“In conclusion, he summarized his address by saying that we had to do everything in our power to make the Four Year Plan a success, and that all hardships caused thereby must be borne by the people and were justified, because its success might prevent war.
“I point out that I remember all the details of this speech so accurately because this was the first time that I was informed by a leading personality of these conditions which were so important for Germany, and because, as a result, until the war actually started, I did not believe that it would come to a war.”
In the solution of the Austrian problem no aggressive action on the part of Germany is to be seen. It took place in response to the desires of the majority of the Austrian population for reunion with the Reich. The defendant’s view of this problem can be seen from the telephone conversation he had with the Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop on 13 March 1938. The record of this conversation has already been produced under Document Number 2949-PS, Exhibit Number USA-75. I shall quote from this conversation some passages which have not yet been read. The conversation is contained in Document Book Number 1, Pages 55-56. I am going to quote only the following passages:
“I want to say one thing: If it is said”—this is Göring talking—“that we have used pressure on the Austrian people and done outrage to their independence, it can be said that only one thing was put under pressure, but not by us, and that was the tiny little government. The Austrian people are free only now. I would simply suggest to Halifax, or to a few really important people whom he trusts, that he just send them over here so they can look at the picture. They should travel through the country, they can see everything.”
And a few sentences later:
“What state in the whole world is being harmed by our union? Are we taking anything from any state?”
Then it goes on, I skip two sentences:
“All the people are German; all the people speak German. Thus there is not a single other state involved.”
The Defendant Göring—I am referring to Page 11 of the book next to the last paragraph—did not only wish to maintain peace abroad; he also supported the preservation of peace at home. In this respect he declared in a speech he made on 9 April 1933 at the Berlin Sports Palace—it appears in the book Hermann Göring’s Speeches and Compositions, and is reproduced in Document Book Number 1, Page 35, and I am offering it as Document Number 13; I quote the first sentence:
“Oh the other hand, however, my compatriots, we ought also to be generous. We do not wish to practice petty revenge. After all, we are the victors. . . . Therefore, let us be generous, let us realize that we also thought differently at one time.”