Latest / Historic Speeches of the UK House of Commons, Vol. 1 / 015 - Speech on the outbreak of war with Germany 1939

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015 - Speech on the outbreak of war with Germany 1939 · Historic Speeches of the UK House of Commons, Vol. 1

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  Speaker 1: Speech by Neville Chamberlaine. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
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  Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Speech given
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  Speaker 1: to the House of Commons on first September nineteen thirty
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  Speaker 1: nine by Neville Chamberlain. I do not propose to say
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  Speaker 1: many words to night. The time has come when action,
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  Speaker 1: rather than speech, is required. Eighteen months ago in this
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  Speaker 1: House I prayed that the responsibility might not fall upon
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  Speaker 1: me to ask this country to accept the lawful arbitrament
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  Speaker 1: of war. I fear that I may not be able
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  Speaker 1: to avoid that responsibility. But at any rate, I cannot
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  Speaker 1: wish for conditions in which such a burden should fall
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  Speaker 1: upon me, in which I should feel clearer than I
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  Speaker 1: do to day as to where my duty lies. No
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  Speaker 1: man can say that the Government could have done more
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  Speaker 1: to try to keep open the way for an honorable
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  Speaker 1: and equitable settlement of the dispute between Germany and Poland.
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  Speaker 1: Nor have we neglected any means of making it crystal
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  Speaker 1: clear to the German government that if they insisted on
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  Speaker 1: using force again in the manner in which they had
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  Speaker 1: used it in the past, we were resolved to oppose
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  Speaker 1: them by force. Now that all the relevant documents are
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  Speaker 1: being made public, we shall stand at the bar of
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  Speaker 1: history knowing that the responsibility for this terrible catastrophe lies
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  Speaker 1: on the shoulders of one man, the German Chancellor, who
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  Speaker 1: was not hesitated to plunge the world into misery in
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  Speaker 1: order to serve his own senseless ambitions. Only last night
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  Speaker 1: the Polish ambassador did see the German Foreign Secretary, Herr
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  Speaker 1: von Ribenttroup. Once again. He expressed to him what indeed
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  Speaker 1: the Polish government had already said publicly that they were
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  Speaker 1: willing to negotiate with Germany about their disputes on an
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  Speaker 1: equal basis. What was the reply of the German government.
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  Speaker 1: The reply was that, without another word, the German troops
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  Speaker 1: crossed the Polish frontier this morning at dawn and are
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  Speaker 1: sense reported to be bombing open towns. In these circumstances,
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  Speaker 1: there is only one course open to us. His Majesty's
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  Speaker 1: ambassador in Berlin and the French ambassador have been instructed
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  Speaker 1: to hand to the German government the following document. Early
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  Speaker 1: this morning, the German Chancellor issued a proclamation to the
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  Speaker 1: German Army which indicated that he was about to attack Poland.
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  Speaker 1: Information which has reached His Majesty's government in the United
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  Speaker 1: Kingdom and the French Government indicates that attacks upon Polish
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  Speaker 1: towns are preceding. In these circumstances, it appears to the
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  Speaker 1: governments of the United Kingdom and France that by their action,
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  Speaker 1: the German Government have created conditions, namely, an aggressive act
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  Speaker 1: of force against Poland threatening the independence of Poland, which
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  Speaker 1: call for the implementation by the Government of the United
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  Speaker 1: Kingdom and France of the undertaking to Poland to come
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  Speaker 1: to her assistance. I am accordingly to inform your Excellency
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  Speaker 1: that unless the German government are prepared to give His
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  Speaker 1: Majesty's government satisfactory assurances that the German government have suspended
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  Speaker 1: all aggressive action against Poland and are prepared promptly to
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  Speaker 1: withdraw their forces from Polish territory, his Majesty's Government in
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  Speaker 1: the United Kingdom will, without hesitation fulfill their obligations to Poland.
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  Speaker 1: If a reply to this last warning is unfavorable, and
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  Speaker 1: I do not suggest that it is likely to be otherwise,
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  Speaker 1: His Majesty's ambassador is instructed to ask for his passports
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  Speaker 1: in that case, we are ready. Yesterday we took further
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  Speaker 1: steps towards the completion of our defensive preparation. This morning
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  Speaker 1: we ordered complete mobilization of the whole of the Royal Navy,
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  Speaker 1: Army and Royal Air Force. We have also taken a
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  Speaker 1: number of other measures, both at home and abroad, which
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  Speaker 1: the House will not perhaps expect me to specify in detail. Briefly,
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  Speaker 1: they represent the final steps in accordance with pre arranged plans.
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  Speaker 1: These last can be put into force rapidly and are
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  Speaker 1: of such a nature that they can be deferred until
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  Speaker 1: war seems inevitable. Steps have also been taken under the
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  Speaker 1: powers conferred by the House last week to safeguard the
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  Speaker 1: position in regard to stocks of commodities of various kinds.
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  Speaker 1: The thoughts of many of us must at this moment
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  Speaker 1: inevitably be turning back to nineteen fourteen and to a
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  Speaker 1: comparison of our position now with that which existed. Then
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  Speaker 1: how do we stand this time? The answer is that
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  Speaker 1: all three services are ready, and that the situation in
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  Speaker 1: all directions is far more favorable and reassuring than in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen. While behind the fighting services we have built
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  Speaker 1: up a vast organization of civil defense under our scheme
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  Speaker 1: of air raid precautions. As regards the immediate man power requirements,
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  Speaker 1: the Royal Navy, the Army and the Air Force are
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  Speaker 1: in the fortunate position of having almost as many men
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  Speaker 1: as they can conveniently handle at this moment. There are, however,
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  Speaker 1: certain categories of service in which men are immediately required,
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  Speaker 1: both for military and civil defense. These will be announced
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  Speaker 1: in detail through the press and the b b C.
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  Speaker 1: The main and most satisfactory point to observe is that
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  Speaker 1: there is to day no need to make an appeal
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  Speaker 1: in a general way for recruits, such as was issued
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  Speaker 1: by Lord Kitchener twenty five years ago. That appeal has
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  Speaker 1: been anticipated by many months, and the men are already available.
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  Speaker 1: So much for the immediate present. Now we must look
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  Speaker 1: to the future. It is essential, in the face of
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  Speaker 1: the tremendous task which confronts us, more especially in view
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  Speaker 1: of our past experiences in this matter, to organize our
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  Speaker 1: man power this time upon as methodical, equitable and economical
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  Speaker 1: a basis as possible. We therefore proposed immediately to introduce
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  Speaker 1: legislation directed to that end. A bill will be laid
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  Speaker 1: before you which for all practical purposes will amount to
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  Speaker 1: an expansion of the Military Training Act. Under its operation,
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  Speaker 1: all fit men between the ages of eighteen and forty
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  Speaker 1: one will be rendered liable to military service if and
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  Speaker 1: when called upon. It is not intended at the outset
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  Speaker 1: that any considerable number of men other than those already
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  Speaker 1: liable shall be called up, and steps will be taken
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  Speaker 1: to ensure that the man power essentially required by industry
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  Speaker 1: shall not be taken away. There is one other illusion
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  Speaker 1: which I should like to make before I end my speech,
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  Speaker 1: and that is to record my satisfaction of His Majesty's
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  Speaker 1: government that, throughout these last days of crisis, Signor Mussolini
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  Speaker 1: also has been doing his best to reach a solution.
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  Speaker 1: It now only remains for us to set our teeth
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  Speaker 1: and to enter upon this struggle which we ourselves earnestly
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  Speaker 1: endeavor to avoid, with determination to see it through to
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  Speaker 1: the end. We shall enter it with a clear conscience,
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  Speaker 1: with the support of the Dominions and the British Empire,
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  Speaker 1: and the moral approval of the greater part of the world.
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  Speaker 1: We have no quarrel with the German people, except that
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  Speaker 1: they allow themselves to be governed by a Nazi government.
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  Speaker 1: As long as that government exists and pursues the methods
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  Speaker 1: it has so persistently followed during the last two years,
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  Speaker 1: there will be no peace in Europe. We shall merely
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  Speaker 1: pass from one crisis to another, and see one country
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  Speaker 1: after another attacked by methods which have now become familiar
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  Speaker 1: to us. In their sickening technique. We are resolved that
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  Speaker 1: these methods must come to an end. If out of
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  Speaker 1: the struggle we again re establish in the world the
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  Speaker 1: rules of good faith and the renunciation of force, why
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  Speaker 1: then even the sacrifices that will be entailed upon us
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  Speaker 1: will find their fullest justification. End of speech.