Frank Roberts was with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office starting in the late 1930s, and served as Ambassador to the USSR from 1960-1962. In this interview, he reviews Ernest Bevin's role and goals in getting the United States involved in the defense of Europe, as well as other events that contributed to the end result. Of particular importance were the fears generated by the Korean War. He recounts Churchill's desire to be the "best man" in bringing Germany and France to the "altar" and end centuries of enmity. Mr. Roberts then crisscrosses between nuclear issues and the broader subject of European defense and the politics underlying it. Europeans, in his opinion, did not begrudge Britain its possession of the atomic bomb but were much less pleased with its possible military withdrawal from the continent. He delves into the German question, describing British and Soviet (especially Khrushchev's) attitudes toward Germany, then describes British views of their close relationship with the U.S. France was always something of a challenge as a partner, as he retells the experience, particularly at times when de Gaulle would propose ideas such as the triple entente, which left Mr. Roberts and his colleagues "rather horrified."
![Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2]](https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/metadata/commonwealth-oai:8623kw424/image_thumbnail_300.jpg)
![War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2]](https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/metadata/commonwealth-oai:4m90j937k/image_thumbnail_300.jpg)
![Interview with Maurice Schumann, 1986 [1]](https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/metadata/commonwealth-oai:vd66xx50k/image_thumbnail_300.jpg)
