FRANK DIARY, 1940, Volume II, Pages 510 - 511
I am extremely glad, Mr. Reichscommissar and Reichsminister, to assure you in this hour of your departure that the months of our collaboration with you belong to the most precious memories of my life, and that your work in the Generalgovernment will be remembered forever in the building of the rising world government of the German nation. But, without that, your name, Mr. Reichsminister, is shining like a light through the history of the Third Reichs since you are the creator of the National-Socialist Austria, and the thought to have you here with us sounded all
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the time like a beautiful symphony since we have to see just in you the representative of the Ostmarkic German National. My Party friend, Seyss-Inquart, without doubt you have to accomplish in your new great tasks a lot of duties in a broad frame. We know that you will do honor to the call of the Fuehrer through your personal eiforts just as you did in the building up of your life. But we have a special right to you. We built up during the most difficult times of the fight of the Third Reich a beautiful friendly comradeship and successful collaboration. In the construction of the Generalgovernment your name will forever take a place of honor as an originator of this organization and this State system. I express our thanks, Mr. Reichsminister, for your collaboration and for your creative energy in the name of all officers, employees, and laborers of all SS organizations and the whole police force of the Generalgovernment, and in the name of the District Chiefs, the Gau and city leaders, in the name of all otherwise on the order of the Reichs and the Fuehrer her active persons * * * During the hard
times the common work united us here in the East. But it is, at the same time, the beginning point for a gigantic power development of the German Reich. Its perfection will show the development of the greatest energy unit which there ever was in the history of the world. In this work you were placed by the Fuehrer very effectively in the most important position. Therefore, Party friend, Seyss-Inquart, your name will already today be immortal .... To prove my friendship I would like to give you, as my old friend and comrade, an old Germanic piece of ornament made from Polish soil.
Reichsminister Seyss-Inquart answered in the following words: * * * that I felt myself called to a task which had to be fulfilled in the East. You will understand if I say that, since my early youth, I was a part of the fight for the German Nation. Then came the transit time of the Higher Administration and Administration. I know that at that time somebody expressed the opinion it was impossible to place a Reichsminister under another office. When I heard this ridiculous rumor, I immediately told Party friend Hess, the repressdntative of the Fuehrer, that I would of course go any place as a National-Socialist. Furthermore, it would be a satisfaction for myself if I could do that under Dr. Frank. A special memory connects Dr. Frank with us people from the Ostmark. It was at the time when the Doll-fuss Regime started the fight against us. At that time Dr. Frank came to Vienna and in Austria his arrival was not expressly desired. For me it was at that time a special pleasure to welcome
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Dr. Frank in the name of the Styrian Home Guard [Steirischen Heimatschutzes]. I think this was the last great demonstration. All the time after that we lived in the memory of this demonstration. For the whole period of our fight Dr. Frank was for us the conception of the National Socialistic will for leadership. Later, when the Anschluss came, Dr. Frank came to us as Reichs-rechtsfuehrer and I was then happy that I was able to fulfill some tasks as a tool of the Fuehrer. I remember there a beautiful demonstration in Vienna. * * * At the time I was able
to be here as representative of the Generalgovernment was one of great significance. I learned here a lot, many things which I did not understand before at all and mainly on account of the initiative and firm leadership as I saw them in my friend Dr. Frank. I always recognized this fact in the instinctive activities of the National-Socialist .... I will go now to the West and I want to be open to you. With a heart I am here because I am inclined with my whole attitude to the East. In the East we have a National-Socialistic mission; over there in the West we have a function; that may be the difference. * * * In the Third Reich I never found a better comradeship than with you. * * * I am glad that I have today still the opportunity
on the occasion of your 40th birthday to tell you how close I felt with you * * * and you will always have me as your dearest friend.
Extracts from Frank's diary, including Frank's praise of Seyss-Inquart for his achievements in Austria and Poland, and Seyss-Inquart's reply, with a reference to their shared "National-Socialistic mission"
Authors
Hans Frank (Chief of Legal Office, NSDAP; Governor General of Poland)
Hans Frank
German lawyer, Nazi politician, General Governor of Nazi occupied Poland and convicted war criminal (1900-1946)
- Born: 1900-05-23 (Karlsruhe)
- Died: 1946-10-16 (Nuremberg Nuremberg Court Prison) (reason for deprecated rank: item/value with less precision and/or accuracy; reason for preferred rank: most precise value)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Occupation: lawyer; politician
- Member of political party: German Workers' Party (since: 1919-01-01); Nazi Party
- Member of: Sturmabteilung; Thule Society
- Participant in: Beer Hall Putsch
- Significant person: John C. Woods (role: executioner)
Arthur Seyss-Inquart (Nazi official, Austria, Poland, Netherlands)
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Austrian Nazi politician, and Nazi ruler of occupied Netherlands, convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death (1892-1946)
- Born: 1892-07-22 (Stonařov)
- Died: 1946-10-16 (Nuremberg)
- Country of citizenship: Austria; Austria-Hungary; Nazi Germany
- Occupation: jurist; lawyer; politician
- Member of political party: Fatherland Front; Nazi Party
- Member of: Schutzstaffel
- Position held: Federal Chancellor of Austria (period: 1938-03-11 through 1938-03-13; replaced by: Anschluss; replaces: Kurt Schuschnigg); Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs (period: 1945-04-30 through 1945-05-02; replaced by: Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk; replaces: Joachim von Ribbentrop); Reichskommissar; member of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
- Employer: Austrian Federal Government; Reichskommissariat Niederlande
Date: 1940
Literal Title: Translation Frank Diary 1940 Volume II, Pages 510-511
Defendants: Hans Frank, Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Total Pages: 2
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-3465
Citation: IMT (page 2837)
HLSL Item No.: 453281
Notes:The date is not specified; the statements were made as Seyss-Inquart was transferred from Poland to the Netherlands.