to attack Poland. Asked about our war preparations.... We managed to stave off bread- and potato-
rationing for the first four weeks thanks to our good
stockpiles.... To maintain surprise Göring very sol-
emnly insisted on absolute secrecy. The mood of the
gentlemen present was one of optimism.
“There won’t be a world war,” Göring assured them. “It’s a risk
worth taking.”
The newspaper headlines that morning were full of the
newly completed Nazi-Soviet Pact. Now, surely, Britain and
France would think twice about interfering. As Birger Dahlerus
arrived at one-thirty that afternoon, workmen were draping
camouflage netting over Carinhall.
There can be no doubt of the Swede’s motives, but
Göring’s were now very open to speculation. He knew that Hit-
ler planned to invade Poland at dawn in three days’ time. Was
he merely using Dahlerus to poison the opposing alliance?
Göring suggested that London send over a top general like
Sir Edmund Ironside to talk with him. Later that day he drove
Dahlerus to Berlin in his two-seater sports car, and repeated the
offer that he had made so often, of German military aid to de-
fend the British Empire. He felt confident that he could “per-
suade” Hitler to limit his claim to Danzig and the Polish Corri-
dor. Meeting the Polish ambassador an hour later, he argued
that their differences were only minor. “The main obstacle,” he
said smoothly, “is your proposed alliance with Britain.”
Over at Hitler’s Chancellery he found Ribbentrop back
from Moscow, gleeful about his diplomatic triumph. The Nazi-
Soviet Pact was signed and sealed and Poland was delivered:
In a secret addendum to the pact Stalin undertook to invade
Poland soon after Hitler, and that was not all.
Göring was clearly shocked. At : .. he phoned