Confidential report from Robert Brennan to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(108/48/39)

I paid my duty call yesterday on the new British Ambassador, Lord Lothian.¹ In the course of a general conversation arising out of the war situation, he asked me what it was that Mr. de Valera had said exactly in the Dáil, and he quoted his recollection of the press report of same to the effect that Mr. de Valera had said that Ireland 'would remain neutral as long as possible'. I told him that I had a message to the effect that the Irish Government had declared its neutrality and that the German Government had promised to observe same.

He asked me what the qualification in Mr. de Valera's statement meant and I told him I did not know. He then asked if this would prevent our allowing the British to use Cobh as a naval station, and I said that I imagined such action would be a violation of our neutrality.

He went on to give me a picture of Hitler attributed to Dr. Jong,² the great German psychologist, to the effect that as a man Hitler has no special qualities either mentally or physically, but that he has become the subconscious soul of

a Germany which considered itself down-trodden and humiliated when it was capable of being the greatest country on earth and that when he assumes this role, he talks like one inspired. He never does any work of any kind and his end will be suicide.

The Ambassador has had a very favourable press here so far.