German message to the Belgian and Netherlands governments, accusing them of cooperation with France and Britain and justifying the German military occupation

GERMAN ULTIMATUM (MEMORANDUM) TO BELGIUM AND DUTCH GOVERNMENTS OF MAY 9, 1940
[Documents of German Politics, (Dokumente der deutschen Politik), Part VIII, I, Pages 142-150.]
The Reich Government has for a long time had no doubts as to what was the chief aim of British and French war policy. It consists in the spreading of the war to other countries, and of the misuse of their peoples as auxiliary and mercenary troops for England and France.
The last attempt of this sort was the plan to occupy Scandinavia with the help of Norway, in order to set up a new front against Germany in this region. It was only Germany's last minute action which upset this project. Germany has furnished documentary evidence of this before the eyes of the world.
Immediately after the British-French action in Scandinavia miscarried, England and France took up their policy of war expansion in another direction. In this respect, while the retreat in flight of the British troops from Norway was still going on, the English Prime Minister announced that, as a result of the altered situation in Scandinavia, England was once more in a position to go ahead with the transfer of the full weight of her navy to the Mediterranean, and that English and French units were already on the way to Alexandria. The Mediterranean now became the centre of English-French war propaganda. This was partly to gloss over the Scandinavian defeat and the big loss of prestige before their own people and before the world, and partly to make it appear that the Balkans had been chosen for the next theatre of war against Germany.
In reality, however, this apparent shifting to the Mediterranean of English-French war policy had quite another purpose. It was nothing but a diversion manoeuvre in grand style to deceive Germany as to the direction of the next English-French at-TC-57
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tack. For, as the Reich Government has long been aware, the true aim of England and France is the carefully prepared and now immediately imminent attack on Germany in the West, so as advance through Belgium and Holland to the region of the Ruhr.
Germany has recognized and respected the inviolability of Belgium and Holland, it being of course understood that these two countries in the event of a war of Germany against England and France would maintain the strictest neutrality.
Belgium and the Netherlands have not fulfilled this condition.
They have attempted hitherto to maintain outward appearance of neutrality, but in practice both countries have shown a one-sided partiality for Germany's opponents and have furthered their designs.
On the basis of the evidence before them and particularly of the attached reports from the Ministry of the Interior of the 20th March 1940 and the German High Command of the 4th May 1940, the German Government establish the following:
1.
Since the outbreak of war the Belgian and the Netherlands Press have even surpassed the English and French papers in their hostile expressions of opinion regarding Germany. This attitude in spite of continuous remonstrances by the German State, they have not altered up to date.
In addition to this, leading personalities in the public life of the two countries have in the last few months on an ever-increasing scale expressed the opinion that thh place of Belgium and the Netherlands is at the side of England and France. Many other occurrences in the political and economic life of Belgium and the Netherlands stress this tendency further.
2.
The Netherlands, in association with Belgian authorities have, -most flagrantly infringing their most primitive neutrality obligations, lent themselves to supporting the attempts of the British Secret Intelligence Service to bring about a Revolution in Germany. The organization, founded on Belgian and Netherlands soil by the Secret Intelligence Service, and enjoying the most widespread support by Netherlands and Belgian quarters even in the highest circles of the civil Service and the General Staff, had no other aim than the removal of the Fuehrer and the German Government, by all and every means, and the setting up of a Government in Germany willing to bring about the dissolution of the unity of the Reich and to assent to the formation of a powerless Federal German State.'
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3. '
The measures taken by the Royal Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Governments in the military sphere speak even more clearly. They give irrefutable proof of the real intentions of Belgian and Netherlands policy. They are, further, in most decided contrast to all declarations made by the Royal Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Governments to the effect that they would with all their strength and on every hand prevent any use being made of their territory, either for the marching through of an army or as operational basis on land, on the sea or in the air.
4.
Thus, for example, Belgium has fortified exclusively her eastern frontier against Germany, whilst on her frontier facing France no fortifications have been constructed. Repeated urgent representations made by the German Government were indeed on each occasion replied to by the Royal Belgian Government with a promise that this state of affairs directed only against Germany would be remedied, but in practice nothing happened and all promises in this direction remained unfulfilled. On the contrary Belgium has until quite recently worked exclusively and unabatedly on the completion of her fortifications against Germany, whilst the western border of Belgium are open to Germany's enemies.
5.
A similarly open and exposed invasion gate-way for the British Ait Force is the Netherlands coastal area.
The German Government has continually provided the Royal Netherlands Government with evidence of the infringements of Netherlands neutrality by British aircraft. Since the outbreak of the war British airmen Jiave almost daily appeared over German territory coming from the direction of the Netherlands. One hundred and twenty-seven such British flights over Germany were verified, correct in every detail, and the Royal Netherlands Government were duly notified. Actually, however, the number is much greater, it amounts to many times over the number of the cases notified. Similarly, in all these further instances of flights there is no doubt about it but that the aircraft were British. '
The great number of flights, and the fact that no effective counter measures were taken by the Royal Netherlands Government, clearly show that the Royal Air Force systematically used Netherlands territory as a starting point for their operations
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against Germany, with the knowledge and indulgence of the Royal Netherlands Government.
Still more blatant evidence of the true Belgian and Netherlands attitude, however, are the strategic movements of the entire mobilized Belgian and Netherlands troops directed solely against Germany. Whereas at the beginning of September 1939, the Belgian and Netherlands troops were distributed fairly evenly on their frontiers, a short time afterwards, simultaneously with the increasingly closer cooperation between the Belgian and Netherlands General Staifs, and the General Staffs of England and France, the Western frontiers of these countries were completely stripped of troops, and the combined Belgian and Netherlands troops were concentrated on the eastern frontiers of both countries, with their fronts towards Germany.
7.
This massing of Belgian and Netherlands troops on the German frontier was undertaken at a time when Germany had no troop concentrations whatsoever on her frontiers with Belgium and the Netherlands, but when England and France, on the other hand, were forming a strong, mechanized invasion army on' the Franco-Belgian border. In other words, Belgium and the Netherlands removed their own troops from these endangered Western boundaries to place them on the eastern boundaries, which were entirely free of German troops, at a time when their neutrality seemed increasingly threatened in the West by the attitude of England and France, and by the massing of English and French invasion troops, which would have given them every reason for strengthening their defenses there.
Only then did Germany take counter-measures, and then also placed troops on the Belgian and Netherlands, borders. The Belgian and Netherlands General Staffs, however, by these sudden measures, contradictory in themselves to every military rule, exposed their true attitude. Their procedure can be understood, however, by the knowledge, that these measures were taken in the closest previous understanding with the English and French General Staffs, and that the Belgian and Netherlands troops never considered themselves to be anything but the vanguard of the English and French invasion army.
Evidence in the hands of the German Government shows that English and French preparations on Belgian and Netherlands territory for attack against Germany are already far advanced.
Thus for some time already, all obstacles on the Belgian border
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towards France which might hinder the entry of the English and French invasion army have been secretly removed. Airfields in Belgium and the Netherlands have been reconnoitered by English and French officers and extensions effected. Belgium has made transport facilities available at the frontier and recently advance parties of HQ personnel and units of the French and English invasion army have arrived in various parts of Belgium and the Netherlands. These facts, together with further information which has accumulated in the last few days, furnish conclusive proof that the English and French attack against Germany is imminent, and that this attack will be directed against the Ruhr through Belgium and the Netherlands.
The picture of the Belgian and Netherlands attitude, as presented by these indisputable facts, is clear and unequivocal. Both countries, from the outbreak of war, contrary to the statements given out by their governments, secretly placed themselves on the side of England and France, and thus of the powers which had decided to attack Germany and had declared war on her. Although the situation was pointed out to the Belgian Foreign Minister in all seriousness several times from German quarters, it did not make the slightest difference.
On the contrary, the Belgian Defense Minister recently made a public declaration in the Belgian Chamber which unequivocally contained the admission that all steps necessary for joint action against Germany had been agreed upon between the General Staffs of Belgium, France and England. - If, in spite of this, Belgium and the Netherlands continue to proclaim a foreign policy of independence and neutrality, it can, in the light of established facts, only be regarded as an attempt to conceal the real intentions of Belgian and Netherlands policy.
In this situation, the Reich Government can however, no longer doubt that Belgium and the Netherlands are resolved, not only to permit the impending Anglo-French attack, but to favor it in every way and that the agreements of the General Staffs of these two countries with the General Staffs are designed exclusively to serve this object. The argument put forward on the part of Belgium and the Netherlands that this is not their purpose, but that the very fact of their helplessness has forced them to adopt this attitude towards England and France, cannot be recognized as sound. Above all, it does not alter the facts of the situation for Germany.
In this struggle for existence forced upon the German people by England and France, the Reich Government is not disposed to await submissively the attack by England and France and
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to allow them to carry the war over Belgium and the Netherlands into German territory. It has therefore now issued the command to German troops to ensure the neutrality of these countries by all the military means at the disposal of the Reich.
The Reich Government add to this announcement the following :
The German troops do not come as enemies of the Belgian and Netherlands peoples; for the Reich Government have neither desired nor brought about this development. The responsibility for it falls upon England and France, who have prepared in every detail the attack against Germany from Belgian and Netherland territory, and on the Belgian and Netherlands Government departments who have allowed and favored it.
The Reich Government further declare that Germany has no intention of touching by these measures, either now or in the future, the sovereignty of the Kingdoms of Belgium and the Netherlands, nor the European or extra-European possessions of these countries.
The Royal Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Governments however, have it still in their hands in this last hour to ensure the well-being of their peoples, by seeing to it that no resistance is opposed to the German troops. The Reich Government hereby call upon these two Governments to issue without delay the necessary commands to this effect. Should the German troops meet with resistance in Belgium or in the Netherlands, they will use all means, to overcome it. The responsibility for the consequences arising therefrom and for the bloodshed then unavoidable, will have to be borne exclusively by the Royal Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Governments.
Berlin, the 9th May 1940.