William Strang, 1st Baron Strang

[1] During his Foreign Office career, he was involved in the Munich Agreement, the Moscow Conference (1939), the European Advisory Commission, the North Atlantic Treaty, and the post-war occupation of Germany.

[4][5] In May 1939, Strang was sent to Moscow for the talks for a "peace front" of the Soviet Union, France and Britain intended to deter Germany from invading Poland.

[6] Strang stated that the new Soviet foreign commissar, Vyacheslav Molotov was an effective, if charmless and crude negotiator who lived up to his surname (Molotov means hammer in Russian)..[6] Strang later wrote of his talks with Molotov: "The history of the negotiations is the story of how the British government were driven step by step under stress of Soviet argument, under pressure from Parliament and the press and public opinion polls, under advice from the Ambassador in Moscow, and under persuasion from the French, to move towards the Soviet position.

[6] Strang became of interest to an undercover MI5 agent, Eric Roberts, who was operating under the pretence of working for the Gestapo, with the intention of identifying potential fifth columnists.

[8] Roberts reported further comments made six days later to the same woman: "Strang alleged that the Bethnal Green tube disaster was caused by a Jewish pickpocket gang, the ringleader of which netted £200".

The commission was established by the Allies to study the possible post-war political problems in Europe and make recommendation but was dissolved at the Potsdam Conference.

The six years Strang served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State saw the gradual recovery of Europe through the Marshall Plan, the establishment of the Western European Union and NATO and the breaking of the Berlin Blockade.