Chapter 113
< World War II - Darkest Hour (6) >
June 27, 1940
Berlin, Northern Germany – Dietrich Schacht's Mansion The morning of the fourth day since Britain came under attack.
A telegram had arrived announcing that Winston Churchill had become the new British Prime Minister, and Poland was continuously requesting aid, reporting on the Soviet Union's preparations for a large-scale offensive.
But we still hadn't decided to declare war on either France or the Soviet Union.
We first sought Belgium's military cooperation for passage to secure an attack route against France that bypassed the Maginot Line, but Belgium, having suffered massacres and rapes by the German Army in the last war, was aghast and immediately refused.
No matter what conditions we offered, they said they could not let their country become a battlefield for Germany and France again; negotiation with a party that had no intention of negotiating from the start was impossible.
And then—an incident occurred.
The source was unknown, but news spread throughout Germany that our government was considering a declaration of war against France and the Soviet Union.