Editing Arnold J. Toynbee (section)

===Meeting Hitler===
While on a visit in Berlin in 1936 to address the Law Society, Toynbee was invited to a private interview with [[Adolf Hitler]] at Hitler's request.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brody |first1=J. Kenneth |title=The Avoidable War—Volume 2: Pierre Laval and the Politics of Reality, 1935–1936 |date=1 October 1999 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-0765806222|title-link=Pierre Laval }}</ref> During the interview, which was held a day before Toynbee delivered his lecture, Hitler emphasized his limited expansionist aim of building a greater German nation, and his desire for British understanding and co-operation with Nazi Germany.<ref>''A Lecture by Hitler'', {{cite book|author= Arnold J. Toynbee|title=Acquaintances|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1967}} pp 276-295</ref> Hitler also suggested Germany could be an ally to Britain in the Asia-Pacific region if Germany's Pacific colonial empire were restored.<ref name="pemberton">{{cite book |last1=Pemberton |first1=Jo-Anne |title=The Story of International Relations, Part Three: Cold-Blooded Idealists |date=2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |page=34}}</ref> Toynbee believed that Hitler was sincere and endorsed Hitler's message in a confidential memorandum for the British prime minister and foreign secretary.<ref name=mcneill1989ch8>{{cite book |last1=McNeill |first1=William H. |author-link=William Hardy McNeill |title=Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life |url=https://archive.org/details/arnoldjtoynbeeli00will |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1989 |at=Chapter 8 |isbn=9780195058635}}</ref>

Toynbee presented his lecture in English, but copies of it were circulated in German by Nazi officials, and it was warmly received by his Berlin audience who appreciated its conciliatory tone.<ref name=pemberton /> [[Tracy Philipps]], a British 'diplomat' stationed in Berlin at the time, later informed Toynbee that it 'was an eager topic of discussion everywhere'.<ref name=pemberton /> Back home, some of Toynbee's colleagues were dismayed by his attempts at managing Anglo-German relations.<ref name=pemberton />