No new Aski is being granted today to any firm. We are interested in maintaining and increasing this Aski. We take this opportunity to advise you, confidentially, that negotiations are under way at present, which would be of great importance to Mexpo if the plan materializes. It is yet too early to give you particulars. However, within the next 2 weeks we will already have a very clear picture and submit to you full data at that time. However, we would ask you to refrain from making a decision now regarding Mexpo's fate because none of the participants would gain anything by a negative decision; for the efforts in Mexico it would only represent a set-back for all for all concerned. Most friendly. EXHIBIT No. 542 [Letter from C. A. von Rumohr, vice president, Schildge, von Rumohr & Co., Inc., New York, to Lentz & Hirschfeld, Bremen, dated March 6, 1939] Re meeting of Cotton Committee with Dr. Tannenberg. LENTZ & HIRSCHFELD, Bremen, Germany. MARCH 6, 1939. GENTLEMEN: Mr. Zimmer today called a meeting of the Cotton Committee because Mr. Tannenberg had advised Mr. Zimmer that he wanted to talk to all the cotton people. A representative of almost every firm was present. Mr. Tannenberg talked for about an hour and a half. He advised that: 1. Lard, wheat, citrus fruits, vegetable oil and cotton interests in this country had approached the German Embassy through Congressmen and Senators in order to find out what could be done to get rid of some of their merchandise to Germany. 2. They expressed their willingness to take German merchandise in return for the goods which they sold in Germany. 3. The feeling in this country is quite generally getting to the point where certain Senators and Congressmen are portraying the opinion of the public in that something has to be done in order to get rid of the surplus goods. 4. These Senators talked to the Treasury Department and asked the Department whether barter deals were in order. Mr. Messerschmidt, of the Department, advised that these barter deals were not in the interests of the United States, and the Treasury Department, therefore, was not interested in such deals. On the other hand Mr. Hull came out with a statement recently that barter deals were perfectly all right, provided that no subsidy was given by the government who was sending goods to this country against American products. 5. Mr. Tannenberg is of the opinion that it is time to coordinate all the interests that are budding in this country for barter deals with Germany, or any other European country, by forming a kind of syndicate which would hire one or two men, who would try to bring theoretical desires to certain parts of this country for barter deals to be put into practical form, and who would make propaganda in a discreet way with such interests that might be benefited by barter deals with Germany by showing them the advantages, on a dollar-and-cents basis. 6. Mr. Tannenberg suggested a corporation be formed with a capital of $10,000 of which temporarily only $2,000 would have to be paid, which money would have to be supplied by the cotton people. This, of course, was only a suggestion given by Mr. Tannenberg for us to think over and decide upon. 7. A committee is going to be elected by the cotton interests, and such committee will go down to Washington and discuss with the Senators who are interested in barter deals, what can be done. Mr. Zimmer will call a meeting tomorrow at 2 o'clock, during which a decision will be reached as to whether the cotton people will supply the funds for the syndicate and at which a committee will be elected to go to Washington. It was decided that this committee should consist entirely of American firms bearing no relation to anything German, so I guess this leaves us out of the committee. After the meeting yesterday, Mr. Zimmer, Mr. Lange, Mr. Rapp, and the writer met and discussed Mr. Tannenberg's suggestion. It was agreed that for us cotton people, the business that could be forthcoming from farm cooperatives, namely, southern farmers, was almost negligible. The cotton farmers in the South were described by people who know them as extremely poor. There are very few things that such cotton farmers can use. Possibly the only items would be barbed wire and fertilizer. Most of the fertilizers coming from Germany are not on the barterable list. However, with the help of Dr. Tannenberg, this might be changed. There are many practical difficulties in the handling of such business since the farm cooperatives are very poor and have no cash to pay for the duties. This, however, may be overcome by the farmers giving to a firm, who would handle such barter deals, say for instance 100 bales of cotton, of which 20 bales would be sold in this country to supply the necessary dollar funds for duties, whereas 80 bales would be used for the purchase of the German merchandise. There would be financing difficulties and there would also be certain guarantees which would have to be given to the farmers so that they actually would receive their German merchandise, but all this might be ironed out. Just the same, the people present at the meeting didn't seem to have great hopes that any quantity of barter business could be done on this basis. Dr. Tannenberg mentioned something about certain Congressmen and Senators suggesting that the State of Texas might build roads and buy certain German equipment against the sale of cotton. This, however, also would meet with difficulties since most of the state jobs are subsidized by the Federal Government, who would have to be considered adverse to any such barter deals. The consensus of opinion, was to give to Dr. Tannenberg all the cooperation that could be given even in a financial way since something might actually come of it. We feel that there is an opening here for new business, particularly for those firms who have sufficient funds to finance good risks. The main thing, however, is to show Dr. Tannenberg our good will, because if we do not help out in doing something which Dr. Tannenberg believes offers opportunities, somebody else will. Very sincerely yours, SCHILDGE, VON RUMOHR & Co., INC., EXHIBIT No. 543 [Letter from Adam T. Schildge to Mr. Lassmann, Clever Y. Lassmann, Mexico, D. F., dated August 31, 1938] AUGUST 31, 1938. Mr. M. LASSMANN, Clever Y. Lassmann, Mexico, D. F. DEAR MR. LASSMANN: Mr. Hentze advised me of your good wishes and recommendations. This is indeed very nice of you and I would like you to accept my most sincere thanks. You know that Staten Island is a good place to bring up children, who make life really worth while and are a source of pleasure to their parents even though they are a responsibility and a constant drain on the pocketbook. But I guess that everyone who wants children has to carry these responsibilities, so the best thing to do is to be happy and satisfied. Mr. E. Iverson of Henckel, Solingen, was here from the end of May until early August. He is very happy with his general manager position in Germany. He told us of the great things which take place in Germany. I trust that some time in the near future I will be able to make a trip to Mexico and assure you that it would be a great privilege for me to call on you personally. Yours most sincerely, ADAM T. SCHILDGE. EXHIBIT No. 544 [Translation and letter from Lentz & Hirschfeld, Bremen, to Schildge, von Rumohr & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., dated April 11, 1939] SCHILDGE, VON RUMOHR & CO., INC., LENTZ & HIRSCHFELD, 15 William St., New York, N. Y. We confirm our cable exchange of the 7th and 8th instant, as per enclosure. As a result of this cable exchange we feel that we have to discuss with you frankly the present political situation, which is responsible for the cable sent us by you. We do not think that there will be any war. It seems to us almost impossible that a world war is going to break out during this or the following year. This psychosis exists only in certain circles in London and also in America. If they are maintaining in England that for economic reasons Germany at present cannot wage war, for instance, on account of scarcity in raw materials, etc., one can rightly reply that England, apparently, is well provided with these things, however, absolutely inadequately prepared for war. Chamberlain knew this when he went to Munich. He also knows today that England must do everything in order to avoid war, since otherwise the entire British Empire would shake in its foundation. In the event of war the pact between Germany-Ita.y-Japan would extremely endanger not only the mother country England but also the passage through the Suez Canal, and furthermore English interests in the Far East. Of the four Great Powers existing today, that is, North America, the British Empire, Germany in Europe, and Japan in the East, the British Empire has the weakest foundation. It is the opinion of many authentic persons that the greater the power of the Axis partners, the British Empire will continue to become weaker in the course of the next few years, and this leads us to the point which is responsible for the present psychosis in the United States and the business world there. Since the appearance of Mussolini and Hitler, neither in England nor in America did they realize what is at stake. In England they do not yet like to frankly admit that a considerable part of the former British sphere of influence will be taken over by these powers, thanks to their fine organization, wealth of ideas, homogeneous and intelligently conducted politic, and thus they lose opportunities. However, neither in England nor America is a forcible form of government equivalent to ours. Today, democracy is merely a slogan for nonprogressive, poorly managed forms of government. If England continues her foolish actions then the triumphal procession of the Axis Powers will be considerably faster. If there is the opinion in America today that war is going to break out in Europe, it is due to the fact that America actually has no idea about European conditions and besides is miserably kept informed. Do you think that anyone of the leading English politicians is seriously thinking about having to go to war on account of Albania? England has not at all lost anything in Europe except her equilibrium, cultivated for a long time. England has to get used to it that she can no longer play the first fiddle on the Continent. In America, however, principally in Washington, there is much ado about nothing, the press constantly publishes sensations, ind gnations, and threats; however, nothing is being done, because nothing can be done. The so-called dictatorial governments' actions were extremely prudent and self-possessed and they definitely know what they want. This brief account will perhaps help in having you change your ideas about the possibility of war within the near future. Our opinion is based on various information in our possession. The United States should rather concern itself with European business than European politics. A country, which has 12,000,000 unemployed people, inadequately clad, although there are 12,000,000 bales of unsold cotton in Government hands, with which one hoped to corner the world, is, in our opinion, not justified in talking about war, while in reality one is only anticipating big business, that is, to furnish war supplies. It is more important to consider more soberly the facts, and these facts show that a certain shifting of power is under way, which has always existed in history and which cannot be stopped. At any rate, on neither side in Europe is there any time or desire for war. We have asked Mr. Schildge to send you a cable of reassurance, without any information about our viewpoint. We do not know whether he has done so; however, Mr. Schildge is also in Europe and will at least see things differently than in Washington. We think that you can handle the cotton and documents as heretofore without any hesitation. If it should once happen that cotton remains unsold out of Inland account, we guarantee taking it over in foreign exchange. Most friendly, LENTZ & HIRSCHFELD. LENTZ & HIRSCHFELD, Firma SCHILDGE, von RUMоHR & Cɔ., INC., 15 William Street, New York, N. Y.: Wir bestätigen unseren Kabelwechsel vom 7.und 8.ds. laut Anlage. Aus diesem Kabelwechsel haben wir das Gefühl, dass wir uns mit Ihnen offen über die gegenwärtige politische Lage aussprechen müssen, denn diese ist ja verantwortlich für das Kabel, das Sie uns sandten. Wir glauben nicht an Krieg. Es erscheint uns so gut wie ausgeschlossen, dass in diesem und im nächsten Jahr ein Weltkrieg entbrennt. Diese Psychose ist nur in gewissen Bevölkerungskreisen in London und im übrigen in Amerika vorhanden. Wenn in England behauptet wird, dass Deutschland zur Zeit aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen, nämlich Mangel an Rohstoffen und dergleichen, keinen Krieg führen kann, so kann man darauf mit Recht antworten, dass England in diesen Dingen wohl versorgt scheint, aber für einen Krieg völlig ungenügend gerüstet ist. Als Chamberlain nach München ging, hat er dies gewusst. Er weiss auch heute noch genau, dass England alles tun muss, um einen Krieg zu verhindern, weil sonst das gesamte englische Reich in den Grundfesten erschüttert wird. Der Pakt Deutschland-Italien-Japan würde im Kriegsfalle sowohl das Mutterland England als auch die Durchfahrt durch den Suez-Kanal und ferner die englischen Interessen im fernen Osten mehr also gefährden. Von den vier grossen Machtblöcken, die es heute gibt, nämlich Nordamerika, dem englischen Empire, Deutschland auf Europa und Japan im Osten ist das englische Reich das am schwächsten fundierte. Die Ansicht vieler mass gebender Leute geht dahin, dass im Laufe der nächsten Jahre das englische Empire immer schwächer wird, je stärker die Achsenmächte werden. Und hier kommen wir auf einen Punkt, der verantwortlich ist für die jetzige Psychose in den Vereinigten Staaten und der dortigen Geschaftswelt. Weder in England noch in Amerika hat man verstanden, um was es seit dem Auftreten von Mussolini und Hitler geht. Dass diese Mächte einen erheblichen Teil des bisherigen englischen Machtbereiches dank ihrer guten Organisation, ihrer Ideenkraft, einen einheitlichen und klug geleiteten Politik übernehmen werden, will man sich in England noch nicht offen zugestehen und verpasst damit Gelegenheiten. Man hat aber weder in England noch in Amerika unserer schlagkraftigen Regierungsform etwas Gleichwertiges entgegenzusetzen. Demokratie ist heute nur ein Schlagwort für bewegungsunfähige, schlecht geleitete und ideenlose Regierungsformen. Wenn England sich weiterhin so töricht benimmt wie bisher, so wird der Siegeszug der Achsenmächte wesentlich schneller vor sich gehen. Wenn heute in Amerika die Ansicht besteht, dass es Krieg in Europa gibt, so kommt dies daher, weil Amerika tatsächlich keine Ahnung von europäischen Verhältnissen hat und im übrigen miserabel informiert ist. Glauben Sie, dass ernsthaft jemand der leitenden englischen Politiker der Ansicht ist, wegen Albanien einen Krieg machen zu müssen? England hat in Europa überhaupt nichts verloren ausser dem lang gepflegten Gleichgewicht. England wird sich daran gewöhnen müssen, dass es nicht mehr die erste Geige auf dem Kontinent spielt. Man macht in Amerika, hauptsächlich aber in Washington, viel Lärm um nichts, die Presse erschöpft sich in Sensationen, Empörung und Drohungen, aber es wird nichts getan, weil nichts getan werden kann. Die sogenannten diktatorischen Staaten handelten viel zu überlegt und selbstbeherrscht und wissen genau, was sie wollen. Vielleicht können Ihnen diese kurzen Ausführungen dazu behilflich sein, sich zu einer Auffassung durchzuringen, die mit der Möglichkeit eines Krieges in naher Zukunft nicht rechnet. Es ist auf Grund vieler Informationen, die wir haben, unsere Auffassung. Die Vereinigten Staaten sollten sich lieber um das europäische Geschäft anstatt um die europäische Politik kümmern. Ein Land, welches 12 Millionen Arbeitslose hat, die sich nicht kleiden können, und trotzdem 12 Millionen Ballen unverkaufte Baumwolle in Regierungshänden, mit denen man die Welt zu cornern hoffte, ist u. E. nicht berechtigt, nur von Krieg zu sprechen, wobei man in Wirklichkeit nur auf ein grosses Geschäft hofft, nämlich Kriegslieferant zu sein. Es ist richtiger, dass man die Tatsachen nüchterner betrachtet, und diese Tatsachen zeigen eben, dass gewisse Machtverschiebungen vor sich gehen, die in der Geschichte immer vorhanden gewesen sind und die auch nicht aufzuhalten sind. In Europa ist jedenfalls weder Zeit noch Lust für einen Krieg auf irgendeiner Seite vorhanden. Wir haben Herrn Schildge gebeten, ohne Kenntnis unserer Ansicht, Ihnen ein Beruhigungskabel zu schicken. Wir wissen nicht, ob er es getan hat, aber Herr Schildge ist auch in Europa und wird die Dinge auch zum mindesten anders sehen als in Washington. Wir glauben, dass Sie unbedenklich die Baumwolle und die Dokumente handhaben können wie bisher. Sollte einmal Baumwolle aus Inko nicht verkauft sein, so garantieren wir Ihnen die Abnahme in Devisen. Freundschaftslichst, Anlagen. Kopie a Herrn Adam T. Schildge, Palermo. EXHIBIT NO. 545 [Letter and translation from Lentz & Hirschfeld, Bremen, Germany, to Adam T. Schildge, Inc., New York, dated October 7, 1938] LENTZ & HIRSCHFELD, ADAM T. SCHIIDSE, INC., New York, N. Y.: Today the individual human being is at all times linked with his community, and for this reason the business of every one is closely connected with the general economic and political conditions. It is therefore of importance after these hectic times to obtain a picture of the facts, which appears to us to be as follows: The Munich Pact created an entirely new situation: 1. The Russians have disappeared from Europe. Their connections with west European states have been cut off, which formerly went through Czechoslovakia, and can only be continued in a roundabout way. 2. Till now Czechoslovakia played an important role in the balance of power. What is left of Czechoslovakia will depend economically to a considerable extent on Germany in the future. 3. German penetration in the east and southeast is under way. 4. Germany's economic exploitation of the territory from the Danube to the Black Sea is much easier now. Cargoes transported via the Rhine-Main-DanubeCanal, which will also be connected with the Weser, will have such low freight rates and thus eliminate other competitors. 5. Politically the United States of America has been dislodged from Europe, Germany has taken the place now. 6. The little entente has been broken up. Individual states such as Yugoslavia, Romania, etc., have to depend upon themselves to a greater extent and therefore will come more under German influence. 7. The big entente has also experienced a considerable shifting of power. 8. The prestige and influence of Germany have greatly increased, extending far beyond Europe. The same also applied to the Fuehrer's personality. 9. German-English friendship will have a decisive effect upon the United States of America and perhaps also on other countries. 10. Europe has solved its problems for the time being, bringing prospects of peace, which the English press guarantees for at least 2 years (?). 11. This general appeasement will also result in a general upswing since the business world can plan and place orders for a long time ahead. 12. There will probably be a certain anti-Semitic movement in Prague because too many Jews were crowded together there on account of the latest events, and the Czechs will take hold of the remaining possibilities. This would have a stimulating effect on United States of America-Germany relations. 13. There will probably be a revival of economic activities in the United States of America as a result of the European appeasement and the coming Presidential election, which will probably have the effect of a considerably larger import from Germany despite the boycott. 14. After the settlement of the East-European question there will probably follow the unimportant question of Danzig for Germany; primarily, however, |