Telegraphic Address: HICOM DANZIG 221

HAUT COMMISSAIRE THE HIGH COMMISSIONER SOCIÉTÉ DES NATIONS LEAGUE OF NATIONS LA VILLE LI5RE DE DANTZIG THE FREE CITY OF DANZIG

REFERENCE: -/Private and Danzig, November 26th 1954 Confidential

Dear Secretary General,

President Rauschning has resigned and a new President, without doubt Mr. Greiser, will be elected by the Senate on the 28th instant. It appears that on the 19th instant, the day after the local elections were finished^ Dr. Rauschning wrote to the 8Bnati a long letter stating that he was prepared to return to office if his policy, which be outlined, would be followed. Mr. Rauschning had declared to Mr. Forster that he would only re- tire if and when the Party in power withdrew its confidence and that the lack of confidence must be declared not by the Gauleiter but by the National Socialist parliamentary fraction itself. lir. Rauschning refrained from any action during the electoral campaign but in his letter of the 19th instant he declared that his health was no obstacle to returning to his post, but before doing so the Party would have to declare it- self in accord with his policy. He underlined first the diver- gences with Mr. Forster with regard to economic and financial situation in Danzig, and on matters relating to the conduct of internal affairs. With regard to the financial and economic position the difference with Forster would appear to be that on the one side Forster counted on the continuation of German financial support, and on the other Mr. Rauschning doubted .if this would be possible and held that in any case Danzig should endeavour to solve its difficulties without external help. He recalled his opposition to a number of unconsidered decision with regard to expenditure and a policy with regard to the Gulden. Mr. Rauschning further pointed out that the demQg»gic policy had amongst other results demoralized many officials, who felt called upon to shov their zeal for the National Soc- ialist Party by refraining from honest advice on National

Socialist projects. - 2 -

Regarding the international position.Mr. Rauschning gav e a short objective out-line of the present position and held that in all these circumstances Danzig could not nourish •unlimited hopes, and that the only method for Danzig to follow was to support the "League of Nations as the protector of Danzig and the guarantor of its Constitution. The League, he held, was the only force able to safeguard the independence of Danzig. It followed that Danzig must at all costs avoid Constitutional differences which would result in action on the part of the Council and a refroidissement between the League and the ^ree City. One could not in Danzig follow an internal policy similar to that in Germany and the only method suitable for Danzig was for the Party in power to obtain the collab- oration of all the Danzig Parties and endeavour to gain the people and the other Parties to the cause of National Socialism by means of persuasion only. In conclusion it would seem that Mr. Rauschning declared his readiness to take his post on the understanding that he would pursue this policy and if this were not possible he would retire provided the National Sociali: Party in the Volkstag formally declared its lack of confidence. On the same night, the 19th November, the Senate sent a some- what curt letter, t,virtually an ultimatum, to Mr. Rauschning, who repeated that hö himself had never spoken of ill-health and that he had stated his position in his letter of that date. The National Socialist fraction of the Volkstag met the following day and after an adress by Mr. Förster, mainly direct- ed against Rauschning, unanimously passed a vote of lack of confidence and called upon Mr. Rauschning to resign immediately The foregoing information is, of course, not generally known. The newspapers on Friday published the text of the declaration by Rauschning, of which I enclose a rough trans- lation. It is to be noted that in this declaration Mr. Rausch- ning does not mention his health, that he says his retirement is owing to "special reasons" and that not once in the course of the declaration is the National Socialist Party /or Herr Hitlerj mentioned. The Senete, through Press agencies and other wise,have done their best to give the general impression thet the resignation Is owing to Rauschning's ill-health, and the official press bureau in its statement regrets the departure of President Rauschning and refers to him as "a first-class statesman", which must be rather nauseating for Rauschning in the circumstances.

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jpoKig has thrown over the man who in my opinion is the

tec*:; i.j* not the only, statesman within its frontiers. It rer:-ev.ixs to be seen in what degree the new President will carry •out the policy he has outlined, either by conviction or by pressure of events. I am not at all sure that Eauschning's carrer in Danzig is finished, but here again one must await ihe development of the situation during the next few nmnths.

For your information,

Yours sincerely,

High Commissioner.

do-sieur J.Â. Avenol, Secretary General, League of Nations, G e n eve.