Letter: Fool's gold in Nazi U-boats

Sir: Divers may be trying off the coast of Argentina to find a sunken U-boat with looted Nazi gold (report, 2 April) but it is unlikely that they will find anything.

The general idea of a "Fourth Reich" had been used by British Intelligence to fan American fears that the Nazis might find sanctuary in South America and undermine their traditional economic markets. FBI officers investigating this alleged "safe haven" eventually traced the source of the myth of Nazi treasure being sent to South America by submarine at the end of the war.

They discovered that it was largely the work of the British black propagandist, Sefton Delmer. His black radio stations broadcast the idea to German troops as part of an operation to undermine their confidence in their leaders.

This false story first surfaced in 1962 in a German newspaper, Kolnische Rundschau. It seems that Delmer's clever dirty trick is still doing the rounds.

STEPHEN DORRIL

Holmfirth,

West Yorkshire