ABSTRACT
When Hitler came to power in 1933, Britain had begun to enjoy an economic recovery. British trade interest in the Baltic region remained strong, though some Foreign Office officials believed British firms often did not grasp the opportunities the region offered. Throughout the 1930s the Northern Department of the Foreign Office campaigned, unsuccessfully, for Britain to take a larger role in Baltic commerce, arguing that British influence in Poland should be strengthened before the opportunity was lost to Germany and the Soviet Union. The Baltic States wanted the increased trade as much as Britain, and hoped that its expansion might prevent them from becoming overly dependent upon Germany.1
