BERLIN, July 19, 1940 (UP) — Adolf Hitler today addressed an “appeal to reason” to Great Britain to avert “destruction of a great world empire,” but he made it clear that rejection would mean an attack with all of the forces at the command of the Axis powers.
“In this hour and before this body,” the Nazi Fuehrer told the German Reichstag in the presence of Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano, “I feel myself obliged to make one more appeal to reason to England.”
“I do this not as a victor, but for the triumph of common sense.”
Without delivering any ultimatum, Hitler said that it had never been on his desire or his aim to destroy the British Empire.
The Fuehrer warned against interpreting his appeal as weakness and said that “Churchill may parry my words with the claim that I feel doubt or fear, but in any case I will have my knowledge that I acted rightly, according to my conscience.”
The Fuehrer said that his cardinal aims in foreign policy had been friendship with Britain and with Italy.
“Despite my sincere efforts it has not been possible,” he said, “to achieve the friendship with England which I believed would have been blessed by both.”
Hitler made it clear that rejection of his appeal to “reason” would result in a “final” attack upon Britain with every resource that German could throw into the battle.
As he spoke German airplanes ranged over the British Isles again and dive bombers slashed at British shipping in what Nazi had said was a mere preliminary to the long threatened “blitzkrieg” offensive by Germany and Italy in an attempt to invade England for the first time in nine centuries.
Hitler said that German armed forces, toughened by their mighty sweep through Poland and through France, were stronger today than before the war started.
Germany has a greater supply of munitions; iron, gasoline, food and other essentials are more than adequate, he declared, regardless of the length of the war.
Hitler said that “tens of thousands of Germans” had been slaughtered, but he “still sought” an understanding with Poland.
After the Polish victory, Hitler said, “I appealed to the insight of the statesmen, predicting devastating consequences.”
“I appealed to the rest of the world,” he added, “alt
