Letter: Mourning Hitler

Sir: William Long mentions the fact that Eamon de Valera visited the German embassy on 2 May 1945 to offer his condolences on the death of Hitler (Letters, 28 November). De Valera's action on that day was purely political and reinforced his determination to preserve Eire's proclaimed neutrality to the bitter end, even though he was fully aware of what the consequences of his gesture might be. A patriot de Valera was, a Nazi sympathiser he wasn't.

PHILIP O'REILLY

Birmingham