European Confederation

Some in the German Foreign Ministry were interested in the "European question" and collaborated with the Auslandswissenschaftliches Institut (DAWI; German Institute for Foreign Studies) on securing a decision on the matter. Influential Europe planners were Werner Daitz, Franz Six and Karl Megerle, who presented papers and studies on the intellectual foundations of a united Europe under Nazi German leadership. ==Planning==

Ribbentrop envisioned that as soon as Germany had gained the significant military victory, the heads of states who were concerned would be invited to a safe meeting place, away from the reach of Allied bombers, such as Salzburg (perhaps at Klessheim Palace) or Vienna, where the instrument for bringing the European Confederation into being would be solemnly signed. The states in question were Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Greece. Spain's participation was anticipated but uncertain in the view of the Spanish neutrality in the war. The diplomat Cécil von Renthe-Fink submitted a draft to Ribbentrop that also discussed the possibility of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands and even Russia (under the rule of Vlasov's movement) joining the Confederation. The draft also mentioned that the admission of countries that were projected to be annexed by Greater Germany would not incite those countries towards nationalism, but would be the first step in drawing them into Germany's political sphere (see Greater Germanic Reich). Its members were to be sovereign states that guaranteed the freedom, the national character and the political independence of other member states. The Confederation was to be partly based on earlier diplomatic treaties signed between the Axis powers: the Italian-German Pact of Steel, the Tripartite Pact and the Anti-Comintern Pact. The questions of potential territorial adjustments, such as Banat, the Hungarian-Romanian border and Italy's claims to French territory, were to be dealt with, not in the Act of the Confederation, but in separate final peace settlements. ==Goals==

The project's goals were assuring Germany's allies that their independence would be respected after the war, giving the impression to the Allies that Europe was united in defying them and portraying the Allies as fighting not for the liberation of European states but against the unification of the European continent. That was hoped to neuter Western Allied propaganda against Germany. A clear call for the Confederation would also allow the Germans to recruit more men for the Waffen-SS from the occupied countries and to force them to bolster their war effort in the personal and material spheres. Also, the Confederation would deter the neutral countries of Europe from joining the Allied powers. ==Reception by Vichy France==

Vichy French Prime Minister Pierre Laval was enthusiastic about the proposal and wrote in a document to Adolf Hitler that France was ready for territorial sacrifices in Tunisia and Alsace-Lorraine to bring about an "atmosphere of confidence" in Europe. He also stated that France must prepare to join the customs union, and was ready to accept long-term German military occupation of the French Atlantic Coast if it was necessary for the protection of Continental Europe. He also hoped that the measures would not exclude Germany and Italy later allowing France to regain "a position appropriate to its continental and colonial past". ==Rejection by Hitler==

Hitler was dismissive of the plan, as his vision of postwar Europe was one of total German hegemony. Ernst von Weizsäcker, Secretary of State at the Foreign Office, recorded in his diaries Hitler's position on the matter. On April 13, 1943, Weizsäcker wrote,"Reorganization of Europe: no enthusiasm for this idea on our side; the present jejune communiqué is a compromise between two parties".On May 5, 1943, he wrote,"The reason why we are not to be drawn into a conversation about the "New Order" in Europe is indicated confidentially by the Führer: our neighbours are all our enemies; we must get all we can out of them, but cannot and must not promise them anything". ==See also==