C.580.M.83Ô V I I. Communicated to the Council and'members Geneva, November 89th, of the League. SAAR TERRITORY

Transcription

1 C.580.M.83Ô V I I. Communicated to the Council and'members Geneva, November 89th, of the League. SAAR TERRITORY Letter dated November :22nd, 1934, from the Chairman of the Governing Commission of the Saar Territory to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, transmitting..a petition dated November 17th, 1934* from the 'Einhei tsfront1'. Memorandum dated November 19th, 1934, containing the.observations of the-plebiscite Commission on this petition..translation. Saarbruck, November 22nd, To the Secretary-General. Sir, I have the honour to send you herewith a petition dated November 17th, 1934, from the 'Einheitsfront", intended for the Council of the League of Nations. The Plebiscite Commission, which was consulted by the Governing Commission in regard to this petition, has expressed the desire to submit the observations contained in the attached memorandum, dated November 19th, have the honour, etc,, (Signed) G. G. KNOX.

2 - 2 - Translation from German PETITION FROM THE "EINHEITSFRONT". To the Council of the league of Nations through the Governing Commission of the Saar Terri tory. Searbruek, November 17th, 1354 I. We protest strongly to the Council of the League of Nations against the continual interference of the Hitler Government in the Saar plebiscite campaign, contrary to the treaty. Out of the ample material at our disposal, we would draw your attention to the following facts: 1. By a decree dated November 3rd, the Reich Government expatriated twelve Germans who signed a proclamation in favour of the status quo in the Saar. Among those was Dr. Gustav Regler, the writer, who was born in the Saar Territory, and is entitled to vote in the plebiscite. He was deprived of German nationality on the express ground that he had signed the proclamation in favour of the status quo in the Saar issued by several writers and scientists.,. Similarly Prince Max Karl zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was deprived of German nationality on the following textual grounds: "public appearance in Paris as a speaker by the side of the Saar separatist, Max Braun". Deprivation of German nationality, especially in the case of a person entitled to vote, constitutes a particularly serious case of infringement of neutrality by the German Government. 2. By means of expatriation the Hitler Government stigmatises the supporters of the status quo as "traitors'. Members of the German Government and also of" its Saar agency, the '"Deutsche Front ', have also repeatedly described supporters of the status quo in public as "traitors-. As the German Government in its "Law for the Protection of the People and the State provides the death penalty for treason, this stigmatisation of supporters of the status quo constitutes extremely severe pressure on persons entitled to vote. 3. The German Minister, Hermann GQring, writes in an article "The Saar is German", which was published inter alia in the "Berliner Borsen-Zei tung of November 4th, "In practice there can be no status quo. Propaganda in its favour is nothing more than a deception of voters and the crudest kind of trap for vote-catching. These remarks constitute a gross insult by a member of the German Government in respect of one of the plebiscite alternatives provided for in the treaty. 4. In the same article by Hermann Goring, we read : "It should not be forgotten that the discontinuance of the friendly attitude often displayed by the Reich, which to-day brings a large sum in to the Saar Territory by the payment of pensions alone... would place the population in an extremely difficult economic position".

3 - 3 - Thus a member of the German Government openly threatens to stop the payment of pensions in the event of the Saar not being attached to Germany. Such a threat, which is entirely unjustified from the legal point of view, constitutes an inadmissible material pressure on voters. While the German Government thus grossly violates the obligations it has entered into, attacks against the 'Reichsführer who, as is well known, is German Chancellor, Leader of the Party and Lead.i of tie S.A. all in one, are severely limited by a decree of the Governing Commission. On account of such attacks, two anti-hitler journals, the "Arbeiter-Zei tungis and the. Deutsche Freiheit, were suspended for a fortnight in October. Such a restriction of criticism constitutes a severe hindrance to the freedom of the plebiscite campaign, set off by an even more serious interference in the plebiscite on the parti of the Third Reich. II. The National-Socialist- "Deutsche Front" has sent to the Council of the League of Nations a memorandum which was circulated in the Saar Territory under the title Documents regarding the Terrorism of the Einheitsfront1". As a matter of fact, however, the statements contained in the memorandum, the falsehood of which has already been demonstrated by the Governing Commission, do not relate in a single case to an organisation connected with the "Einheitsfront,f. If the authors of the memorandum nevertheless dare to accuse the "Einheitsfront" of making preparations for civil war, their purpose can only be to distract the attention of public opinion from their own preparations for a "Putsch11. We can supply the Council of the League of Nations with instances in which forged documents have been circulated and have later been attributed to the "Einheitsfront" and construed as providing evidence of terrorism exercised by it. In order to lash their supporters into a fury against the Einheitsfront, the Deutsche Front press publishes systematically fanciful reports regarding the alleged "armament and "preparations for civil war" of the anti-hitlerites, which, when investigated by the police, as for example, at Von der Heydt and at the Josefa pit, have been proved to be entirely false. It is well known that the National-Socialist tactics when preparing acts of violence, as for example before the July Putsch" in Austria, consist in accusing their political opponents for weeks beforehand of arming and making preparations for a rising in order to cloak their own preparations for a coup de force and to create as far as possible an alibi. The systematic campaign of agitation waged by the "Deutsche Front1 against the "Einheitsfront therefore gives rise to serious anxiety in this connection.

4 - 4 - III. With a view to ensuring the greatest possible correctness of the plebiscite lists, and convicing the population of their reliability, we -consider it essential that a further official revision of the plebiscite lists should be undertaken by paritative commissions selected from among the population. We propose that the election bureaux on which, according to the directions of the Plebiscite Commission, thé parties are equally represented, should be entrusted with the revision of the lists. IV. In co ntrast with the severe restrictions to which the propaganda of the "Einheitsfront7' is subject, the National- Socialist "Deutsche Front exercises an inadmissible and severe moral and material pressure on the population. By means of threats as regards the period after the plebiscite, material damage, boycotting or dismissal from employment etc., the Deutsche Front obliges those who differ from it to display swastika flags and posters with inscriptions such as MI am a German and am therefore voting against the status quoi". Pickets of the so-called public order service of the "Deutsche Front", especially in small localities,and with the connivance of a section of the gendarmerie, are posted at the entrances to the meeting-halls of the '!isinhei tsfront, take photographs of those visiting them, and compile black lists of persons attending the meetings. With the help of ample financial resources placed at the disposal of the Deutsche Front" by the Hitler Government, it makes systematic attempts at corruption among the electorate. The freedom of the vote cannot exist without freedom of the plebiscite campaign and equal opportunities for all the plebiscite parties. We therefore regard the following measures as essential : 1. Authorisation of public meetings and demonostrations, Hitherto only members of the organisations holding a meeting are allowed to participate, which makes it difficult to attract new supporters. 2. Withdrawal of the measures restricting propaganda by means of pamphlets. 3. Removal of restrictions on propaganda by means of posters, and sequestration of advertising space with a view to its equal assignment among the plebiscite parties. 4. Guarantee of equal opportunities for all plebiscite parties. For the "Einheitsfront": (Signed) Max BRAUN, Fritz PFORDT.

5 ïr ans1atl^n. N H M læ-iopiarrui»; s y t h e p l e b i s c i t e c o n n i s s i c n. The petition from the 'Einheitsfront" dated November 17th, 1924, calls for the following observations on the, part of the Plebiscite Commission::-, ' 1. As regards the case of M-> Gustav -Regler referred to under. 1.1 of the. petition, the Commission - which, had- itself intended to draw the Council's attention to it - confirms that.4...regler. should he regarded -es entitled, to vpte^ since his name is.entered' on the provisional voting, list for vercig and no :objection to this entry.was lodged before the time-limit expired. The Commission considers that the action taken against M. Regler is contrary to the undertaking given by the German Government (under I.b.) of its letter of June 2nd, 1934, to the Chairman of the Council Committee.* 2. As regards the question.dealt with-under III, the Commission,.-considers that the procedure instituted by the Ordinance of November 7ih, 1934,. concerning the ex offi-eio_ verification of voting-lists - the text of which i s atta~ched to the Commission's report dated November 15th, ** - affords.'.the guarantees desired by the petitioner-, since it enables any person to notify any wrong entry to the author!titles, even after the.expiry of the time-li cit fixed by- the Plébiscité Regu-la-tions for the submission -of. claims., :and. authorises'the- Commission' s district bureaux ito cancel a'.ny entry when it is obvious that a- person's naj-j0 has.been entered as.the result of a mistake in regard to' the de facto situation. As -the.commission stated in its above-mentioned report dated November 15th, it has invited the various political organisations to submit candidates before No y ember- -30 th -, for the posts of regular and deputy tellers ; by.-. thisf.means it hopes to be able to appoint, by. the beginning of -December, to fill those posts persons representing the various opinions held.in regard to the object of the Plebiscite. The persons thus appointed will be given every facility to consult the documents on which the entries have beep based and -to communicate to the competent district bureau any. observations they may have to make. 3 r. As regards the measures proposed under VI, the Commission considers that public meetings and.- demonstrations should b e 'authorised,.and propaganda in the form of handbills made freer as soon as the measures regarded as being necessary in the circumstances for the maintenance of public.order havebeen t a k e n. The Commission is, at present 0stu.dying the measures to be taken to guarantee the right use of.propaganda by means of posters. It will also examine any other measures which may be necessary in the ci'rcumstances to enable the various political parties to carry on their propaganda under fair conditions. Sa art ruck, (Signed). V. HENRY, November 19th., President of the Plebiscite 0 " ' Commission. * See minutes cf the 4th meeting of the 80th Session of the Council (Extraordinary) held on June 4th, ** See document C.501.M VII.