my Government, remind you for the last time of the heavy responsibility assumed by the Government of the Reich by entering, without a declaration of war, into hostilities against Poland and in not acting upon the suggestion made by the Governments of the French Republic and of His Britannic Majesty to suspend all aggressive action against Poland and to declare itself ready to withdraw its forces promptly from Polish territory. I have the painful duty to notify you that as from today, September 3, at 5 P.M., the French Government will find itself obliged to fulfill the obligations that France has contracted towards Poland, and which are known to the German Government". When Ribbentrop accused France of being the "aggressor", Coulondre replied that "History will be the judge of that". Coulondre then turned his back on Ribbentrop and Weizsäcker, leaving the Auswärtiges Amt, never to return. Later life From 10 January 1940 to 13 March 1940 Coulondre served as the chief of staff for Daladier, leaving office when Daladier resigned on 13 March 1940. In April 1940, Coulondre was sent on a diplomatic mission to Stockholm that aimed to persuade Sweden to stop selling Germany iron (most of the German steel was made with Swedish iron). Coulondre served as the French ambassador to Switzerland between 30 May-30 October 1940. On 21 June 1940, he wrote in his diary about the Armistice of 22 June 1940 signed that day: "“For two weeks I have woken up every morning to experience a nightmare. We are defeated, for sure. But let's save our honor! Why go for the armistice conditions?...For France the situation is the same as if we continue the fight, but let's go alongside the Anglo-Saxons with our fleet, the remains of our army which can go to North Africa or England, our air force. There are only drawbacks to surrender. No benefits".. Most of his time in Bern was taken up with the care of French refugees who fled to Switzerland. On 20 September 1940, he received a telegram from the new Vichy regime announcing that he was now fired as ambassador and was being put on permanent unpaid leave. On 2 May 1941, as part of the investigation that led to the Riom trial of 1942, Coulondre was questioned by a magistrate about his responsibility and that of Daladier for the French declaration of war against Germany in 1939.