Table Of ContentLloyd George and the Lost Peace
Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 (William Orpen):
‘Mr Lloyd George . . . sat, his face lit with that smile, so quick and sunny, yet so obscure . . .
his whole air, at once so alert and self-poised, full of a baffling fascination and disquiet.’
— A. G. Gardiner
Lloyd George and 
the Lost Peace 
From Versailles to Hitler, 1919–1940 
Antony Lentin 
Professor of History 
The Open University
© Antony Lentin 2001 
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2001 978-0-333-91961-3
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of 
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The author has asserted his right to be identified 
as the author of this work in accordance with the 
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. 
First published 2001 by 
PALGRAVE 
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175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 
Companies and representatives throughout the world 
PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of 
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ISBN 978-1-349-42407-8          ISBN 978-0-230-51148-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230511484
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and 
made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 
A catalogue record for this book is available 
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 
Lentin, A. (Antony) 
Lloyd George and the lost peace : from Versailles to Hitler, 
1919–1940 / Antony Lentin. 
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-349-42407-8 (clo
th)
1. Lloyd George, David, 1863–1945—Views on foreign relations. 
2. Great Britain—Foreign relations—1910–1936. 3. Great Britain– 
–Foreign relations—1936–1945. 4. World War, 1939–1945– 
–Causes. 5. Treaty of Versailles (1919) I. Title. 
DA566.9.L5 L45 2001 
941.083’092—dc21 
2001021260 
10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1   
10  09  08  07  06  05  04  03  02  01
To Michael Duffy, Barrister-at-Law 
Vir bonus, peritus dicendi
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Contents
List of Illustrations  viii 
Acknowledgements  ix 
Preface  x 
Introduction  xiv 
1  Enigma Variations:Lloyd George at the Paris 
Peace Conference, 1919  1 
2  Reparations and Reputations:Lloyd 
George and Lord Cunliffe  23 
3  The Treaty that Never Was:Lloyd George 
and the French Connection, 1919  47 
4  The Worm in the Bud:`Appeasement' 
at the Peace Conference  67 
5  The Magic Mountain:Lloyd George and 
Hitler at the Berghof, 1936  89 
6  `A Conference Now':Lloyd George, 
Chamberlain and Churchill, 1939±40  106 
Notes  129 
Bibliography  163 
Index  172 
vii
List of Illustrations
    
Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 (William 
Orpen; courtesy National Museums and Galleries of Wales) 
frontispiece 
2.1	 Lord Cunliffe as Governor of the Bank of England 
(Francis Dodd, 1932; courtesy the Bank of England)  25 
4.1	 The Treaty of Versailles is delivered to the Palace of Versailles 
by the Secretary-General of the Peace Conference, 
Paul Dutasta, 28 June 1919  78 
5.1	 Hitler welcomes Lloyd George to the Berghof, 
Berchtesgaden, 4 September 1936 (photo:Kurt Huhle, 
courtesy the National Library of Wales)  95 
Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders for the 
illustrations. If anyone has been overlooked, the publishers will be 
pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity. 
viii
Acknowledgements
For permission to consult and quote from unpublished material, my 
thanks are due to: the British Library (Balfour Papers); the Clerk of the 
Records, the House of Lords Record Office, on behalf of the Beaverbrook 
Foundation Trust (Bonar Law and Lloyd George Papers); (the British 
Library and Professor A.K.S. Lambton (Robert Cecil Papers); the Bank 
of England Archives (Cunliffe and Montagu Norman Papers); Lord Cun-
liffe (the first Lord Cunliffe's letters to his wife); the Clerk of the Records, 
the House of Lords Record Office ( J.C. Davidson Papers); Lambeth 
Palace Library (Randall Davidson Papers and George Bell Papers); Lord 
Derby and the British Library (letter from 17th Earl of Derby to A.J. 
Balfour);  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford  (H.A.L.  Fisher  Papers);  the 
Churchill  Archives  Centre,  Churchill  College,  Cambridge  (Hankey 
Papers); the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (Hardinge Papers); 
the Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge (Keynes Papers); 
the Scottish Record Office, Edinburgh, and the Marquess of Lothian 
(Lothian Papers); the Bodleian Library and the Warden and Fellows of 
New  College,  Oxford  (Milner  Papers);  Trinity  College,  Cambridge 
(Edwin Montagu Papers); the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth 
(A.J. Sylvester Papers); the Public Record Office, Kew, Archives du Min-
isteÁre des Affaires EtrangeÁres, Paris, and Service historique de l'ArmeÂede 
Terre, Vincennes. I also wish to thank Mr Magnus John; Dr Barbara 
Slater; the Open University for grants in aid; and the President and 
Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge, for a further agreeable year as 
a Visiting Fellow. 
ix