Rumbold Dispatch

Sir Horace Rumbold was the British ambassador to Germany from 1928 to 1933. As the ambassador, he sent regular reports about Germany to the Foreign Secretary in London, John Allsebrook Simon. Rumbold described for the British government the changes he saw in Germany once Hitler came to power in January 1933. 

In a dispatch dated April 26, 1933, Rumbold wrote at length about Mein Kampf (1925), Hitler’s autobiography and political manifesto. Rumbold viewed the book as the template for the actions Hitler had taken since he came to power. Rumbold warned that the United Kingdom should not trust Hitler’s assurances of peace or believe that his positions had moderated since Mein Kampf was first published. Hitler’s goals were still to rearm Germany, undo the Treaty of Versailles, and eliminate opposition. Rumbold’s dispatch warned that therefore “the outlook for Europe is far from peaceful.”