Historical papers

Our historical papers cover subjects as diverse as Nazi gold, slavery and diplomacy and history of the FCO.

We have added a selection of the papers to the website, including:

the FCO: People, Policy and Places, 1782-1997
Nazi Gold: information from the British archives - are the accepted authoritative British sources on this subject.
slavery in diplomacy: the Foreign Office and the suppression of the transatlantic slave trade - which tells the story of the Foreign Office's Slave Trade Department which was the Office's largest Department from the 1820s through to the 1840s. The Occasional Papers are a series of pamphlets, usually reproducing the texts of lectures given in the FCO or research papers written by or commissioned by Historians.

Nazi Gold

FCO published its first report into the question of Nazi gold in September 1996.

The FCO: Policy, People and Places

An outline history of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Women in Diplomacy

Women have been employed in the Foreign Office since its creation in 1782. But it was not until 1946 that women were given the opportunity to be employed as diplomats.

History of the PUS

A Brief History of the Office and its Holders.

Katyn Massacre

On 13 April 1943, the German Government announced the discovery of over 4,400 graves in the forest of Katyn, near Smolensk.

Slavery in Diplomacy

The suppression of the transatlantic slave trade.

FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE