Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
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Robert Gilbert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart, (25 June 1881 – 14 February 1957), known as Sir Robert Vansittart between 1929 and 1941, was a senior British
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
in the period before and during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was Principal Private Secretary to the
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 1928 to 1930 and Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1930 to 1938 and later served as Chief Diplomatic Adviser to the British Government. He is best remembered for his opposition to
appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...
and his strong stance against Germany both during and after the Second World War. His 1941 book, '' Black Record: Germans Past and Present'', led to the coining of the term Vansittartism, a doctrine holding that Germans were incorrigibly violent and militaristic throughout their history. Vansittart was also a published poet, novelist and playwright.


Background and education

Vansittart was born at Wilton House,
Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, the eldest of the three sons of Robert Arnold Vansittart, of Foots Cray Place,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, a Captain in the
7th Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 8th Horse in 1694 and the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for ...
, by his wife Susan Alice Blane, third daughter of Gilbert James Blane,Williams, E. T., Palmer, Helen M. ''The Dictionary of National Biography 1951–1960.'' Oxford University Press, 1971. landowner, of Foliejon Park, Berkshire. His younger brother Guy Nicholas (Nick) Vansittart had a successful career with
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before and after the war. He was recruited into "Z" Network during the 1930s and served in
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
during World War II. Cognatically (patrilineally) the family is of Dutch descent; ancestors included Arthur Vansittart, Member of Parliament (MP) for Windsor, and the colonel of the same name, MP for
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. Henry Vansittart, Robert Vansittart and Lord Bexley were in the other branches. A female-line ancestor was Lord Auckland. Vansittart was also a second cousin of T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia). Widely nicknamed Van, he was educated at St Neot's Preparatory School and
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, where he was a member of the exclusive Eton Society (also called Pop) and Captain of the Oppidans. He then travelled in Europe for two years to improve his French and German, where his experiences and study of the political systems prevailing may have contributed to his
Germanophobia Anti-German sentiment (also known as anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is fear or dislike of Germany, its people, and its culture. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment mainly emerged following the unification of Ge ...
and
Francophilia A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisine, literature, etc. The te ...
. He appeared to have stepped out of an earlier age, with a lavish lifestyle funded by his wealthy wife, a large house in
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
, and a magnificent country house in Denham. As a young ''attaché'' in Paris, he wrote a play in French which was performed at the prestigious Theatre Moliere for six weeks.


Diplomatic career

Vansittart entered the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
in 1902, starting as a clerk in the Eastern Department, where he was a specialist on Aegean Islands affairs. He was an ''attaché'' at the British Embassy in Paris between 1903 and 1905, when he became Third Secretary. He then served at the embassies in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
between 1907 and 1909 and
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
between 1909 and 1911. From 1911, he was attached to the Foreign Office. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he was joint head of the contraband department and then head of the Prisoner of War Department under Lord Newton. He took part in the Paris Peace Conference and became an Assistant Secretary at the Foreign Office in 1920. From that year to 1924, he was private secretary to the Foreign Secretary,
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...
. From 1928 to 1930, he was Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...
and then
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
. In January 1930 he was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, where he supervised the work of Britain's diplomatic service.


Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1930–1938

Vansittart was suspicious of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
from the start and claimed that what Hitler said was "for foreign consumption". He thought Hitler would start another European war as soon as he "felt strong enough". Vansittart supported revising the
Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
in Germany's favour but only after Hitler was no longer in power. Vansittart believed that Britain should be firm with Germany, with an alliance between France and the Soviet Union against Germany essential. Vansittart also urgently advocated rearmament. In the summer of 1936, Vansittart visited Germany and claimed that he found a climate that "the ghost of Barthou would hardly have recognised" and that Britain should negotiate with Germany.Cowling, p. 157. He thought that satisfying Hitler's "land hunger" at Soviet expense would be immoral and regarded the
Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was a bilateral treaty between France and the Soviet Union with the aim of enveloping Nazi Germany in 1935 to reduce the threat from Central Europe. It was pursued by Maxim Litvinov, the Soviet forei ...
as non-negotiable. It was because he believed that Germany had gained equality in Europe that Vansittart favoured facilitating German expansion in Africa. He thought that Hitler was exploiting fears of a "
Bolshevist The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the Second Party Congress in 1903. The Bolshevik party, formally established in 19 ...
menace" as a cover for "expansion in Central and South-Eastern Europe".Cowling, p. 158. Like Sir Maurice Hankey, Vansittart thought in
power politics Power politics is a term which denotes an approach to political matters which aims to enhance the power of government actors. The term has much usage in the realm of international relations, and it is often used pejoratively. The German term fo ...
terms. He thought Hitler could not decide whether to follow
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
and
Alfred von Tirpitz Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (; born Alfred Peter Friedrich Tirpitz; 19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German grand admiral and State Secretary of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperi ...
in viewing Britain as "the ultimate enemy" or on the other hand adopting the
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
policy of appeasing Britain in order to engage in military expansion in the East. Vansittart thought that in either case time should be "bought for rearmament" by an economic agreement with Germany and by appeasing every "genuine grievance" about colonies. Vansittart wanted to detach
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
from Hitler and thought that the British Empire was an "
Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...
" and that Continental Europe was the central British national interest, but he doubted whether agreement could be had there. That was because he feared that German attention, if turned eastwards, would result in a military empire between the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
, the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
and the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. At the Foreign Office in the 1930s, Vansittart was a major figure in the loose group of officials and politicians opposed to appeasement of Germany. Eden and Vansittart had already clashed during the
Abyssinia Crisis The Abyssinia Crisis, also known in Italy as the Walwal incident, was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in a dispute over the town of Walwal, which then turned into a conflict between Fascist Italy and the Ethiopian Empire (then co ...
with Eden supporting sanctions against Italy while Vansittart wanted Italy as an ally against Germany. Vansittart argued that there was no prospect of a "general settlement" with Hitler, and the best that could be done was to strengthen ties with the French in order to confront Germany. Vansittart had supported Eden's efforts to defuse the Rhineland crisis as British rearmament had only just begun, but Vansittart urged the government to use the crisis as a chance to begin forming a military alliance with France against Germany. By the spring of 1936, Vansittart had become convinced that a "general settlement" with Germany was not possible. A Foreign Office official
Owen O'Malley Sir Owen St Clair O'Malley (4 May 1887 – 16 April 1974) was a British diplomat. He was List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Hungary, Minister to Hungary between 1939 and 1941. He was List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Po ...
suggested that Britain give Germany a "free hand in the East" (i.e. accept the German conquest of all Eastern Europe) in exchange for a German promise to accept the status quo in Western Europe. Vansittart wrote in response that Hitler was seeking world conquest, and that to allow Germany to conquer all of Eastern Europe would give the ''Reich'' sufficient raw materials to make Germany immune to a British blockade, which would then allow the Germans to overrun Western Europe. Vansittart commented that to allow Germany to conquer Eastern Europe would "lead to the disappearance of liberty and democracy in Europe". By contrast, Eden saw British interests as confined only to Western Europe, and did not share Vansittart's beliefs about what Hitler's ultimate intentions might be. In spite of his harsh opposition to appeasement with Germany, Vansittart had been on "very friendly terms with Herr (Konrad) Henlein". Henlein was the leader of the
Sudeten German Party The Sudeten German Party (, SdP, ) was created by Konrad Henlein under the name ''Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront'' ("Front of the Sudeten German Homeland") on 1 October 1933, some months after the First Czechoslovak Republic had outlawed the Germ ...
, which demanded autonomy for the Sudetenland, as was eventually achieved through the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
(1938). Vansittart genuinely liked Henlein, the mild-mannered and easy-going gymnastics teacher, and believed in assurances that all he wanted was autonomy for the Sudetenland.Weinberg, Gerhard ''The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany 1933–1939'', New York: Enigma Books, 2010 p. 582 Much of Vansittart's later turn towards Germanphobia was provoked by his discovery that Henlein had deceived him. Vansittart told Henlein that "no serious intervention in favour of the Czechs was to be feared from Great Britain and probably also from France." That reached Hitler in the second half of 1937, when he was deciding about his plan to overthrow Austria and Czechoslovakia; his decisions were not proof of high intuition or intellect but were based on information received indirectly from Vansittart, among other well-placed politicians and officers in Britain, like Lord Lothian, Lord Mount Temple, Oliver Vaughan Gurney Hoare ( Sir Samuel Hoare's younger brother) and others. It is not known how much that encouraged Hitler, but he later stated very similar views: "the Führer believed that almost certainly Britain and probably France as well, had already tacitly written off the Czechs and were reconciled to the fact that this question would be cleared up in due course by Germany." After the war, an effort was made to cover up Vansittart's embarrassing "real friendship" with Henlein. In the late 1930s, Vansittart together with Reginald Leeper, the Foreign Office's Press Secretary, often leaked information to a private newspaper, ''The Whitehall Letter'', edited by Victor Gordon-Lennox, the anti-appeasement diplomatic editor of the ''Daily Telegraph''. That brought him into conflict with the political leadership at the time, and he was removed as Permanent Under-Secretary in 1938 into the ''meaningless'' role of an advisor (although initially the French and Germans thought it was a promotion). He was out of favour with his former supporter Sir Warren Fisher the head of the civil service and the new head (and confident of Chamberlain and appeaser) Horace Wilson. A new post as "Chief Diplomatic Adviser to His Majesty's Government" was instead created ''
ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...
'' for him in which he served until 1941.


Germanophobia

Vansittart was also involved in intelligence work. In 1940, Vansittart sued the American historian Harry Elmer Barnes for libel for an article, written by Barnes in 1939, accusing him of then plotting aggression against Germany. During the war, Vansittart became a prominent advocate of a very anti-German line. His earlier worries about Germany were reformulated into an argument that Germany was intrinsically militaristic and aggressive. In '' Black Record: Germans Past and Present'' (1941), Vansittart portrayed Nazism as just the latest manifestation of Germany's continuous record of aggression from the time of the Roman Empire, thus giving rise to the term Vansittartism. Therefore, after Germany was defeated, it must be stripped of all military capacity, including its heavy industries. The German people enthusiastically supported Hitler's wars of aggression, just as they had supported the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
in 1870 and World War I in 1914. They must be thoroughly re-educated under strict Allied supervision for at least a generation. De-Nazification was not enough. The German military elite was the real cause of war, especially the " Prussianist" officer corps and the
German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous stu ...
: both must be destroyed. In 1943 he wrote:
In the opinion of the author, it is an illusion to differentiate between the German right, centre, or left, or the German Catholics or Protestants, or the German workers or capitalists. They are all alike, and the only hope for a peaceful Europe is a crushing and violent military defeat followed by a couple of generations of re-education controlled by the United Nations.
He also wrote that "the other Germany has never existed save in a small and ineffective minority". On other occasions, he made similar remarks:
We didn't go to war in 1939 to save Germany from Hitler ... or the continent from fascism. Like in 1914 we went to war for the not lesser noble cause that we couldn't accept a German hegemony over Europe.
The British historian R. B. McCallum wrote in 1944: "To some, such as Lord Vansittart, the main problem of policy was to watch Germany and prevent her power reviving. No one can refuse him a tribute for his foresight in this matter."


Honours

Vansittart was appointed a
Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
(MVO) in 1906, a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
(CMG) in 1920, a
Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...
(CB) in 1927, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1929, a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1931 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1938. He was sworn into the Privy Council in 1940 and raised to the peerage as Baron Vansittart, ''of Denham in the County of Buckingham'' on 3 July 1941.


Literary career

Vansittart was also a published poet, novelist and playwright. This is a partial list of his literary works:


Plays

* ''Les Pariahs'' (1902) * ''The Cap and Bells: a comedy in three acts'' (1913) * ''Dusk'' (1914) * ''Dead Heat: a comedy in three acts'' (1939)


Novels

* ''The Gates: A Study in Prose'' (1910) * ''John Stuart'' (1912) * ''Pity's Kin'' (1924)


Poetry

* ''Songs & Satires'' (1909) * ''Foolery: a comedy in verse'' (1912) * ''The Singing Caravan, a Sufi Tale'' (1919) * ''Tribute'' (1926) * ''Green and Grey: Collected Poems'' (1944)


History

* '' Black Record: Germans Past and Present'' (1941) * ''Bones of Contention'' (1945)


Autobiography

* ''Lessons of My Life'' (1943) * ''The Mist Procession'' (1957), Hutchinson & Co. London (published posthumously with a prefatory note by his wife Sarita)


Film career

Vansittart was a close friend of producer
Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)
. He helped Korda with the financing of
London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...
. His barony's
territorial designation In the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation ...
was of Denham, the parish where London Films had its studio and he owned Denham Place. Vansittart contributed to four motion pictures. He wrote the screenplay for '' Wedding Rehearsal'' (1932), contributed dialogue to ''
Sixty Glorious Years ''Sixty Glorious Years'' is a 1938 British colour film directed by Herbert Wilcox. The film is a sequel to the 1937 film '' Victoria the Great''. The film is also known as ''Queen of Destiny'' in the US. Cast *Anna Neagle as Queen Victoria * ...
'' (1938) and, under the pseudonym "Robert Denham", provided song lyrics for Korda's '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) and ''
Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...
'' (1942), in collaboration with the noted Hungarian composer
Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...
with whom he also wrote the concert musical work for voices, "Beast of Burden" (1940).


Personal life

Vansittart married his first wife, Gladys Robinson-Duff (née Heppenheimer), daughter of General William C. Heppenheimer, of the United States, in 1921. They had one daughter, the Honourable Cynthia Vansittart (1922–2023). Gladys died in 1928. He married his second wife, Sarita Enriqueta Ward, daughter of the explorer and sculptor
Herbert Ward Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territory ...
, of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and widow of Sir Colville Barclay, on 29 July 1931.Norman Rose, 'Vansittart, Robert Gilbert, Baron Vansittart (1881–1957)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011. They lived in London and at Denham Place, Denham, Buckinghamshire. He died in February 1957, age 75, and the barony became extinct.


Arms


Notes


References

* Sir Robert Vansittart, ''Lessons of My Life'' (London, 1943). * Sir Robert Vansittart, ''The Mist Procession'' (London, 1958). * * Maurice Cowling, ''The Impact of Hitler. British Policy and British Politics 1933–1940'' (Chambridge University Press, 1975), pp. 156–159. * . *


External links

* *
The Papers of Lord Vansittart of Denham
held at
Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vansittart, Robert Gilbert 1881 births 1957 deaths Members of HM Foreign Service Members of HM Diplomatic Service Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs People educated at Eton College Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Royal Victorian Order Principal private secretaries to the prime minister Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British poets British anti-communists British male novelists British male poets Barons created by George VI
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
20th-century British diplomats Anti-German sentiment in Europe British people of Dutch descent English people of Dutch descent