Joachim von Ribbentrop Quotes
Just imagine going to war over Danzig - such a world catastrophe, just to prevent Germany from getting a piece of territory that belonged to her; because Britain was afraid of Germany getting too strong.
Gilbert, G. M. Nuremberg Diary. Farrar, Straus and Company, 1947.
The Times regretted that the Germans did not speak to the Austrians more vigorously when they were threatening to attack Serbia who harbored anti-Austro-Hungarian terrorists (see {642085}). What the Times editors did not realize was that the Germans had already made their war plans (see {642092}) and the Serbian issue was just the justification they needed to implement them. So there was no real reason for the Germans to discourage the Austro-Hungarian Empire from its mission to punish Serbia.
This speech to over 100,000 people galvanized the Indian nationalists They had been asking the British to change the constitution to give India more independence. Churchill was opposed to any policy that would diminish the British Empire, but needed the Indians as men of India served in the British Army in every major theater of WWII. So instead of saying "No" Churchill held out the possibility but at a later time. He argued that it was inopportune to alter the Constitution in the midst of a world war.
See the American ambassador’s assessment after the war began {41089}
Germany had just attacked Russia with whom it had a treaty. For a while, Hitler paid little attention to Italy and just gave their “ally” orders and instructions. Italian public opinion was concerned about the same question. See {627973} .
The German designs for Polish destruction began long before World War II. Poland, created by the Treaty of Versailles, was seen be fanatic Germans as an example of French Hegemony.
This was very much a minority opinion at the time, and has much historical significance as he was the father of the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, 1869-1940, whose appeasement of Germany led to Word War II. . See {585941}.
In 1884 Germany had become active in its colonization and outmaneuvered England in taking over Cameroon. Then Germany showed some interest in a part of New Guinea. The English resisted, not for any geopolitical reasons but because the British leaders did not want to be bested by Bismarck.
Wilson had asked him to give more consideration to the German point of view in World War I peace negotiations.
Joachim von Ribbentrop was a German politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945.
