France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932-1939 (94 page)

  
29
.
    
DDF
, 2, II, no. 453, François-Poncet, 15 July 1936.

  
30
.
    
I used two studies by students: the master’s thesis by *Archambalt, Annick,
Aspects politiques des jeux olympiques de Berlin, 1936
, 1972, and mostly the doctoral dissertation of the 3rd Cycle by *Braun, Didier,
La politiique du sport de la France entre les deux guerres
, 1977. See also another thesis which I supervised *Destrebecq, Annette,
Le role du parti communiste au parlement sous le Front populaire
, 1968; see p.29, on communist opposition to funding.

  
31
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 61, François-Poncet, 2 August 1936.

  
32
.
    
Candide
, 13 August 1936, quoted in Braun, op. cit., p. 244.

  
33
.
    
Humanité
, 18 August 1936, ibid.

  
34
.
    
See above in Chapter V.

  
35
.
    
DDF
, 2, II, no. 464, Corbin, 17 July, nos. 471, 472. French counter projects,
DDF
, 2, III, no. 2, Corbin, 20 July

  
36
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, nos. 18 and 19 (transcript); no. 20, final communiqué 23 July 1936.

  
37
.
    
Actually it did accept on 31 July. But would never find a suitable date.
DDF
, 2, III, nos. 23 and 55, François-Poncet, 1 August 1936.

  
38
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 63, François-Poncet, 3 August 1936.

  
39
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 196, François-Poncet, 24 August 1936. See also, no. 211, Aris, financial attaché to Baumgartner, Berlin, 27 August 1936.

  
40
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 209, François-Poncet, 27 August 1936.

  
41
.
    
There was trace to be found of the Schacht conversations with Delbos on 26 August and Auriol on 27 August.

  
42
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 213, 28 August 1936. Blum noted that this summary is correct, but that comparatively Schacht spoke at greater length. See comments by François-Poncet, no. 229, 2 September 1936.

  
43
.
    
No trace could be found in the French archives. See DDF, 2, III, no. 276, Massigli to Léger, personal letter, Geneva, 23 September 1936 regarding a conversation between Bonnet and Spinasse on one side and Eden and Halifax on the other in the presence of Massigli.

  
44
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 302, Arnal, chargé d’affaires, 30 September 1936.

  
45
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 351, François-Poncet, 14 October 1936. François-Poncet had met with Hitler at Berchtesgaden on 2 September (see no. 334).

  
46
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 354, 14 October 1936.

  
47
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 393, Aris to Baumgartner regarding devaluation. See below, § IV.

  
48
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 417, François-Poncet, 28 October 1936.

  
49
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 462, 10 November 1936.

  
50
.
    
The most detailed study is by Renouvin, Pierre in
Léon Blum, chef de gouvernment
, pp. 329–353, to be read together with the statement by Robert Blum, son of the President of the Council, André Blumel, the head of his cabinet, and several ministers from the time, Georges Monnet, Paul Bastid, Pierre Cot, Jules Moch, the general secretary and diplomats such as René Massigli and Jacques Fouques-Duparc. The book by *Lefranc, Georges,
Histoire du Front Populaire
, 1965, with a note by André Blumel. Regarding public opinion see a thesis which I supervised: *Antignac, Anne-Marie, L’opinon publique française sur la II
^e
République espagnole (avril-juillet 1936), 1971.

  
51
.
    
All details in Renouvin, T. op. cit.

  
52
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 28, 25 July 1936.

  
53
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 30, note from the political directorate, 25 July 1936.

  
54
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 34, Delbos to Herbette, 27 July 1936 and no. 36. All posts were informed.

  
55
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 46, Peyrouton, Resident general in Rabat, to Delbos, 30 July 1936.

  
56
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 56, Delbos to Rome and to London, 1 August; no. 59, to London, Rome, Brussels, 2 August; no. 65 to François-Poncet, 3 August; no. 66, Delbos to Auriol, 3 August; no. 69 Delbos to Roger Cambon, London; 4 August, asking for the support of the principle of non-intervention.

  
57
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 71, Roger Cambon, 4 August 1936.

  
58
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 76, Delbos, 4 August 1936.

  
59
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 87, Transcript of the conversations of 5 August 1936 at the British Admiralty.

  
60
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 89, Payart, 6 August 1936.

  
61
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 90, Chambrun, 6 August 1936.

  
62
.
    
During those days all of Delbos’ activity was centered on non-intervention. See mostly DDF, 2, III, no. 110, Delbos to many diplomatic posts, 9 August, 2 a.m.; no. 111 id., 9 August 3:45 a.m. (speaks of “the encouraging welcome”); no. 112 Delbos to Auriol, 9 August, 6:40 p.m.

  
63
.
    
In the words of Léon Blum. See Renouvin, quoted article p. 338.

  
64
.
    
Léon Blum
…, op. cit., p. 351.

  
65
.
    
Dreifort,
Delbos
, op. cit., p. 49.

  
66
.
    
CEP, I, pp. 121–132, 215–229, 251–262.

  
67
.
    
For this paragraph I worked with the studies by J.-N. Jeanneney, Wilfrid Baumgartner and Pierre Mendès-France in
Léon Blum chef de gouvernment,
L’Histoire économique de la France
by Alfred Sauvy, Vol. II, and most of all by Mönick, Emmanuel,
Pour mémoire, op. cit
., Rueff,
Autobiographie
, op. cit., as well as two important articles by *Girault, René, “Léon Blum, devaluation de 1936 et la conduite de la politqiue extériuere de la France,”
Colloque de Nanterre
, 1977; and “Les relations inetrnationales et l’exercice du pouvoir pendant le Front Populaire, Juin 1936–Juin 1937,”
Cahiers Léon Blum
, no. 1, May 1977, pp. 15–46.

  
68
.
    
Sauvy, op. cit., pp. 215–221.

  
69
.
    
See F 30 1419 and AMF B12618 and 12619 (Mönick Papers), quoted in Girault “Léon Blum…”, op. cit., p. 6.

  
70
.
    
Rueff, op. cit., p. 126.

  
71
.
    
Mönick, op. cit., p. 48.

  
72
.
    
Ibid. see Girault, op. cit., p. 9.

  
73
.
    
Baumgartner, in
Léon Blum chef de gouvernement
, op. cit., p. 281–282.

  
74
.
    
Ibid., p. 282.

  
75
.
    
Moch, ibid., p. 283. See Frank quoted below.

  
76
.
    
All this in Girault, op. cit., p. 12. (Letter by Labeyrie in F 30 1420.)

  
77
.
    
Girault, op. cit., p. 13; see F 30 1420.

  
78
.
    
Girault, op. cit., pp. 14–15.

  
79
.
    
Girault, op. cit., p. 16.

  
80
.
    
Jeanneney, in
Léon Blum chef de gouvernement
, pp. 219–220.

  
81
.
    
Sauvy, II, p. 231.

  
82
.
    
Sauvy, II, pp. 239–241.

  
83
.
    
Rueff,
Autobiographie
, pp. 129–130. See also his memos to Vincent Auriol of 23 and 27 February, pp. 131–133.

  
84
.
    
Jeanneney, in
Léon Blum chef de gouvernement
, p. 221.

  
85
.
    
Rueff,
Autobiographie
, pp. 135–139.

  
86
.
    
Quoted in Sauvy, II, p. 259.

  
87
.
    
Rueff,
Autobiographie
, p. 143.

  
88
.
    
Sauvy, II, p. 264.

  
89
.
    
DDF
, 2, IX, no. 291, Corbin, 6 May 1938.

  
90
.
    
Quoted article, p. 17.

  
91
.
    
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 193, Note from the financial attaché in London: “Une initiative anglo-franco-américaine dans l’ordre économique et financier peut-elle sauver la paix?”

  
92
.
    
*Bullitt, Orville, H., ed.
For the President. Personal and Secret
, 1973, pp. 184–189. The thought of reapying part of the debt to acquire American support appeared here and there especially in 1939 (see Chapter XIV, n. 18). The Americans concluded that a default was preferable because it would preserve their isolation.

  
93
.
    
Ibid. p. 200–202. Roosevelt expressed these exact thoughts during his conversation with Ambassador Laboulaye, 31 December.
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 232, Laboulaye, 31 December 1936.

  
94
.
    
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 193, quoted document

  
95
.
    
*Hull, Cordell,
Memoirs
, 1948, I, Chap. 37, pp. 518–530.

  
96
.
    
On the subject see the interesting remarks by Dreifort,
Delbos
, op. cit., pp. 86–88.

  
97
.
    
Bullitt, op. cit., p. 206.

  
98
.
    
See
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 229, François-Poncet, 31 December 1936.

  
99
.
    
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 230, François-Poncet, 31 December 1936.

100
.
    
DDF
, 2, IV, note on p. 533.

101
.
    
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 325, Geneva, 20 January 1937. It should be noted that this economic issue takes 6 lines out of 205 in Massigli’s memo.

102
.
    
The study of French public opinion with respect to the Spanish civil war remains a favorite subject of historiography. Here I use most of all *Breen, Catherine, La droite française et la guerre d’Espagne (1936–1937), thesis, Geneva, 1973, and of *Pike, David Wingate,
Les français et la guerre d’Espagne 1936–1939
, Paris, 1975.

103
.
    
Pike, op. cit., pp. 138–139. See Destrebecq (Annette), quoted thesis pp. 30–32.

104
.
    
*Fauvet, Jacques,
Histoire du parti communiste français
, I, pp. 207–208. The government was against the “formation of elements” on French territory but it allowed persons to leave on an individual basis with passports. DDF, 2, IV, no. 76, Delbos to Corbin, 2 December 1936.

105
.
    
DDF
, 2, III, no. 472, Coulondre, 12 November 1936; no. 497, Coulondre, 16 November 1936;
DDF
, 2, IV, no. 153, Coulondre, 15 December 1936.