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Table of Contents
The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 3
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© 2025
2 September
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By Liakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2

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2 September
In announcing yesterday the British government’s demand that Hitler cease hostilities and withdraw German troops from Poland, Chamberlain failed to say how long he was prepared to wait for his demand to be fulfilled or for a reply to his note to arrive. What did the 1 September note mean? Was it an ultimatum or wasn’t it? If it was an ultimatum, then why was a final date not indicated? If it wasn’t, then why did it contain a demand to withdraw troops and the threat of hostilities being opened?
The explanation is straightforward enough. Even at this very late stage, Chamberlain hoped to escape the trap which he had been preparing for us and into which he had fallen himself. At his instigation, Mussolini has expended a great deal of energy over the past two days in trying to cobble together either a five-power conference or some rotten ‘compromise’ to prevent war. So Chamberlain wished to buy himself at least two more days, or even just one, for manoeuvring.
This created an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion towards the PM’s actions, both in the country and in the House. This mood broke through yesterday evening in the speeches of Greenwood and Sinclair.
At about eight o’clock Chamberlain announced in the House that Henderson had not yet received a reply to his 1 September note from Ribbentrop, that this could perhaps be explained by Mussolini’s efforts, mentioned above, and that the British government was consulting with Paris as to how long Britain and France were prepared to wait for Hitler’s reply. The prime minister’s announcement drew a sharp response from Greenwood. He demanded that the PM give an immediate answer to the question: war or peace? He said that the present tension and uncertainty could not continue any longer, that an act of aggression had been committed 38 hours earlier, that Britain had not yet offered its assistance to Poland, and that the country’s interests and honour were at stake.
Sinclair spoke in the same vein.


Page 614

Chamberlain took the floor for the second time and declared that he would have been horrified had anyone thought he could hesitate at such a moment as this. He referred to the need to agree his every move with the French government, which rendered a certain delay inevitable. Lastly, he promised to make a definite and categorical statement in parliament tomorrow.
The denouement is approaching.
***
The situation clarified itself late at night. Chief whip Margesson brought it to the prime minister’s attention that the mood in the Conservative Party was very ugly and that if the PM did not declare war on Germany the next day, the Cabinet would undoubtedly collapse. Chamberlain found himself forced to give in. At midnight an emergency Cabinet meeting was held, at which the decision was taken to declare war tomorrow.
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Document Details
Document Title2 September
AuthorLiakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)
RecipientN/A
RepositoryN/A
ID #N/A
DescriptionN/A
Date1939 Sep 2
AOC VolumeThe Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2
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