was among the invited guests, that Göring no longer had the
special responsibility for Yugoslavia (and Poland) about which
he had bragged four months before.
“I wish I could see how to put a stop to the present situa-
tion,” Henderson ventured to Göring. “It’s getting very dan-
gerous. We British don’t want war. You may think we do, but
we don’t. But we shall certainly go to war if you attack the
Poles.” He added, “If Herr Hitler could now give us an indica-
tion that he’s prepared to abandon the policy of coups and ag-
gression, Mr. Chamberlain might give a not-unfriendly reply.”
Göring shrugged. He spelled out once more Germany’s
“final demands,” and reminded Henderson that there existed an
influential clique in London who wanted “war at any price.”
While not denying it, Henderson countered with Ribben-
trop’s name.
“People can say what they like,” replied Göring, thrown
onto the defensive. “But when a decision is called for, none of us
counts for more than the gravel on which we are standing. It is
the Führer alone who makes the decisions.”
Henderson climbed into his limousine.
“Do you think that I want war?” appealed Göring waving a
hand toward the luxuries of Carinhall. “I was against war last
September, as you know. And I would be again.”
His influence on foreign affairs was diminishing each day.
Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop boasted to the Italian ambassa-
dor in June that he had buried the hatchet with Göring
on condition that the latter stopped meddling in diplomacy.
Göring kept a baleful eye on him nonetheless through the wire-
taps on foreign embassies, and he opened private lines of com-
munication to Prime Minister Chamberlain.
Many European businessmen shared his uneasiness, among