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9 June

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By Liakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 1

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9 June

I went to see Vansittart. We discussed a variety of subjects, but there were two issues of particular importance.

The first was Germany. I said that I had observed a certain shift in Anglo-German relations lately. I listed a number of facts: the transfer of Phipps from Berlin to Paris; the appointment of Sir Nevile Henderson,

Sir Nevile Henderson, British ambassador to Germany, 1937–39.

a fervent Germanophile, as ambassador to Berlin instead of Phipps, whom Hitler dislikes; a change in the tone of the British Conservative press with regard to Germany; the broad coverage in the English press of the dispatching of medical personnel by air to Gibraltar to render aid to the wounded sailors of the Deutschland;

The German cruiser Deutschland was shelled by the Republican forces on 29 May 1937, leading Germany and Italy to withdraw temporarily from the Non-Intervention Committee and the patrolling of the Spanish coast. Maisky warned Moscow on 3 June that the British were seeking to bypass the Committee by making separate arrangements with Germany, Italy and France, a ‘four-power pact in practice’; DVP, 1937, XX, doc. 192. The patrolling of the Spanish coast was discontinued on 16 September.

and, finally, Henderson’s speeches in Berlin, during the presentation of credentials and especially at the dinner arranged by the Anglo-German society.

A society set up by various bankers in the City in conjunction with the Imperial Policy Group aimed at drawing Great Britain closer to Nazi Germany and Japan.

All this induced certain thoughts. I stressed, in particular, that Henderson’s last speech had caused ‘amazement’ in Moscow, not to mention other more definite emotions. What could V. say to explain all this?

V., of course, tried to persuade me that nothing had changed, that everything remained as before. Mere ‘running on the spot’. The objective of the British government is to conclude an all-European agreement, though it would accept the restoration of the Locarno pact as a first step in that direction. But Locarno is static. Neither London nor Berlin is in a hurry to negotiate. The Foreign Office, for instance, has still not responded to the German note on Locarno received three months ago. As for Henderson, his Berlin speech at the English–German dinner was entirely his own creation; the FO was not responsible. The FO had not even seen the text of the speech before it was delivered. V. agreed that Henderson had said a lot of unnecessary things (there was even a question in parliament about his speech), but he pleaded ‘mitigating circumstances’: Henderson’s inexperience and his poor knowledge of current European politics – he has been in South America until now. V. expressed the hope that Henderson would be more careful in future.

Page 198

The second issue, which had been raised by the Australian premier Lyons,

Joseph Aloysius Lyons, Labour prime minister of Australia, 1931–39.

was the Pacific pact. I asked V. what the British government thought of Lyons’ idea. V. avoided giving a direct answer and started beating about the bush: Lyons himself has not thought out his proposal properly and is not yet sure whether the point in question is a pact of non-aggression or mutual assistance. Furthermore, Lyons’ plan first has to be digested by the Imperial Conference before being submitted to the FO for consideration. Then things will be clearer. Meanwhile the issue remains in an embryonic state.

In conclusion V. informed me with great pleasure that Anglo-Japanese talks will begin in the near future on the entire package of issues that interest both countries (economic, political, etc.), and that the Japanese proposals were on their way from Tokyo to London.

[Vansittart denied a reorientation of British policy towards Germany but conceded – though Maisky neglected to report the fact to Moscow – that a change in atmosphere meant ‘the prospects of reaching a result were perhaps slightly better’ than a couple of months earlier. Vansittart further admitted (as Maisky did report to Moscow) that the propaganda campaign waged by ‘Germanophile elements’ in England had intensified considerably.

TNA FO 371 20735 C4229/270/18; DVP, 1937, XX, fn. 121.

Chamberlain was indeed coming under increased pressure from various quarters to rein in the Foreign Office. Hoare strengthened his hand, complaining that ‘the FO is so much biased against Germany (and Italy and Japan) that unconsciously and almost continuously they are making impossible any European conciliation’.

A competent survey of the discussion is in Neilson, Britain, Soviet Russia and the Collapse of the Versailles Order, pp. 216–17. It did not prevent Hoare from sending Maisky a most friendly letter on his move from the Admiralty to the Home Office; RAN f.1702 op.4 d.1657 l.6, 10 June 1937.

The drift towards ‘appeasement’ became the subject of conflicting appraisals in Narkomindel and the London embassy. It seemed to confirm Litvinov’s growing belief that the British government was intent on washing its hands of Spain, enabling Germany and Italy to beat the Republicans. Maisky was less than comforted by Eden’s assurances that ‘as long as he was in the chair’ there would be no change in policy. He attributed the drift to the British failure to detach Italy from the newly established German–Italian ‘axis’ following the war in Abyssinia. He was ‘not inclined to attach much significance’ to the overtures made to Berlin, as he expected Hitler to produce ‘new tricks’ in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, which would bring rapprochement to an end.

Page 424

DVP, 1937, XX, doc. 195, Maisky’s report on meeting Eden, 11 June 1937; No. 211 & No. 212 for the meetings on 23 & 24 June 1937.

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Document Details

Document Title9 June

AuthorLiakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

RecipientN/A

RepositoryN/A

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DescriptionN/A

Date1937 Jun 9

AOC VolumeThe Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 1

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