Countdown to World War Two: Monday 28 August 1939

Mission to Berlin

Headline: Britain's Ambassador to Germany flies back to Berlin with the Government's latest message to Hitler.

Sir Neville Henderson, the British Ambassador to Germany, flew from London to Berlin this afternoon with Britain's reply to Hitler's message of 25 August.

In this Hitler had outlined his demands for an immediate settlement to the question of the Free City of Danzig and the Polish corridor, and his horror at the thought of a war between Germany and Britain.

This was the latest in a whole series of demands for a solution to the so-called 'Danzig Problem' that Hitler had made ever since the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March.

Hitler's solution was that Danzig should be returned to Germany and that the Polish corridor should be cut in half by linking East Prussia and the rest of Germany with a band of territory.

However, Hitler is bound by an agreement he signed with Poland in January 1934, guaranteeing not to alter Danzig's position nor threaten the Polish corridor for a period of ten years. Britain and France have pledged their support to Poland should she be threatened by another country.

The situation was made more serious by the biggest diplomatic surprise of recent years, just five days ago on August 23, when Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia signed a Non-aggression Pact in Moscow. Just a few days later Britain reaffirmed her support to Poland by signing the Anglo-Polish alliance.

Sir Neville briefed the Cabinet about the details of Hitler's demands, since when they have met twice more to discuss Britain's response. In the background is the recent correspondence between the French Prime Minister, Edouard Daladier, and Hitler, which was made public.

In this Hitler rejected the French Prime Minister's suggestion that there should be direct negotiations between Germany and Poland and emphasised that he could no longer tolerate the existing situation in Poland.

The message that Sir Neville takes back to Berlin is likely to re-establish Britain's policy of protecting Poland's independence and opposing any form of aggression.

A communiqué was issued this evening by the Polish Government in which they completely deny the German allegations of the terrorisation of the German minority in Poland.

In Warsaw the city is already preparing itself for war. Trenches are being dug, power stations sandbagged and people have started to carry gas masks around with them. Danzig remains the flashpoint of Polish-Nazi conflict; four more Polish officials have been arrested and last night bands of Nazis attacked Polish shops in the city and smashed their windows.

Growing international tension was reflected in Whitehall today with Ambassadors and Dominion High Commissioners arriving for talks at the Foreign Office. While in Downing Street the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, had talks with the acting Leader of the Opposition, Arthur Greenwood and Sir Archibald Sinclair, leader of the Liberal party.

At about 5.30pm, Mr Chamberlain drove to Buckingham Palace where he stayed for an hour and a half and brought the King up to date on the latest international developments.

[*Reports taken from BBC news bulletins, and a range of daily newspapers]

Parliament recalled

Headline: Parliament is recalled and will meet tomorrow afternoon.

Following this afternoon's Cabinet meeting it was announced that Parliament - which would normally be in recess - would be summoned to meet tomorrow afternoon.

When Parliament met last Thursday it was agreed that they would adjourn until the end of this week, though the Prime Minister did warn members at the time that they should hold themselves in readiness in case Parliament was recalled at short notice.

Emergency regulations

Headline: The government publishes a list of 104 emergency regulations for the defence of Great Britain.

The Government has taken on a range of extra powers today, with the publication of 104 Emergency Regulations. These follow the passing of the Emergency Powers Defence Act which became law last week. They give the Government the means of putting the country onto a war footing.

They are split up into several sections. The first deals with the security of the state and prevents people from spying or interfering with essential services. It also covers impersonating police officers, interfering with radio communications, carrying a camera in certain designated areas and the stricter control of homing pigeons.

The second section deals with public safety and will affect everyone by providing for the compulsory evacuation of people, animals and moveable property on the orders of the Secretary of State.

It also deals with the precautions to be taken in the event of an air attack, such as the use of shelters, the co-ordination of fire brigades and polices forces, and the control of lighting during the hours of darkness.

The third section gives the Admiralty control over merchant shipping and provision is also made for the control of aircraft.

Finally the regulations contain some very wide powers for the requisitioning of land and property, the control of industry as well as the control of rail and road traffic.

Although the list is a long one, it does not deal with issues such as the control of the press or of the organisation of manpower.

Evacuation

Headline: Rehearsal for mass evacuation.

A full-scale rehearsal of evacuation plans took place throughout the country today. Nine hundred schools in London and those from about 30 other vulnerable areas were involved.

Many secondary school children, whose term does not begin for another two weeks, were away on holiday and so missed the rehearsal, since returning home especially for it was not thought necessary by the Board of Education.

For those at elementary schools, where the autumn term was due to start tomorrow, work began one day early - with what most of them saw as a great adventure.

A statement after the rehearsal said that it had involved a school population of over a million children throughout the country and had been a marked success.

Coventry bomb

Headline: Coventry bomb - workers strike.

Following last Friday's bicycle bomb murder of five people in Coventry, a large number of workers went on strike in the city today. They were protesting at having to work with Irish labour.

The IRA was blamed for the explosion, which also injured 100 people. The bomb had been left in the basket of a bicycle. The strikers marched in procession to the Council House, where the Mayor urged them to return to work.

The demonstrators passed a vote of confidence in the Chief Constable and Coventry City and then dispersed. The inquest on the five dead opened today and was adjourned for two weeks.

Other stories: Early casualty

An early casualty of the present crisis was Mr Henry Godfrey, aged 56, an employee of Marylebone Borough Council in London. He was killed by a car near Marble Arch, while painting the kerb white in preparation for the possible blackout.

Other stories: Travel news

Imperial Airways have cancelled the 6.45pm and 8.45pm flights from London to Paris and the 8.45pm Paris to London flight, until further notice. This is a result of a blackout at Le Bourget Airport.

Air France has suspended many services from the east and south of France but is still running its Paris-London service. On the ferries, the Harwich-Zeebrugge service will be suspended after tonight's inward sailing.

Mediterranean out of bounds

Headline: The Admiralty closes Mediterranean to British merchant shipping.

The Admiralty announced today that the Mediterranean has been closed to all British merchant shipping. Merchantmen have also been told to leave Baltic waters.

This is the first order that the Admiralty has made since they assumed control of merchant shipping under the new Emergency Regulations. Ships already in the Mediterranean will continue on their voyages, but have been told to leave all Italian ports.

And finally ...

A man was jailed in London today for throwing a dart at a barman in a London pub. The defendant, 41-year-old Henry Warren, said that he was only trying to part the barman's hair.

Audio archive: The countdown to war

[If you haven't listened to audio clips before, you may need the free Real Player plug-in. BBC's WebWise help has a step-by-step guide to help you download it.]

Find out more

Books

The conduct of the Air War in the Second World War edited by Horst Boog (1992)

Bomber Command by Max Hastings (1979)

The Bomber Command War Diaries by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt (1985)

Most Secret War by RV Jones (1978)

Links

Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum: Bomber Command

About the author

Mark Fielder is executive producer of the BBC Battlefields series. He has made many other series, including D-Day, Burma, War Walks, and Western Front.