Berlin, The Cabinet Meeting Room, Tuesday, 14 January 1947
The empty chair at the table was a sharp reminder that the cabinet was incomplete; it would be the first order of business.
“Gentlemen,” Adenauer began, “Herr Lübke’s unexpected retirement requires us to act. I wish to invite Herr Wilhelm Niklas to take up the Labour portfolio.” The Chancellor was frequently sharp and to the point.
Achieving consensus was unexpectedly easy. Niklas had done good work in the provincial administration in Bavaria and was a steady back-bencher in the Reichstag. He and Lübke were personal friends, and the latter’s staff were acquainted with Niklas to a degree. He was a logical choice.
“Excellent,” said Adenauer with satisfaction. “Now, the matter of the pound sterling. Today’s
Handelsblatt suggests that the pressure for devaluation is increasing. Herr Schäffer?”
The Minister of Finance was quick to respond. “It may be more wishful thinking on the part of speculators than any underlying weakness in the pound. Still, it appears that that the upward pressure on the franc and the Reichsmark is still strong and British-owned funds have begun to flow into Swiss and Dutch banks rather than being repatriated home.”
“You still counsel that we take no action?” the Chancellor asked.
“There is little short of a major intervention that we can take,” Schäffer explained. “Precipitate action on our part might upset the delicate balance of the markets.”
Eisenbahn Kurier, Wednesday, 15 January 1947
London, The German Embassy, Thursday, 16 January 1947
Schellenburg wrestled with the question before him; was the opportunity before him real or a plot by British intelligence to entrap him. Several days previously he had been introduced by one of his “Baker Street Irregulars” to a fixer named Sidney Stanley who, it seemed, had very good contacts within the Labour Government. Stanley, it seemed, was continually hard up for funds to maintain the lifestyle necessary to maintain these contacts. Schellenburg thought the man an adventurer, but adventurers have their uses; but they can be double-edged swords. He had made no commitments towards the man, but the possibility of gaining a source of information was intriguing.