Jubilation and festivities in Germany. Entirely merited. It’s not just that Hitler is getting the Sudetenland without a fight, but that it’s being handed to him on a plate by the British and the French. Chamberlain and Daladier have done all the dirty work for him. England and France have become the maidservants of German fascism. Why shouldn’t the Germans be happy? But how low, how very low the once proud ‘Western democracies’ have fallen!

Today, Agniya left for a tour of Switzerland by car. Why shouldn’t she see a bit of the country? Who knows whether we’ll have occasion to be here again? After all, tomorrow Hitler might extend his paws to Switzerland with equal right and with equal success. In the evening, I went on my own to the Finns for a reception. I met De La Warr there. He had just returned from London – he’d flown there from Geneva for a Cabinet meeting.

According to De La Warr, tension in England is growing by the day. The ‘Anglo-French plan’ is extremely unpopular. Unfortunately, the French are taking a stance of complete capitulation. The conduct of Daladier and Bonnet during the recent meetings in London was a savage blow to the hopes of English supporters for a more active policy. The crucial thing now is to boost Czechoslovak morale for at least the next couple of days and to lean on France to rectify its position. Then there will be a great swell in Britain and everything will sort itself out. Frankly speaking, De La Warr’s reasoning seemed too optimistic to me, but… after all, he’d just returned from London, where he is a member of the Cabinet!

The deputation demanded an immediate démarche in Berlin by Britain, France and the USSR. In this connection, Dalton, referring to Litvinov’s speech, called Bonnet a ‘disgraceful liar’. The foreign minister dodged Dalton’s question as to the content of his meeting with Maisky on 8 September. As for the essence of the Labourites’ demand, Halifax replied: ‘At present, no European political manoeuvre can prevent the crushing of Czechoslovakia. The British government does not intend to threaten Germany with war because it is not ready for it. The demand of the Labour deputation cannot be met.’

The deputation reported the outcome of their meeting with Halifax to the Plenum of the General Council and the Executive Committee. Having judged the outcome as unsatisfactory, the Plenum took the decision to appeal to the nation and to organize about two thousand protest meetings against Cabinet policy next weekend (24 and 25 September).

In addition, the Plenum elected a delegation to be sent to Paris. The meeting of British and French trade unionists and socialists in London yesterday was a clear failure: the French (Vincent Auriol

Jules-Vincent Auriol, French minister of finance, 1936–37; minister of justice, 1937–38.

and others) took a very feeble position. They returned to Paris the same day. That is why the Labourites have decided to go to France themselves to try to prod the French into action. I wonder whether anything will come of their efforts.