ADSS 1.55 Cesare Orsenigo, Germany, to Luigi Maglione, Sec
State
Reference:
Report 8 (27,518); AES 4465/39.
Location
and date: Berlin, 03.06.1939
Summary
statement: Prince Paul of Yugoslavia visits Berlin; German-Polish conflict has
not been resolved; German-Russian agreement appears to be fading.
Language:
Italian
Text:
I
hasten to convey to your Eminence some items of news, certainly not important
in themselves, but which double useful in forming an opinion about the situation.
On
Friday Prince Paul, Regent of Yugoslavia, arrived in Berlin and was received
with all the honours bestowed on similar occasions to other important
personalities, as for example, Admiral Horthy, Regent of Hungary (1).
A
military review was organised in his honour, and it was a really imposing
spectacle, as these events always are here; the Diplomatic Corps was invited,
and I also went along. The Polish and
Turkish ambassadors were also present; the Russian ambassador was away form
Berlin and was represented by his Counsellor.
A gala performance of Wagner’s masterpiece “The Master Singers” was also
given in honour of the Prince Regent of Yugoslavia at the State Opera Theatre;
the Diplomatic corps was also present, and the various diplomats were introduced
to the Prince Regent; I, as usual, was not present.
From
conversations I had with the diplomats I gathered the impression that the fear
of a war between German and Poland has not disappeared at all. Some say that Germany first want to complete
its line of defence in the east; in fact gigantic works are being carried out
on the Polish frontier; others mention the hope, not yet abandoned, that one
should wait for the result of the pending negotiations for an understanding
with Russia. Others, although not very
optimistic, hope that the conflict could be postponed at least until next year,
which – they say – would be a sign of German weakness, and therefore almost a
psychological defeat in the eyes of the German people, full of fanatic
conceptions about the military power of their country.
I
have not been informed in the strictest confidence, in view of the severity
with which breaches of official secrecy are punished, that during my visit to
the Chancellor at Berchtesgaden the following immediate instructions were given
to the German newspapers:
1.
Not to report any news about possible proceedings against priests for
immorality.
2.
No longer use the front page, but only the second page, for reporting any news
regarding the Danzig problem.
The
instructions were repeated three times during three weeks after May 5 at the
Press conference held at the Propaganda Ministry.
The
papers were also instructed not to mention Russian Bolshevism, but three days
ago this prohibition was cancelled; which leads the Press to understand that an
agreement between Germany and Russia must not be considered improbable.
I
enclose the last issue of the magazine Nordland
which I must say is not completely respectful to the Catholic church and even
less to the so-called Christian Churches.
The Nordland tends to oust all
the churches, to substitute for them the notorious atheism of the Deutschenchristen, called also Gottglaubig. (2)
Notes:
(1)
Friday, 02.06.1939. Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1893-1976), Regent 1934-41.
(2)
The Deutschenchristen or Deutsche Christen (German Christians) were a small group within
German Protestantism that sought to reconcile National Socialism and
Christianity. The rejected the Jewish
elements of the Bible and the Jewish ancestry of Jesus, adopted Nazi anti-Semitism
as compatible with Christian faith, aligned themselves the Fuhrerprinzip and Gleichschaltung
with regard to the creation of a Reich church.
After some initial support from Hitler who believed he could use the
group to further consolidate power, the German Christians faded to a noisy background
group with little influence on either the Nazi Party or the Protestant Churches
in Germany. Orsenigo has not understood
the term Gottglaubig (“belief in
God”). The term was used for Germans who had left the Christian Church but
still retained a faith in a higher power. It was also used as a way of “getting
ahead” in Nazi organisations that grew increasingly hostile to institutional
Christianity. It was the most common
form of “belief” expressed by men joining the SS.
Posts
