751.6111/90
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 14.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that the German objections to the Franco-Soviet treaty of mutual assistance have found formal utterance in a memorandum of the Berlin Foreign Office addressed as of date May 25th to the Locarno Powers,46 a copy of which has been furnished this Embassy at its request. It is a document of legal import which seeks to establish that the Franco-Soviet treaty is at variance with the provisions of the Locarno Pact.
In brief, the argument is that Article 2 of the terms of Locarno enjoins the signatories against attacking or invading each other’s territories except under certain conditions. Among these last are cited the duties prescribed for members of the League of Nations in Article 16 of the Covenant against a state unlawfully resorting to war, and the freedom of action left League members in case the Council of the League fails to have its recommendations unanimously adopted by its disinterested members, as per Article 15, Paragraph 7. Inasmuch, however, as the Soviet-German Pact calls for mutual assistance in the case of aggression by France, Russia or Germany against one of the others (Article 4 of the Protocol of Signature) in the contingencies covered by Articles 15, Paragraph 7, and 16 of the Covenant, above mentioned, as also by Article 17 Paragraphs 1 and 3, which provides for the application of Article 16 in case a nation not a member of the League should prove obstreperous and as this provision for mutual assistance is held to be applicable even should the Council not prove unanimous or should it fail to make a recommendation, the Foreign Office holds that France reserves the right to decide whether or not to take military action against Germany after determining “unilaterally and in her own discretion” that Germany is the aggressor.
The Paris Temps of the 2nd of June countered this argument by claiming that the obligations arising under the Franco-Soviet pact are strictly subordinate to those arising from League membership (Article IV of the Treaty) and subject to the recommendations of the League Council (Article 1 of Protocol of Signature); that independent action in case the said Council fails to function is also in accord with the terms of the Covenant; and further that Article 2 of the Protocol of Signature stipulates that there is no intention of violating previous treaty obligations. If then, the other Locarno [Page 290] signatories, such as Great Britain and Italy, do not, in the case of absence of action by the League, consider that there is unprovoked aggression, the obligation to assist under Locarno would fall through.
The Temps article further intimated that Germany perhaps desired to raise doubts about the Locarno agreement itself or to start a campaign in favor of modifying the regime of the demilitarized zones. (The connection of the demilitarized Rhineland zone with the Franco-Soviet pact is established through the reference in Article 2, Section 1, of the Locarno Treaty above mentioned which specifies the exceptions to non-aggression, to Articles 42 and 43 of the Treaty of Versailles that provide for the demilitarization of the zone in question.)
The Deutsche Diplomatisch-Politische Korrespondenz, denying any such ulterior motives, retorted by saying that in view of the suspicion of other countries, Germany might be justified in suspecting an additional risk to its undefended western borders in case of trouble to the east, by reason of the newly established association of France with Russia and particularly the weakening of the role of the League Council alleged to have been effected by Article 1 of the Franco-Soviet Protocol of Signature. This Article seems to agree with the Temps to the extent of advocating an “unconditional recognition of willingness to submit to the judgment of the guarantee powers (of Locarno) in every case.”
The Boersen Zeitung of June 5th recalled that as a result of the extension of the Franco-Soviet treaty to Czechoslovakia, Russia has become Germany’s neighbor. It also welcomed the suggestion of the Temps in regard to the decision of the Locarno powers, urging that this should be declared binding.
Possibly therefore some such proviso may be expected.
It may be noted that the memorandum in the enclosure47 contains a declaration that non-provoked aggression by Germany against Russia will never arise.
Respectfully yours,