After much controversy, the Germans agreed, _tant bien que mal_, to this solution.

The further development of the affair showed that the German standpoint went through many changes.

In general, it fluctuated between two extremes: either Poland must unite herself to Germany--the German-Polish solution, or else vast portions of her territory must be ceded to Germany to be called frontier adjustments, and what remained would be either for us or for Poland herself.

Neither solution could be accepted by us.

The first one for this reason, that the Polish question being in the foreground made that of Galicia very acute, as it would have been quite impossible to retain Galicia in the Monarchy when separated from the rest of Poland.