The prologue introduces the reader to Anglo-Soviet relations prior to the Second World War; this is followed by part one of the study which highlights the restrictions that were placed on SIS and SOE which effectively excluded them from operations in the Baltic states. Part two of the thesis examines how this exclusion elevated the role of overt intelligence as a substitute form of intelligence; ‘the power of the press’ in this context is a very apt term. The enemy and neutral press were acquired, analysed and any relevant intelligence gained was quickly distributed around the various government departments by the FRPS. The key role the FO played in requesting, prioritising, and utilising the information provided by the FRPS Baltic States Section and the FRPS Russian Research Section is also examined. Part two of thesis concludes with a study of the fruits of the FRPS Russian Research Section’s labours and how its work influenced British post-war policy towards the Soviet Union. Finally part three examines the content of this overt intelligence in two case studies concerning German Economic Policy and Population Policy. Britain’s wartime policy towards the Soviet Union is then described in order to set the work of the FRPS in context. The thesis is not an attempt to complete a top-to-bottom study of the German occupation of the Baltic states, but rather to present the contemporary British perspective on this occupation, a perspective which was derived almost entirely from overt intelligence. How worthwhile this form of intelligence was and how far it helped to formulate wartime and post-war policy are the central questions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:614576 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Wheatley, Benjamin |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/48773/ |
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