Abstract
Diplomats, "sent abroad to lie for their country," are not easy to analyse. Their characteristic traits are often obscured by actions which are impossible to explain. This is especially true of those who represent their countries in other lands. They are bound to control and hide their real feelings lest they compromise the interests of their own nation* in time of war this necessity for restraint and moderation is even more stringent. |Count Johann Albrecht von Bernstorff held the position of German ambassador to Washington during the critical period 1914-1917. When he was born in London, the United States was torn by Civil War. In October of that year (1862) his father had returned to England as ambassador to the Court of St. James. Bernstorff's place of birth seems to have influenced his destiny, for his relationship with England and the English people was to deepen his insight into the English-speaking world more perhaps than was common among German statesmen of this time.