S8 Ep274: LLOYD GEORGE AT THE BERGHOF Colleague Charles Spicer. In September 1936, Lloyd George traveled to Hitler's Alpine retreat, the Berghof, where he successfully charmed the dictator, who was delighted by the visit and the validation it offered. The meeting w

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

LLOYD GEORGE AT THE BERGHOF Colleague Charles Spicer. In September 1936, Lloyd George traveled to Hitler's Alpine retreat, the Berghof, where he successfully charmed the dictator, who was delighted by the visit and the validation it offered. The meeting was marked by mutual goodwill, with Lloyd George finding Hitler unpretentious and well-educated, a view he later publicized in the British press. During their discussions, Lloyd George proposed reopening the Locarno treaty to address German grievances regarding Versailles, noting that Hitler responded with visceral hatred whenever the subject of Russia was raised. Although criticized in hindsight, the visit was a serious diplomatic attempt to engage the regime, leveraging Lloyd George's status as the statesman who had originally drafted the war guilt clause. NUMBER 5
1945-46 GORING AND FOUR OTHER NUREMBERG TRIAL ACCUSED

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is CBS Eye on the World.
0:08.0	Here's John Batchelor.
0:10.0	Visiting with Charles Spicer, whose new book, Coffee with Hitler,
0:14.0	is the untold story of the amateur spies who tried to civilize the Nazis.
0:19.0	It is the untold story of the goodwill of men of both
0:23.5	Germany and Great Britain in the period of 1930s after the dictator took charge of Germany
0:31.1	to find a way to avoid a crisis such as we know happened, to avoid war because they were scarred by the first war.
0:40.4	We come now to September of 1936.
0:44.2	The Anglo-German Fellowship of London, the Deutsche Anglisher Giselschaft of Berlin, have been meeting
0:52.0	and looking for ways forward to work in terms of business terms,
0:56.2	business relationships, trade, and also friendship. And German speakers, Ernest Tennant,
1:02.6	Philip Conwell Evans, and Graham Christie are informing both sides of what can be done
1:09.3	to find a way forward. And one of the best be done to find a way forward.
1:11.5	And one of the best ideas is to have a senior British politician, the Prime Minister,
1:18.5	or near two, to meet with Hitler and find a way to avoid conflict.
1:24.4	Stanley Baldwin is not available.
1:26.7	David Lloyd George is available, and it is now September of 1936, and
1:31.5	David Lloyd George travels over land to Bechtesgaden to Hitler's alpine retreat, Berkhov. Charles,
1:41.2	what is Berghoff? What does it represent in this story? Why did Hitler build and stay so far away from his capital?
1:50.0	Well, he was originally a small four-bedroomed cabin that Hitler rented in the late 20s, early 30s, before he becomes Chancellor.
2:03.3	And once he becomes Chancellor, he buys the property and then quite quickly, massively
2:08.9	enhances it. And it becomes much more at home. It's the Nazi Party's control centre for
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