That is all there is to say about the way
the visit originated. But a good deal necessarily followed. The outstanding figure associated with the Hunting Exhibition is General Goering, the most important man in Germany next to Herr Hitler. It was obviously not to be supposed that a British Cabinet Minister, one moreover with special associations with the Foreign Office, should make contact with General Goering and eschew all reference to high politics. But if a British Cabinet Minister is to discuss high politics in Germany, the obvious person to discuss them with is Herr Hitler. So Herr Hitler thought ; so the British Prime Minister thought ; and so it is to be. There is, I have reason to believe, not a scrap of foundation for the suggestion (which someone was sure to circulate) of any kind of fric- tion between Mr. Eden and Lord Halifax, and even less, if possible, for the suspicion of disagreement between the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister. Mr. Chamberlain has always held the view that outstanding differences between this country and Germany and Italy must be frankly discussed. He hinted that publicly in his Lord Mayor's banquet speech ; he had hinted it privately nearly a fortnight earlier. Now, thanks to General Goering's exhibition, an opportunity has arisen—and of the right kihd, for it provides contacts without entailing commitments.
Previous page
