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Diary 3: May 1936 - February 1937 Item 54
TRANSCRIPTION
- 3 -
High Commissioners, if there are any in future,
will have to be chosen on the basis of a Hollywood
film-star appearance! These, however, have really
only been the lighter touches in a very anxious time.
I have just been told that Bethke, head of the
police, who is Greisers best friend here, talking
to a man whom he thought was a Nazi - but who wasn't -
explained that the policy Greiser had followed was
Berlin policy and not Greiser's own. His speech,
I should say, was written by Forster and had the
approval of Goebbels, Hitler, and perhaps Goering,
but I am not so sure of the last. Wilhelmstrasse
say they did not know anything about it until after
it was made. The Wilhelmstrasse people are in a
deplorable position if this is so. Von Neurath's
assurances to the British and Polish Ambassadors
on Thursday that there would be not the slightest
hitch in allowing the "Leipzig" incident to pass over,
and the sequel 48 hours later were a sad commentary
on their position. Greiser, who became world famous
in a night, did not serve Germany. Cartoonists all
over the world represented him as a typical Nazi
diplomat and in England it is apparently now customary
to say "A Greaser to to you!" when they wish to indicate
that they are prepared to cock a snook. It is sad
for the decent Germans, not only in Danzig but also
in Germany.
The Committee of Three appointed by the Council
to follow Danzig affairs has shown every sign of being
anxious to avoid coming to conclusions with the Danzig
problem. They have not yet met and newspapers have
explained that it was the absence of a report from
me which was the reason. They had material to come
to conclusions in the documents I sent. I have now
sent a little more general survey but have done
everything humanly possible to make it objective
and to avoid myself drawing a clear conclusion.
I am quite prepared at any time to do this but am
anxious in every way possible to lessen the burden
of the Council. The dreadful Spanish tragedy has
added to the chaotic condition of European affairs
and has been for the past six weeks perhaps the
cause of most anxiety.
I went to Geneva for a couple of days last
week and showed my draft report to Avenol and
Walters. Walters' remark was that it was an unanswerable
document. Avenol's only suggestion was that instead
of myself putting the question on the Agenda I
should again leave that to the Committee and the
Council. I had some doubts on this point myself and
was quite prepared to accept that suggestion.
Language(s) of Transcription
LOCATION
Gdańsk (Poland) (54.3612, 18.5499)
Story Location
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
Document Date
Document Type
Document Description
Language of Description
Keywords
External Web Resources
People
Arthur Greiser
Description: German politician (NSDAP), MdR, Senate President of the Free City of Danzig, Reich Governor and Gauleiter of the NSDAP
Wikidata Reference: Q213826
Albert Forster
Description: German politician (NSDAP), MdR, Gauleiter of the NSDAP and Reich Governor in Danzig
Wikidata Reference: Q704305
Joseph Goebbels
Description: German politician (NSDAP) and Propaganda Minister
Wikidata Reference: Q41749
Hermann Göring
Description: German politician (NSDAP) and military leader
Willi Bethke
Description: Kommandeur der Polizei der Freien Stadt Danzig
Wikidata Reference: Q24956346
Konstantin von Neurath
Description: German Foreign Minister, Ambassador and Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia
Wikidata Reference: Q153421
STORY INFORMATION
Title
Diary 3: May 1936 - February 1937
Creator
Lester | Seán | 1888-1959
Contributor
Lester, Seán, 1888-1959
Seán Lester
Coverage
name=Twentieth century; start=1936-05-06; end=1937-02-01
Date
6 May 1936-1 February 1937
Type
Text
Rights
This collection has been digitised and made available by Dublin City University Library. Please credit Dublin City University Library when using these images, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Language
eng
Identifier
#ng45f7525
LandingPage
https://www.europeana.eu/item/707/_ng45f7525Country
Ireland
DatasetName
707__Dublin_City_University
Begin
1936-05-01
End
1937-02-28
Language
en
Created
2022-03-23T16:13:34.244Z
2022-03-23T16:14:08.313666Z
2022-03-23T16:14:08.314189Z
Story Description
Consists of unbound typed diary entries, documents and letters relating to Lester's final months as High Commissioner of the League of Nations in Danzig. Lester left Danzig on 22 December 1936 having been promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary General of the League. He took up his new appointment in Geneva on 16 January 1937. Includes document written by Lester outlining the context for the file: 'The following fragments are the only notes I have of my last six months in Danzig ... The reason they are so fragmentary ... was that the crisis in Danzig developed so quickly and in such uncertainty that I could not safely keep any record of certain matters, either in my house or my Office. For three months at any rate I was not at all sure that my house and Office might not be occupied any day by the political Police or the Storm Troopers [sic].' - Document comprising of two diary entries, the first from 6 May 1936 (pages 1-3) and the second from early July 1936 (pages 4-9) combined together as a single entry. The section from 6 May 1936 is duplicated in Diary 2: January-June 1936 in the collection [diary C1/2]. Includes diary entries (some marked 'Private Diary') from the following dates: 8, 17, [?20], 23 (two entries with this date, one titled 'Relations with Greiser'), 24, and 28 July 1936; 3, 5, 6 and 7 August 1936 (two copies); 12 September 1936; 16, 19 and 24 October 1936; 22 December 1936 and 1 February 1937. Entries were all written in Danzig apart from the final entry (1 February 1937) which was written in Geneva. Includes undated notes on Albert Forster, the Nazi Party's Gauleiter in Danzig, that was originally filed between diary entries from 24 October 1936 and 22 December 1936, and was thus possibly written during that period. Includes copy letters from Lester to Joseph Avenol, Secretary General of the League of Nations, from the following dates: 11, 14 and 24 July 1926; 1 August 1936 (two copies of two different letters from this date). Most of the letters are marked 'Personal', 'Personal and Confidential', or 'Personal; Secret'.
TRANSCRIPTION
LOCATION
DESCRIPTION
PEOPLE
STORY INFO
TUTORIAL
- 3 -
High Commissioners, if there are any in future,
will have to be chosen on the basis of a Hollywood
film-star appearance! These, however, have really
only been the lighter touches in a very anxious time.
I have just been told that Bethke, head of the
police, who is Greisers best friend here, talking
to a man whom he thought was a Nazi - but who wasn't -
explained that the policy Greiser had followed was
Berlin policy and not Greiser's own. His speech,
I should say, was written by Forster and had the
approval of Goebbels, Hitler, and perhaps Goering,
but I am not so sure of the last. Wilhelmstrasse
say they did not know anything about it until after
it was made. The Wilhelmstrasse people are in a
deplorable position if this is so. Von Neurath's
assurances to the British and Polish Ambassadors
on Thursday that there would be not the slightest
hitch in allowing the "Leipzig" incident to pass over,
and the sequel 48 hours later were a sad commentary
on their position. Greiser, who became world famous
in a night, did not serve Germany. Cartoonists all
over the world represented him as a typical Nazi
diplomat and in England it is apparently now customary
to say "A Greaser to to you!" when they wish to indicate
that they are prepared to cock a snook. It is sad
for the decent Germans, not only in Danzig but also
in Germany.
The Committee of Three appointed by the Council
to follow Danzig affairs has shown every sign of being
anxious to avoid coming to conclusions with the Danzig
problem. They have not yet met and newspapers have
explained that it was the absence of a report from
me which was the reason. They had material to come
to conclusions in the documents I sent. I have now
sent a little more general survey but have done
everything humanly possible to make it objective
and to avoid myself drawing a clear conclusion.
I am quite prepared at any time to do this but am
anxious in every way possible to lessen the burden
of the Council. The dreadful Spanish tragedy has
added to the chaotic condition of European affairs
and has been for the past six weeks perhaps the
cause of most anxiety.
I went to Geneva for a couple of days last
week and showed my draft report to Avenol and
Walters. Walters' remark was that it was an unanswerable
document. Avenol's only suggestion was that instead
of myself putting the question on the Agenda I
should again leave that to the Committee and the
Council. I had some doubts on this point myself and
was quite prepared to accept that suggestion.
- English (English)
- 3 -
High Commissioners, if there are any in future,
will have to be chosen on the basis of a Hollywood
film-star appearance! These, however, have really
only been the lighter touches in a very anxious time.
I have just been told that Bethke, head of the
police, who is Greisers best friend here, talking
to a man whom he thought was a Nazi - but who wasn't -
explained that the policy Greiser had followed was
Berlin policy and not Greiser's own. His speech,
I should say, was written by Forster and had the
approval of Goebbels, Hitler, and perhaps Goering,
but I am not so sure of the last. Wilhelmstrasse
say they did not know anything about it until after
it was made. The Wilhelmstrasse people are in a
deplorable position if this is so. Von Neurath's
assurances to the British and Polish Ambassadors
on Thursday that there would be not the slightest
hitch in allowing the "Leipzig" incident to pass over,
and the sequel 48 hours later were a sad commentary
on their position. Greiser, who became world famous
in a night, did not serve Germany. Cartoonists all
over the world represented him as a typical Nazi
diplomat and in England it is apparently now customary
to say "A Greaser to to you!" when they wish to indicate
that they are prepared to cock a snook. It is sad
for the decent Germans, not only in Danzig but also
in Germany.
The Committee of Three appointed by the Council
to follow Danzig affairs has shown every sign of being
anxious to avoid coming to conclusions with the Danzig
problem. They have not yet met and newspapers have
explained that it was the absence of a report from
me which was the reason. They had material to come
to conclusions in the documents I sent. I have now
sent a little more general survey but have done
everything humanly possible to make it objective
and to avoid myself drawing a clear conclusion.
I am quite prepared at any time to do this but am
anxious in every way possible to lessen the burden
of the Council. The dreadful Spanish tragedy has
added to the chaotic condition of European affairs
and has been for the past six weeks perhaps the
cause of most anxiety.
I went to Geneva for a couple of days last
week and showed my draft report to Avenol and
Walters. Walters' remark was that it was an unanswerable
document. Avenol's only suggestion was that instead
of myself putting the question on the Agenda I
should again leave that to the Committee and the
Council. I had some doubts on this point myself and
was quite prepared to accept that suggestion.
Language(s) of Transcription
English Translation
Transcription History
- 3 - High Commissioners, if there are any in future, will have to be chosen on the basis of a Hollywood film-star appearance! These, however, have really only been the lighter touches in a very anxious time. I have just been told that Bethke, head of the police, who is Greisers best friend here, talking to a man whom he thought was a Nazi - but who wasn't - explained that the policy Greiser had followed was Berlin policy and not Greiser's own. His speech, I should say, was written by Forster and had the approval of Goebbels, Hitler, and perhaps Goering, but I am not so sure of the last. Wilhelmstrasse say they did not know anything about it until after it was made. The Wilhelmstrasse people are in a deplorable position if this is so. Von Neurath's assurances to the British and Polish Ambassadors on Thursday that there would be not the slightest hitch in allowing the "Leipzig" incident to pass over, and the sequel 48 hours later were a sad commentary on their position. Greiser, who became world famous in a night, did not serve Germany. Cartoonists all over the world represented him as a typical Nazi diplomat and in England it is apparently now customary to say "A Greaser to to you!" when they wish to indicate that they are prepared to cock a snook. It is sad for the decent Germans, not only in Danzig but also in Germany. The Committee of Three appointed by the Council to follow Danzig affairs has shown every sign of being anxious to avoid coming to conclusions with the Danzig problem. They have not yet met and newspapers have explained that it was the absence of a report from me which was the reason. They had material to come to conclusions in the documents I sent. I have now sent a little more general survey but have done everything humanly possible to make it objective and to avoid myself drawing a clear conclusion. I am quite prepared at any time to do this but am anxious in every way possible to lessen the burden of the Council. The dreadful Spanish tragedy has added to the chaotic condition of European affairs and has been for the past six weeks perhaps the cause of most anxiety. I went to Geneva for a couple of days last week and showed my draft report to Avenol and Walters. Walters' remark was that it was an unanswerable document. Avenol's only suggestion was that instead of myself putting the question on the Agenda I should again leave that to the Committee and the Council. I had some doubts on this point myself and was quite prepared to accept that suggestion.
English Translation
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