Page "E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax" Paragraph 20

In November 1937 Halifax went to Germany at the invitation of Hermann Göring on the pretext of a hunting exhibition.

( Göring himself was a passionate hunter and gave Halifax the nickname Halalifax, after Halali !, a German hunting call.

) However, Halifax was publicly and correctly regarded as acting on behalf of the British government to renew dialogue with the German government.

A long and barbed meeting with Adolf Hitler ensued.

On meeting the Führer, Halifax almost created an incident by nearly handing his coat to Hitler, believing him to be a footman: " As I looked out of the car window, on eye level, I saw in the middle of this swept path a pair of black trousered legs, finishing up in silk socks and pumps.

I assumed this was a footman who had come down to help me out of the car and up the steps, and was proceeding in leisurely fashion to get myself out of the car when I heard Von Neurath or somebody throwing a hoarse whisper at my ear of ‘ Der Fuhrer, de Fuhrer ’; and it then dawned upon me that the legs were not the legs of a footman, but of Hitler ".

In subsequent discussions Halifax ignored Eden's reservations and indicated clearly to Hitler that German designs on Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia and Poland were not regarded as illegitimate by the British, but that only peaceful processes of change would be acceptable.

Writing to Baldwin on the subject of the conversation between Karl Burckhardt ( the League of Nations ' Commissioner of Danzig ) and Hitler, Halifax said: " Nationalism and Racialism is a powerful force but I can't feel that it's either unnatural or immoral !.

I cannot myself doubt that these fellows are genuine haters of Communism, etc .!

And I daresay if we were in their position we might feel the same!