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Partly-printed DS, in German, signed “Hermann Göring,” one page, 8 x 12.75, December 12, 1945. Document headed (translated), "The International Military Tribunal, Defendant's Application for Summons for Witness," made while preparing his defense for the Nuremberg trials. Göring and his defense lawyer request testimony from "Francois-Poncet," citing his knowledge of these facts: "The witness knows that Goering successfully used his influence on the occasion of the Sudeten German question in the fall of 1938 in order to reach a peaceful settlement and conclusion of the Munich treaty." Göring seeks the testimony to refute "the charge that Goering wanted aggressive warfare." Signed at the conclusion in pencil by Hermann Göring, and countersigned by his defense counsel, Otto Stahmer. Backed by archival paper and in fine condition.
André François-Poncet served as French ambassador to Germany from 1931 to 1938 and had extensive firsthand contact with Göring during the years leading to the Second World War. In seeking his testimony at Nuremberg, Göring hoped to enlist a respected European diplomat to support a central theme of his defense: that during the Sudeten crisis of 1938 he had acted as a moderating influence, helping steer the confrontation toward the Munich Agreement rather than war. Göring later made the same argument from the witness stand, portraying his role in the crisis as an effort to secure a peaceful settlement.
That defense had an obvious weakness: the Munich Agreement transferred the Sudetenland to Germany in September 1938, but in March 1939 German forces occupied the remaining Czech lands. At Nuremberg, the prosecution also emphasized evidence that senior Nazi officials regarded international agreements as binding only while they served German interests. Thus Göring's attempt to present Munich as evidence of his opposition to aggressive war stood against the broader documentary record of German expansion and subsequent military preparations.
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