Fears over offending Germany at 'D-Day 40'

THE 80th anniversary of D-Day did not pass without political drama for PM Rishi Sunak, but plans for the 40th anniversary were fraught with fears over upsetting world relations.

- Marco Giannangeli

The 1984 commemorations were overshadowed by one overwhelming concern within Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet – that Germany might take offence.

Newly declassified letters between Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe revealed angst at the highest levels after an Anglo-German summit at Chequers on May 2.

Cabinet papers show West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl raised the “question of the reaction in Japan and Germany to the celebration of the Normandy landings” with Mrs Thatcher.

The conversation came during one of the Cold War’s most challenging years for the Western alliance.