Endgültiger Bericht von Sir Nevile Henderson über die Umstände, die zur Beendigung seiner Mission in Berlin führten – The Final Report of British Diplomat Sir Neville Henderson on the Circumstances Leading to the End of His Mission in Berlin – Accompanied by historical documents and records serving as compelling evidence of Nazi Germany’s clear intent to start a war. September 1939 – First German edition. Published by Birkhäuser Basel, Basel. Rare.
The Final Report of Sir Neville Henderson – The British diplomat who served as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Germany from 1937 to 1939, detailing his mission in Berlin as of September 20, 1939, in a last-ditch effort to prevent Germany’s invasion of Poland. The report outlines the circumstances that transformed Germany into a totalitarian state under Hitler’s sole rule, as well as Henderson’s final attempts to avert war through direct negotiations with Hitler. Henderson vividly describes the workings of the Nazi propaganda machine, its manipulation of the masses, and the significant roles played by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, and Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s close confidant and Reich Foreign Minister (later executed at the Nuremberg Trials for war crimes and crimes against peace), in inciting the German public to absolute obedience to the Führer’s will. Henderson pleads with the nations of Europe to see the reality clearly and understand that unless they rise to confront Nazi Germany, the law of racial supremacy will, in time, be applied to them as well. The core of the report focuses on Henderson’s final meetings with Hitler and senior SS leaders just before the invasion of Poland. In his last audience with Hitler, Henderson realized that Hitler was already set on war. Hitler, whom he describes as detached from reality, told him he preferred to fight a war at age 50 rather than at 55 or 60. He blamed Britain for Poland’s defiance and cited 100,000 German refugees from Poland—a figure at least five times higher than reality. Henderson saw clearly Hitler’s eagerness for war, and knew then that his mission had come to an end. In a final meeting with Ribbentrop, Henderson attempted one last diplomatic effort. But Ribbentrop, clearly unmoved, quickly read out a document concerning Britain’s alliance with Poland and its “responsibility for the deterioration of the situation, ” then threw the document on the table. When Henderson asked to read it, Ribbentrop dismissed him, saying it was “no longer current.” In a separate meeting with Hermann Göring, Henderson was told that all SS leaders strictly followed the Führer’s orders, and he described the conversation as “a talk that led nowhere.” He concluded that, from the German side, “everything was now ready for action.” Henderson promptly left Germany for the Netherlands. Shortly afterward, war broke out with Germany’s invasion of Poland.
Sir Neville Henderson’s appointment as ambassador to Berlin at the time was motivated by the belief that he “knew how to get along with dictators”, as explained by then–Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, who appointed him to the post. In later years, Henderson described his own sense of mission, stating that he believed he had been “chosen by Providence for the express task of helping to preserve world peace.” In reality, however, once in Berlin, the British leadership grew increasingly uneasy with Henderson’s excessive closeness to the Nazi leadership. While stationed in Germany, he went hunting with Hermann Göring, and he accepted Göring’s personal invitation to attend the 1937 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg—without first consulting the British Foreign Office. His confidence in his ability to secure peace proved to be overly optimistic, and it was later suggested that the Nazis exploited his naivety. Upon returning to London, Henderson requested another ambassadorial post, but his request was denied.
The German edition of this report is rarer than the English one (see Dynasty Auction 27, Lot 91). Only two listings appear in the WorldCat global library catalog.
[2], 46 pp. Very good condition.
