“The German Armed Forces will with firm determination take up the struggle for the honor and the vital rights of the resuscitated German people.
“I expect every soldier to be conscious of the high tradition of the eternal German soldierly qualities and to do his duty to the last.
“Remember always and in any circumstances that you are the representatives of National Socialist Greater Germany.
“Long live our people and the Reich.”
And so we see that at last Hitler had kept his word to his generals. He had afforded them their propagandistic justification; and at that time, anyway, it did not matter what people said about it afterwards. “The victor shall not be asked later on, whether he told the truth or not.” Might is what counts—or victory is what counts and not right.
On that day, the 1st of September, when news came of this violation of Polish ground, the British Government in accordance with their treaty obligations sent an ultimatum to the German Government in which they stated—I quote from the last paragraph:
“I am accordingly to inform your Excellency that unless the German Government are prepared to give His Majesty’s Government satisfactory assurances that the German Government have suspended all aggressive action against Poland and are prepared promptly to withdraw their forces from Polish territory, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom will without hesitation fulfil their obligations to Poland.”