Confidential report from John A. Belton to Seán Nunan (Dublin)
(Secret)

There have been persistent rumours for some time past in Bonn and elsewhere in Germany that former active Nazis held important posts in the Foreign Office. I, in fact, received some time ago an anonymous stencil circular referring to a number of high officials in the Foreign Office by name and giving their alleged Nazi record including Dr. Haas,¹ head of the Foreign Office and Baron von Herwarth,² Chef de Protocol.

Last week, the Frankfurter Rundschau came out with the blunt statement that the ‘Foreign Office bears an unfortunate but striking resemblance to Hitler’s; that it contained a disproportionate number of erstwhile Nazis’.

Arising out of all these allegations, Dr. Adenauer,³ the Chancellor, has now appointed a well-known German judge, Dr. Rudolf Scheter to investigate the position.

In this connection, you will be interested to know that last week I received a visit from Mr. Henning Thomsen,⁴ formerly Secretary to the German Legation in Dublin. He informed me that he had applied some months ago for re-instatement in the German Foreign Service and was now assured that he would receive an appointment in the very near future. In consequence he has now returned to Ireland to bring back to Germany his wife and family. Mr. Thomsen’s sympathies if not affiliation with the Nazi Party are well known to us and it will be interesting to see what appointment if any he receives in the Foreign Office in view of Dr. Adenauer’s recent decision.