English Translation

- 3 - the Mediterranean in their power. Nothing could have saved England from destruction - except the good will of the Germans. Un-d on this good will cannot be relied upon. No nation (perhaps excluding the English alone) would be able to give up such a precious price if it had the power to win it - the highest price that would ever have fallen to a conqueror. To avert this fate, England went to war in 939. And in order to prevent a similar fate for the future, the balance of the powers must always be maintained. The political character of those who threaten the balance is completely irrelevant. If Germany had been a country of enlightenment, progress and political freedom, indeed a model democracy, and England would have been afflicted with such an abominable political system as Hitler's, it would have always been forced to maintain the balance, because the survival is always the most important thing, then political ideas will come first. If Germany completely changed its policy, which is quite possible in the face of the approaching defeat, then this is no reason for changing the future conditions for peace. The nature of peace must be determined by the lasting conditions of the European situation, not by transient phenomena such as fascism, Nazism, socialism or communism. The excessive power of Germany must be limited and must be kept within this limit. Rather, a despoticly ruled Germany, which is not too strong, than a liberal Germany that is too strong. The peace through which the Second World War will be ended must be such that the balance of powers will be restored and secured for future generations, which must be the ultimate goal of the war and peace of Great Britain and the Empire.