer the main issue. The main thing was that in the meantimeEngland, as well as Italy, had quiedy accepted Germany's rearmament.An Italian memorandum approved an army of three hundred thousandmen for Germany; one of the reasons given for this was that with theNational Socialist revolution Germany had embarked upon such farreachingchanges in her whole social structure that she would not beable to undertake important military projects — apparendy Mussolinidrew