FRÄULEIN BLANK: Yes, that happened several times. But about such personal matters Ribbentrop would not speak to his subordinates. I remember only the resignation handed in by him in 1941. I assume that this resignation, as well as the later ones, was tendered by a handwritten letter. The reason for this resignation lay in differences with other departments as to competency; in view of their encroachments upon the competence of the Foreign Office, Herr Von Ribbentrop felt he could no longer take responsibility for the Reich’s foreign policy.
DR. HORN: What was the result of these offers to resign?
FRÄULEIN BLANK: They were turned down.
DR. HORN: Were you with Von Ribbentrop while he was Ambassador in England?
FRÄULEIN BLANK: Yes.
DR. HORN: Is it true that Ribbentrop over a number of years worked for close alliance between Germany and England?
FRÄULEIN BLANK: Yes. For this reason Von Ribbentrop, in the summer of 1936, asked the Führer to send him as ambassador to England. The Naval Agreement of 1935 was only a first step. Subsequently an air pact was contemplated, but, for reasons unknown to me, was not concluded.
DR. HORN: Do you know anything about Von Ribbentrop’s views on the British theory of balance of power on the continent?
FRÄULEIN BLANK: From numerous statements by Ribbentrop I know he was of the opinion that England still adhered to her traditional balance of power policy. In this his ideas were opposed to those of the Führer, who was of the opinion that with the development of Russia a factor had arisen in the East which necessitated a revision of the old balance of power policy—in other words, that England had a vital interest in the steadily increasing strength of Germany. From Ribbentrop’s attitude it could be inferred that he expected that in the Polish crisis the English guarantee for Poland would be honored.
DR. HORN: What political aims did Von Ribbentrop want to achieve by the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact?