the odour of mendacity

As the country was gripped by Chilcot fever once more, I happened to be reading the recently published diaries of Wallis Simpson from 1934 and came across this eerie passage. In it, Mrs Simpson recounts a conversation with Joachim von Ribbentrop (yes, that Ribbentrop):

Ribbentrop: “…if Germany is rearming it is only because we see other nations building weapons of massive destruction and so naturally we must prepare ourselves also.”

Wallis: “What sort of weapons?”

Ribbentrop: “Ah, of course I cannot tell you precisely, but Herr Goebbels has made a dossier of them. For instance, we know that you have very many chemical and biological weapons remaining from the English War, and Herr Goebbels says that in forty-five minutes the Englanders can be dropping them on Berlin.”

Wallis: “You know this for sure?”

Ribbentrop: “Yes, yes. At least, we know that they have the programs for making them.”

How utterly extraordinary. Hat tip Daisy Meyland-Smith.