Page 66 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

The British Diplomats 53

the three foreign ministers during the ambassadorships of rumbold
and Phipps in Berlin—simon, samuel Hoare, and eden—were not much
bolder or more perceptive than their prime ministers; they also did not
fully grasp the danger signals for Britain in the reports emanating from
Germany. although none of them was in any way sympathetic to Nazism,
they chose not to pursue a consistent policy of resistance to Hitler’s fre-
quent violations of the treaty of Versailles. Hoare clearly understood the
cruelty of the Nazi regime and helped organize the Kindertransport, which
brought Jewish children out of countries dominated by the Nazis. and
eden later changed course and acquired the reputation of a stalwart op-
ponent of appeasement. 95
in office from 1931 until early 1935, simon played an important role in
shaping Britain’s response to the demand by Germany to be accepted as a
leading world power and permitted to build up its military forces. Unfortu-
nately, simon occupied a position for which he was almost totally unsuited.
the son of a reverend of modest means, he demonstrated rare gifts for
study as a teenager and was accepted as a law student at Oxford University;
he was also a dedicated worker and by the tender age of thirty had achieved
recognition as an outstanding lawyer. simon could analyze complex issues
with remarkable speed and he won numerous cases for his clients, for which
he earned large fees. But he had higher ambitions, and in 1905, when he was
only thirty-two, he ran for Parliament, winning a seat as a liberal. Within
five years, he was appointed solicitor-general, the youngest man in eighty
years to attain that position.
simon seemed destined for a successful career at the highest levels of
government, but two fatal flaws in his personality stood in the way, and in
the end he did not achieve an enviable place in history books. For one thing,
he was thoroughly unpleasant and almost completely bereft of friends who
would stand by him in times of crisis. as his sympathetic biographer put it,
simon was “cold, insincere, and almost dehumanized.” rumor had it that
he perceived his personal shortcomings and that every night he knelt by his
bedside and prayed: “Oh lord, make me a good fellow.” His second flaw,
96
which became evident once he held high political office, was indecisive-
ness.
Prior to the appointment of simon as foreign secretary, little is known
about his views on foreign policy except that he had a strong aversion to
military conflict. in 1914, when H. H. asquith’s government declared war
on Germany, simon drafted a letter of resignation as solicitor-general, but
he was persuaded by party officials not to submit it to the prime minister.