"Nor was Stresemann the enthusiast for whom he passed. He changed his predatory instincts but not all his spots, and said sotto voce that he was playing for time... Germany kept a free hand eastward, and Stresemann wanted "the recovery of Danzig, the Polish Corridor and correction of the frontier in Upper Silesia"—makings of the second war... As late as May 11, 1953, Winston believed that "the Locarno Treaty was the highest point reached between the wars". Joy pealed louder than at the birth of the Entente. Righteousness and peace kissed each other for photographs. Bouquets, gold pens and Nobel Prizes all round. Stresemann got his just when his duplicity leaked out... Stresemann asked for evacuation of the Cologne sector and early withdrawal of the Control Commission. It reported that the Germans had never meant to disarm. The Allies suppressed the report. Their sin entailed connivance in German sins no longer secret but unavowed. Holding-companies for German weapons sprang up in Turkey and Finland, in Rotterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz. Krupp muscled into Swedish Bofors. German tanks came forth at Grusonwerk and an Economic General Staff for total war in Berlin. Stresemann knew... Germany's defence estimates went up with a bang. More outlay was concealed by budgetary juggling, but normally the British think no evil of neighbours unless they are allies."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Lord Vansittart, The Mist Procession (1958), pp. 339-341
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gustav_Stresemann
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Gustav Stresemann
1878 – 1929
deutscher Politiker, Friedensnobelpreisträger von 1926
74 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Gustav Stresemann →
Related Quotes
"The conquest of Riga is of the greatest importance not only from the military, but also form the political point of v…"
"The world is listening with bated breath to the struggle which to-day is rending the peoples of Europe to pieces. The…"
"Despite all the obscuration of history and all the incomplete diplomatic documents... and despite all the recent syst…"
"From Antwerp to Baghdad there lies before us a large economic field in which German enterprise can develop. If we suc…"
"We must become so strong and must so ruthlessly weaken our opponents that no enemy will ever dare to attack us again.…"
"We see the strongest guarantee of peace for Europe in a policy of expansion. When have we exploited the embarrassment…"
"We also concur with the Reich Chancellor's program as regards the Flemish people. However, the Belgian question also …"
"Napoleon once compared England with Carthage. Carthage sank down from her height. England also can sink and will sink…"
"The restoration of German vitality is not guaranteed by the status quo ante. It will also be necessary to make territ…"
"There is much sentimentality in the Fourteen Points of Wilson's peace program. As far as we are concerned the questio…"