President H. Rauschning and Vice-President A. Greiser emphasized, at the meeting celebrating the first year of office of the National Socialist Government, the fact that the Constitution was a "barrier" to the National Socialist Policy.
Conflict between the Senate, President H. Rauschning, and the Party headed by A. Forster; A. Greiser presented, in Berlin, an ultimatum to H. Rauschning: to carry out five proposals from the National Socialist Party (A. Forster and A. Greiser) concerning mainly the prohibition of the opposition press, and the liquidation of all organizations of the opposition parties such as the "Sozialistischer Allgemeiner Arbeiterverband", etc. or to resign, H. Rauschning neither accepted the proposals nor resigned, he was willing to maintain the Constitution; S. Lester's intervention to A. Greiser, that denied the conflict between the Senate and the Party; issuing of a new newspaper, the "Danziger Tageblatt", denounced by A. Forster's "Vorposten", because the editor was a well-known German journalist, a supporter of Stresemann, who belonged to one of the non-Nazi parties; an alliance between H. Rauschning and the Zentrum not an unlikely possibility.
Danzig events were against H. Rauschning's retention of the Senate presidency, A. Greiser, who was SS, was not a man of H. Rauschning's culture, incidents in his career made it difficult to have confidence in him, and if appointed he would be A. Forster's nominee; questions regarding the rights of the Catholic Youth or the Kulturkammer, etc., may affect articles in the Constitution.
S. Lester wanted to be confirmed that A. Greiser's speech as reported in the "Danziger Neueste Nachrichten" was correct.
S. Lester on A. Greiser's Constitution assurances: a National Socialist State could not be set up unless the Constitution were to be regarded as a farce; Boettcher: it seemed "treason" that German Danzigers appealed against their own Government to outside authorities; for S. Lester it was rather silly not to appeal to the League of Nations, not a foreign institution but an international one and that a German Danziger be expected to prefer the use of international right to the suppression of his Party; philosophy of National Socialism: all opposition parties should disappear; if Volkstag election probably union of all the opposition parties.
Boettcher reported to S. Lester the conversation he had with A. Greiser: trouble between H. Rauschning and A. Greiser had nothing to do with the so-called five points, question of the "Kulturkammer", A. Greiser's personality, Danzig Constitution, Catholic Priests' petition regarding the Catholic Youth organization, election results.
Talk between S. Lester and A. Greiser on the question of the participation of Danzig in the policing of the Saar during the plebiscite; S. Lester referred to A. Greiser's speech on the "positive attitude" he expected from the police towards the National Socialist Party.
S. Lester and Danzig questions relating to laws, administration and public pronouncements; neither the clergy nor the Catholic people of Danzig had confidence in their Bishop; Parish Priests' petition relating to certain alleged infringements of the Constitution and Centre Party's petition postponed; National Socialist President of the Senate H. Rauschning dismissed and replaced by A. Greiser; hope that after the Saar went back to Germany the European situation would improve.
Stachnik, leader of the Zentrum Party, informed S. Lester the negotiations were broken down with the Senate, because President A. Greiser refused to retract in public his declarations insulting the Zentrum Party, S. Lester tried to convince Stachnik to negotiate in the interest of Danzig.
Catholic Bishop O'Rourke denounced pagan tendencies, Marxism and Bolshevism in politics; A. Forster's speech: people giving information to the High Commissioner were "traitors and separatists"; A. Greiser's remarks: National Socialism accepted by whole German people except some anti-German elements in Danzig protected by an out-of-date Constitution.