Page 71 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

58 The British Diplomats

a leading spokesman on the other side, ralph Wigram, head of the Cen-
tral european section, proposed that Britain, France, and the United states
make Hitler aware of their strong opposition to Germany’s rearmament
but at the same time commit themselves to supporting the elevation of
Germany to the status of a european great power. as ian Kershaw aptly
noted, the “problem with this approach was that the ‘carrot’ was not tempt-
ing, and the ‘stick’ was not threatening.” 105
the political leadership, however, tended to favor a cautious approach
to Germany out of fear that any criticism of the Nazis would only make
matters worse. even rumbold, who in early april 1933 had sent a report
to london on the mistreatment of the Jews, urged the government not to
make it public to avoid offending the new rulers, who “may be in power in
Germany for a long period.” He had been told by a prominent German that
“we Germans will not tolerate any outside interference.” in Great Britain,
Jewish organizations pressured the government to make known its concern
about the measures against Jews, and the issue was brought to the floor of
Parliament. Prime Minister Baldwin poured cold water on the initiative
with the following statement: “it is a matter of discretion. We are quite
willing to leave it where it is.” No official criticism was issued. 106
the most potent opposition to a firm stand against Hitler came from be-
low. a vocal peace movement that had emerged in Britain by the early 1930s
quickly gained wide support for its opposition to increases in the military
budget and moves by the government to hem in Germany with threats of
military action.
an anglican priest, popularly known as dick sheppard—his full name
was Hugh richard lawrie sheppard—founded the largest and most effec-
tive pacifist organization in 1934, the Peace Pledge Union, which mobilized
people from all walks of life in support of unqualified opposition to war
under all circumstances. sheppard had not always been a pacifist; in 1899,
when he was nineteen, he volunteered to fight for his country in the Boer
War, and only an accident that injured one of his legs and left him with a
limp for the rest of his life forced him to abandon his plan to join the army.
at the outbreak of war in 1914, he assumed the post of chaplain in a military
hospital in France, and it was there that he turned to pacifism. “War is aw-
ful, more awful than i supposed possible,” he wrote to his family. On his
return to Britain, he spared no effort in seeking converts. according to one
scholar, he quickly became “one of the best known and best loved men in
Britain.” He devoted his life not only to pacifism but also to charitable work
among the poor. 107