Adolf Hitler's Sept. 26, 1938 speech on Czechoslovakia at the Sportpalast in Berlin

Prime minister Neville Chamberlain shakes hands with Führer Adolf Hitler on Sept. 29, 1938 at Munich Conference on Czechoslovakia.

"BLESSED ARE THE PEACE-MAKERS": ADOLF HITLER

COMPLETE HITLER SPEECH 26 SEPTEMBER 1938 ON CZECHOSLOVAKIA, SPORTPALAST, BERLIN

Translated by Carlos Whitlock Porter
With note from David L. Hoggan

First published at www.cwporter.com/blessed.htm 

On 22 February, before the representatives of the Reichtstag, for the first time, I expressed a fundamental demand of an unalterable kind.

The entire nation listened to me at that time, and they understood!

One statesman did not share this understanding. He has been removed, and now my promise, that I made at that time, has been kept!

For the second time, I spoke before the Reichs Party Congress about this same demand.

And once again, the nation heard this demand.

Today, I appear before you once again and speak for the first time before the people itself, just as in the time of our great struggle, and you know what that means!

For the world, there should be no more doubt: now, it's no longer a Leader or a man, this time the entire German people is speaking!

If I am the speaker for this German people, then I know: in this second, the entire nation of millions of people agree with me, word for word. Affirm it and turn into an oath!

May the other statesmen examine whether that is also the case with them!

The question which concerns us most deeply in these last months and weeks is well known: It's not so much a question of Czechoslovakia, the problem is Mr. Benes!

This name unites everything that moves millions of people today, that makes them desperate or fills them with fanatical resolution.

But why could this question rise to such significance?

I want to repeat to you, my national comrades, very briefly once again the nature and aims of German foreign policy.

German foreign policy is, in contrast to the many other states, ideologically established and conditioned. The ideology of this new Reich is built up upon the maintenance and ensuring the existence of our German people. We have no interest in oppressing other peoples; We want to be happy in our way, the others should be happy in their way! This attitude, required in practice by our ideology, results in a restriction of foreign policy.

Restrictions on German foreign policy

That means, our foreign policy objectives are not unlimited, they are not determined by accident, but are rather established in the resolution to serve everything in the German people, to maintain it in this world and to ensure its existence. What is the situation today? You know, that the slogan "self-determination of peoples" once filled the German people, as well as others, with a faith in supra-national assistance, and allowed it to relinquish the application of its own strength to the last.

You know that this trust from that time was betrayed in the most ignominious manner. The result was the Versailles Treaty! You all know the fearful results of this treaty! You can all remember how they stole our people's weapons and the way they mistreated this then defenceless people! You know the fearful fate which met us and which persecuted us for a decade and a half!

And you know: if Germany today is great, free and strong again, then it has only its own strength to thank for it! The outside contributed nothing to it. On the contrary, it attempted to blackmail us and oppress us, as long as it could, until finally the strength grew out of the German people itself, to put an end to this unworthy existence and once again to take the path worthy of a free and great nation.

We had hardly begun the restoration of German equality, when I suggested a series of agreements to the other countries, related, most of all, to disarmament, as the most visible symbol of the relinquishment of "Revanche".

Rejected peace proposals

My first proposal was: Germany demands equality, under all circumstances, but is prepared to relinquish all further means of defence and weapons, provided the other nations do the same, i.e., general disarmament, if necessary, right down to the last machine gun! This proposal was not even considered worth discussing.

I made a second proposal: Germany is ready to limit its army to 200,000 men, on the condition that the other States disarm to the same extent. That was rejected, too!

Although today we are now free and strong, we are not motivated by any hatred of other nations.

We don't bear a grudge; we know what happened; because we also know that the citizens of the other nations cannot be held responsible for it, rather, only a small unscrupulous clique of international profiteers and wheeler-dealers, who do not hesitate, if necessary, to allow entire nations to perish for their villainous interests.

We therefore nourish no hatred against the nations around us and have also proven it. The German love of peace is demonstrated by facts.

I made yet another proposal: Germany is prepared, provided the other nations agree, to relinquish all heavy weapons, so-called "attack" weapons: tanks, bombers, even, if necessary, all airplanes, as well as heavy and extra-heavy artillery. This, too, was rejected.

I went further, and now proposed an international agreement for all European countries for an army of 300,000 men. This proposal was rejected, too.

I made more proposals: the restriction of air fleets, the elimination of bombing; absolute prohibition of gas warfare, the protection of all areas not located in the line of battle, the elimination of at least of the heaviest artillery, the elimination of the heaviest tanks. This too was rejected. It was all in vain.

After making offer after offer to the world for two years, experiencing only rejection and repeated refusal, I gave the order to upgrade our German armed forces to the strongest position which could possibly be achieved. And now I can admit it openly:

German Armaments

We have carried out an armaments program anyway, such as the world has never seen. I offered to remain defenceless, insofar as possible. But when they rejected that, I quit making half-way decisions. I am a National Socialist and an old German frontline soldier!

If they don't want a world without weapons, well, then, now, you, too, the German people, will possess weapons of their own!

In the last five years, I really rearmed. I spent billions on it, the German people ought to know that! I took care to ensure that a new army would be armed with the most modern weapons in existence. I gave my friend Goring the order: build me an air force that will protect Germany against every conceivable attack.

We built up our armed forces into something which the German people can be proud of, and which the world will respect, if it ever makes its appearance.

We have created the best anti-aircraft defences, the best anti-tank defences, in the world. We worked on this day and night for the past five years.

It was impossible for me to reach an understanding regarding anything. I will speak of that a bit further on.

Despite all this, I continued to pursue the notion of armaments limitations and disarmament policy.

In actual fact, I implemented a practical peace policy in all these years. I approached all apparently insoluble problems with the iron determination to solve them peacefully, even at the risk of more or less serious German relinquishments.

I was a frontline soldier myself and I know how hard war is. I wanted to spare the German people all that. I therefore approached one problem after another with the firm intention of trying everything to enable a peaceful solution.

Relations with Poland

The most difficult problem that I met with was German-Polish relations. There was a danger that the notion of an "inherited enmity" might take hold of our people as well as the Poles. I wanted to avoid this. I know exactly, that it wouldn't have been possible if Poland had had a democratic constitution at that time. The democracies, dripping with peace slogans, are the blood-thirstiest war mongers.

In Poland there wasn't any democracy, but, rather, one man [Pilsudski]! With him, I succeeded in barely a year in reaching an agreement which absolutely eliminated the danger of a collision, for ten years, to start with.

We are all convinced that this agreement will bring about lasting satisfaction. We understand that we are two peoples, we must live side by side; neither one of them can eliminate the other. A state of 33 million people will always strive for an access to the sea. A path to an understanding had to be found here. It was found, and is being constantly built upon. The important thing is that both states all reasonable, thinking people, in both nations, are firmly determined to further improve their relationship.

That was a real act of peace, of more value than all the jabber-blabber in the League of Nations Palace in Geneva.

During this same time period, I attempted to gradually bring about good and durable relationships with other nations as well. We gave guarantees to the states in the West, and assured all our neighbours of the inviolability of their territory by Germany. That's not just talk. It is our holy resolution. We have no interest in violating the peace.

Our offers are also meeting with growing understanding. Gradually more and more people are freeing themselves from that blindness of Geneva, which, I would like to say, serves, not a policy of an obligation to ensure peace, but rather a policy of ensuring an obligation to go to war.

They are freeing themselves, and are beginning to see these problems in a sober way, they are ready for understanding and ready for peace.

Relations with England

I went further and offered my hand to England! I voluntarily waived all naval competition, to give the British a feeling of security. I didn't do that just because maybe I simply couldn't build any more ships -- let nobody fall victim to that delusion -- but solely for the purpose of ensuring a lasting peace between the two peoples. Of course, there is a prerequisite for all this:

It's not acceptable for one party to say: "I don't ever want to go to war again, and to show you I mean what I say, I voluntarily offer to limit my weapons to 35%" -- while the other party declares, "Well, I intend to go to war from time to time whenever I feel like it!" That's not right!

Such an agreement is only morally justifiable, when both peoples promise each other, hand in hand, that they never wish to go to war with each other, ever again. Germany has this determination. We all hope, that those who gain the upper hand in England are of the same determination!

Relations with France

I went even further. Immediately after the return of the Saar district to Germany, which was decided by plebiscite, I declared that there would no further differences at all between us.

I said that the question of Alsace-Lorraine no longer exists for us. It is a border region. The people of that region have never really been asked for their opinion on this issue. We have the impression that the inhabitants of this province are happiest when nobody is fighting over them anymore.

We all want no war with France. We want nothing from France! Nothing at all! And when the Saar district was returned to Germany, thanks to the correct interpretation of the treaties with France -- I must confirm that here -- I gave my solemn assurance that all territorial differences between France and Germany have been eliminated.

Today I no longer see any differences between us. We are two great peoples, who both want to live and work. And we'll live best when we work together!

Relations with Italy

After this unique and irrevocable waiver, I turned to another problem, which was easier to solve than the others, since here the same ideological basis formed the basic condition for an easier mutual understanding: the relationship between Germany and Italy. Certainly, the solution to this problem is only partly my doing, and partly the doing of that rare great man, whom the Italian people have the good luck to have as their leader [Il Duce - Benito Mussolini].

This relationship has long since left sphere of a purely economic or political expediency and has become a true and strong league of hearts by means of treaties and alliances. An axis has been formed here, represented by two peoples, who have bound themselves together ideologically and politically in a definitive and indissoluble friendship.

Here as well, I have implemented a final and unique step -- in the consciousness of the responsibility for my national comrades. I rid the world of a problem; for us, this problem no longer exists. As bitter as this may be to some: above all else, there stands, in the end, the overall interest of our people.

The whole work for peace, comrades, is not just an empty phrase, but rather this work has been concretised through facts, which no big-mouthed lie addict can deny!

The two last problems

Two problems remained. Here I had to express a proviso.

Ten million Germans found themselves outside the borders of the Reich, in two large settlement areas: Germans, who want to return to their homeland! This number of ten million is not just a bagatelle. That's a quarter of the entire population of France. And if France never gave up its claim to the few million Frenchmen in Alsace-Lorraine for forty years, then we had the right -- before God and the World -- to continue to assert our claim to these ten million Germans.

My comrades! There is a limit beyond which concession-making must stop, because otherwise it would become merely a pernicious weakness.

I would have no right to stand before German history if I simply and indifferently surrendered these ten million Germans.

I have already taken enough sacrifices upon myself as a result of relinquishing German claims. Here was the limit beyond which I could go no further!

How correct that was, has been proven by the plebiscite in Austria. The result at that time was a glowing recognition, an acknowledgement, such as the others would certainly never have hoped for.
We alone have experienced it: For democracies, a plebiscite is superfluous or even harmful the moment it doesn't lead to the results the democracies were hoping for.

Despite all this, this problem was solved, to the happiness of the entire great German people.

And now the last problem confronts us: a problem which must be solved, and which will be solved! It is the last territorial demand which I intend to make in Europe, but it is the demand which I will not abandon and which will, God willing, be fulfilled!

The lie of the "Czechoslovakian nation"

On the history of this problem: In 1918, under the slogan of the "self-determination of peoples", Central Europe was torn to bits and shuffled around by a few insane so-called "statesmen": without regard to the origins of the peoples, their national desires or economic necessities, Central Europe was atomised and arbitrarily jig-saw puzzled together again in so-called "New States". Czechoslovakia owes its very existence to this procedure!

The Czech state began with one single lie: The father of this lie was named Benes. This Mr. Benes appeared in Versailles and assured everyone, first ,that there was a Czechoslovakian nation. He had to invent this lie to make the meagre numbers of his own countrymen look bigger and therefore more important, justifying their pretensions.

And the Anglo-Saxon statesmen -- who have never been particularly well-travelled in geographical and racial-national matters -- never thought it necessary to investigate the truth or falsehood of this allegation on the part of Mr. Benes.

Because if they had, they would have immediately discovered that there is no such thing as a Czechoslovakian nation; there are only Czechs and Slovaks, and the Slovaks want nothing to do with the Czechs.

So these Czechs, under Mr Benes first of all, started out by annexing Slovakia. Since this state didn't seem viable to justify its existence, they simply grabbed three and half million Germans in violation of their right to self-determination and their desire for self-determination.

Since even this was not enough, they had to grab over a million Magyars, then Karpatho-Russians [Ruthenians or diaspora Ukrainians] and, finally, a few hundred thousand Poles.

That is the state which later called itself Czechoslovakia -- in violation of the right of self-determination of peoples, in violation of clear wish and will of the violated nations.

If I am speaking to you today, then I naturally feel the fate of all these oppressed peoples, I feel the fate of the Slovaks, the Poles, the Hungarians, and the Ukrainians.

Of course, I am the spokesman for the fate of my Germans only.

When Mr Benes at that time lied this state together, he solemnly promised to divide the country up on the Swiss "cantonal" model, since a few of the democratic statesmen had pangs of conscience, just the same.

We all know how Mr Benes dissolved this system of "cantons". He began a terror regime! the Germans attempted to protest against this arbitrary violation even at that time. They were shot down.

And then a war of extermination set in. In these years of the "peaceful" development of Czechoslovakia nearly 600,000 Germans left the country. This happened for a very simple reason: otherwise they would have starved!

The whole development of the country since 1913 up to 1938 shows one thing very clearly: Mr Benes was determined to gradually wipe out the German identity. And he has succeeded in doing so to a certain extent. He plunged innumerable people into the utmost misery.

He has succeeded in making millions of people shy and afraid. Under the continual practice of his terror, he has succeeded in depriving these people of a voice. Clarity as to the "international" tasks of this state became quite clear at the same time. No further attempt was made to hide it: this state was intended, if necessary, to be sent into action against Germany. A French Minister of Aviation, Pierre Cot, expressed this desire quite soberly: "We need this state", he said, "because German industry can be most easily bombed to destruction using this state as a base".

And this same state is being used by Bolshevism as its port of entry. It was not Germany who sought contact with Bolshevism, but rather, Bolshevism used Czechoslovakia to dig a channel into Central Europe.

Now begins the most shameful part of the tale. This state, which is controlled by a minority only, forced its constituent nationalities to accept political policies which would one day compel them to shoot at men of their own blood in the adjacent countries.

Mr Benes demands of the Germans: "If I wage war against Germany, I'll make you shoot at Germans. And if you don't do that, then you'll be a traitor to Czechoslovakia, and I'll have you shot for that!"

He requires the Slovakian people to for objectives which are of no interest to them. The Slovakian people want peace -- not adventuring.

But Mr Benes succeeded in turning all these people into traitors: either against the country, Czechoslovakia, or traitors to their own people. Either they must betray their people, and must be prepared to shoot at their own national comrades, or Mr Benes says: "You're traitors, and you'll be shot for that".

Is there any greater shamelessness than to force foreign people to shoot at their own racial comrades, only because a degenerate, evil and criminal governmental regime demands it?

I can assure you here: when we occupied Austria, my first order was: "No Czech need, or even may, serve in the German army." I didn't place them in a position of a conflict of conscience.

But anybody that resists Mr Benes is destroyed, first, financially. This is a fact which cannot be lied away by the "democratic" "world apostles."

In this state run by Mr Benes, the results have been a nightmare for all the nationalities. I speak only of the Germans.They have the highest mortality rate of all German ethnic groups, their child poverty rate is the highest, their unemployment is by far the highest. How long is something like this supposed to last?

For twenty years, the Germans in Czechoslovakia, and the German people in Germany, have just had to sit back and watch -- not because they ever accepted this situation, but because Germany was defenceless could not protect itself against its tormenters in the "democratic" world.

But, every time, anyplace, a traitor is even just imprisoned; every time a man who shouts abuse at the Reich Chancellery just because he doesn't like me personally, is taken into custody, there's a commotion in England, indignation in America.

But when hundreds of thousands of people are expelled, when tens of thousands of people are thrown into prison, and thousands of others are shot down, this doesn't bother our genius-brain "world democrats" in the least. We have learned a lot in these past years. And we have nothing but the deepest contempt for such people.

We see one single great power in Europe and one man at its head, who has an understanding of the plight of our people. He is -- I am pleased to say -- is my good friend, Benito Mussolini.

We will never forget what he has done in this time, and the attitude taken by the Italian people. And if a hour of comparable misery ever comes for Italy, I will stand before the German people and demand that we adopt the same attitude! And then, it won't be two states just defending themselves, but rather a block!

On 20 February of this year I declared in the Reichstag that there must be a change in the lives of the ten million Germans outside of our borders. Mr Benes understood this, too. So he implemented an even more radical oppression, inaugurating an even greater terror regime, with closures, prohibitions, confiscations, and so on. This started immediately, until the end came on 21 May.
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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON HITLER'S COMMENT ABOUT THE EVENTS OF 21 MAY 1938:

On 21 May 1938, Benes issued a report, now generally acknowledged to have been entirely false, that the Germans had mobilised and were massed along the border ready to invade the country. See The Forced War by David L. Hoggan, chapter 5:

"The Czech leader took Schussnig as an example and indicated that the country, to force a solution, was much more impatient than Hitler. The Czech cabinet and the military leaders decided, on the afternoon of 20 May 1938, to order a partial mobilisation and to justify this act of provocation with the false justification that German troops were grouping together on the Czech border. It was hoped that the resulting excitement would bring the French and British over to the Czech side, before they could apply a policy of concessions in favour of the Sudeten Germans. The plot failed, although [Czech Foreign Minister Kamil] Krofta, on 27 May, and Benesch, on 1 June, had granted interviews in which they claimed that Czechoslovakia would have been capable of scoring a great victory over Germany. A controlled press campaign intended to create this impression began on 21 May 1938, and echoed all over the world."

Source, p. 146 (Chapter 5) of the German translation of THE FORCED WAR by David L. Hoggan, published in Frankfurt/Main in 1963 as DER ERZWUNGENE KRIEG. The rights to the English original are held by Mark Weber of the IHR, who claims he plans to republish it. I'll believe it when I see it.

Hoggan was also the author of at least 2 highly informative three- volume sets of books published in German under the titles (retranslated back into English) as THE BLIND CENTURY and THE AMERICAN DISASTER, which he could never get published in English, although he was an American history professor and an American citizen. He also wrote a book, published in German only, entitled DER UNNÖTIGE KRIEG 1939-45: GERMANY MUST PERISH (= THE UNNECESSARY WAR 1939-45: GERMANY MUST PERISH. The whereabouts of his next of kin and/or the original manuscripts is unknown. I have, and have read, all these books). - C.P.
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[END OF NOTE ON EVENTS OF 21 MAY 1938, back to Hitler]:

And you can't dispute, my racial comrades, that we displayed really unexampled patience on that day. The 21st of May was intolerable. I described the history of this day before the Reichstag.
An election -- which could no longer be postponed -- was finally to be held in Czechoslovakia. So Mr Benes invented a way to intimidate the Germans there: military occupation of the regions. He hopes to maintain this military occupation in the belief that no one would dare to stand up to him, as long as his bully boys were in the land. It was this bald-faced lie of 21 May, claiming that Germany had mobilised, which now had to be shored up, to camouflage and justify the Czech mobilisation.

You know what happened next: an infamous campaign of international incitement against Germany. Germany hadn't even mobilised one man! Germany hadn't even thought of settling this problem militarily. I still had the attitude that the Czechs, at the last minute, would realise that this tyranny could not be shored up any longer.

But Mr Benes believed that he could do anything he liked with Germany, backed up as he was by France and England. Nothing could happen to him, and above all: behind him, if all else failed, there was still Soviet Russia. This man's answer was a simple one: shootings, arrests, imprisonment, of everybody he didn't like for any reason.

This was the reason for my demand in Nuremberg. My demand was quite clear, but I had not presented it before: that the time had come for the right of self-determination to enter into effect at last for these three and half million Germans -- almost twenty years after President Wilson's declarations [the 14 Points].

And again, Mr Benes gave his answer: more deaths, more imprisonments, more arrests! The Germans began to flee.

Negotiations with Mr Chamberlain

And then came England. I told Mr Chamberlain what we considered to be the only possibility of a solution. It is the most natural thing in the world. I know that all these nationalities no longer wished to remain under this Mr Benes. Of course, primarily I'm only the spokesman for the Germans first of all, but now I have spoken for their behalf, giving them an assurance that I am no longer willing simply to sit back quietly without doing anything, while this madman in Prague believes he can simply mistreat three and a half million Germans.

And I left no doubt that from now on, German patience is finally at an end. I left no doubt in his mind about one thing: it is a feature of the German mentality to tolerate something, repeatedly, for a long time, but that sooner or later the time comes when it's time to stop!

And now England and France have finally issued the only possible demand to Czechoslovakia: he has been requested to release the German areas and assign them to the Reich.

Today we have exact reports of the talks conducted by Mr Benes at that time. In view of the French and British demand that he quit propping up the country without a change in the status of all those people, without an abandonment of Czech claims to the Sudetenland and an assignment of these areas to Germany, Mr Benes found a way out of this dilemma.

He indicated that he was willing to release these areas. That was his declaration, but did he do so? He didn't cede the areas, rather, he is now expelling the German populations!

And this is where all the playing around has got to stop! Mr Benes had hardly spoken, before he initiated a campaign of military subjugation -- but worse than ever -- all over again.

We see the horrendous figures: In one day, 10,000 refugees; the next day, 20,000; one day later, as many as 37,000; again, two days later, 11,000; then 62,000; then 76,000; now it's 90,000, 107,000, 137,000 and, today, 214,000! Entire stretches of land were depopulated. Localities were burnt down as they attempt to smoke the Germans with grenades and gas.

But Mr Benes sits in Prague and thinks: "Nothing can happen to me, after all I've got England and France backing me up!"

But now, my national comrades, I believe that the time has come when it's time to talk about paying the bill for all this.

When a person tolerates all this disgrace, all this misery, for twenty years -- as we have done -- then it cannot really be disputed that he is a peace-loving person. When a person has the patience that we showed on that day, one really cannot call him a war-monger. After all, in the end, Mr Benes has seven million Czechs behind him, but here stands a nation of over 75 million!

The memorandum

I have now presented a memorandum with a last and final German proposal to the British government. This memorandum contains nothing more than the realisation of what Mr Benes has already promised.

The content of this memorandum is very simple: every district which is German judging by its people and which wishes to be German, is to be ceded to Germany; of course, not just after Mr Benes has succeeded in expelling perhaps one or two million Germans, but rather, now, and I mean immediately.

I have drawn a border which is correct based on the materials related to the ethnic and language distribution, material which has been available for decades.

All the same, I am more fair than Mr Benes, and do not wish to exploit the power that we possess. I therefore established the following principle from the very outset: this area is to be placed under German sovereignty, because it is largely inhabited by Germans, but after that I will leave the establishment of the definitive border up to the vote of the national comrades who actually live there!

I have also established that a plebiscite should then be held in this region. And so that no one might say perhaps it was fair, I have decided to use the Saar plebiscite as the basis for this plebiscite.

I am now prepared, and was prepared, as far as I am concerned, to permit plebiscites all over the entire region. For this reason alone, Mr Benes turned to his friends. Now they want to permit plebiscites only in certain parts.

OK, I gave in here. I even agreed to allow the plebiscite to be overseen by international control commissions. I went even further, and agreed to allow a German-Czech commission to draw up the border. Mr Chamberlain thought an international commission should not be permitted. I agreed to that, as well. I even wished to withdraw the troops during this plebiscite period, and I declared myself prepared, today, to invite the British Legion, who offered to go into these areas and maintain peace and order. And then I was also ready to allow the final border to be established by an international commission composed of Germans and Czechs.

The content of this memorandum is nothing more than the practical implementation of everything that Mr Benes had already promised, with, of course, more extensive international guarantees.

Mr Benes now says that this memorandum constitutes a "new situation". And what does this "new situation" consist of? It consists of that which Mr Benes has already promised, but this time, as an exception, it would be kept! That's Mr Benes' new situation.

How many things has this guy promised during his lifetime? And he never kept a single one! Now for the first time something is to be kept by him. Mr Benes says: we cannot withdraw from this area. Mr Benes has also understood the transfer of this region to mean that it was to be ceded to Germany in terms of legal title, but simply violated by the Czechs.

That's all finished now. I have now demanded that now -- after twenty years -- Mr Benes should finally be forced to keep to the truth. The region is to be transferred on 1 October.

Mr Benes is now placing his hopes on the world! And he and his diplomats make no effort to hide the fact. They declare: It is our hope that Chamberlain will be defeated, that Daladier will be replaced, that upsets will occur all over. They are setting their hopes on Soviet Russia, since he still believes that he will be able to evade the fulfilment of his obligations. And there I can only say one thing: Now come two men confronting each other. There is Mr Benes. And here am I!

We are two men of different types: while Mr Benes was shirking his duty travelling around the world during the greatest national struggle in history, I was doing my duty as a decent German soldier. And today I am standing opposite this man as the soldier of my people!

I have only one more thing to declare: I am grateful to Mr Chamberlain for all his efforts. I have assured him that the German people wishes nothing else than peace.

But I simply declared that we could be pushed beyond the limits of our patience. I furthermore assured him -- and I repeat it here -- that the moment that Czechoslovakia solves its problems -- that is, when the Czechs solve all their conflicts with all their minorities -- peacefully, of course, instead of through oppression -- at that time I shall take no further interest in the Czech state. And I guarantee him that! We don't want any Czechs!

Germany's patience is at an end

Alone, similarly, I wish to declare before the German people that in relation to the Sudetenland Germans my patience is now at an end. I have made Mr Benes an offer which is nothing more than the fulfilment of what he himself has already promised. At this point, the decision is his: peace or war!

Either he accepts this offer or we will go in and take our freedom personally!

I have never been a coward. I'm marching ahead of my people as its first soldier, and behind me -- the world must know this -- there marches an entire nation -- a nation of people different from what they were in 1918!

It's true that an itinerant professor [Wilson] succeeded in infecting the German with the poison of democratic jabber at one time -- but the German people of today is no longer the people they were then! To us, such jabber-blabber is like wasp stings: we are immune to it now.

In this hour, the entire German people will understand me! It will understand that my will is their will, just as I see that their future and their fate is the underlying principle of everything I do!

And we want to reinforce this common will the way we possessed it during the Great Struggle, when I -- a simple, unknown soldier -- set out to conquer an Empire, and never doubted the certainty of final success and victory.

A group of brave men and brave women have gathered together around me. And they are following me.

And so I ask you, my German people, get in step behind me. Man for man, woman for woman. In this hour we wish to form a common will. If our will is stronger than misery and danger, then it will destroy misery and danger once and for all. We are determined! Mr Benes is free to choose! ~