This boast led him to make the fateful pledge. Schmidt recorded it in his minutes: If Japan got into a conflict with the United States, Germany on her part would take the necessary steps at once. From Schmidt’s notes it is evident that Matsuoka did not quite grasp the significance of what the Fuehrer was promising, so Hitler said it again. Germany, as he had said, would promptly take part in case of a conflict between Japan and America.
