British newspapers had a feeding frenzy last week reporting on the newly released documents disclosing Margaret Thatcher’s vigorous opposition to German unification in 1989.

The Times was especially tough. Among the nuggets it latched onto was Mrs. Thatcher’s “bombshell” off-the-record admission to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that while she supported German unification in public, privately she held “deep concerns” about the “big changes” afoot. “Even 20 years later, her remarks are likely to cause an uproar,” wrote Michael Binyon.

They shouldn’t—at least not for the reason Binyon implies.

Lady Thatcher’s opposition to German reunification is not exactly a state secret. The former prime minister openly and eloquently explained her reticence in her 1993 autobiography, The Downing Street Years. Really, as historian Andrew Roberts explained, these documents “highlight the accuracy of Thatcher’s own account of those heady days of two decades ago.”

It’s not that these documents are not significant. They are. First, because they shine added light on a turning point in modern European history. Second, because they highlight the largely forgotten anxiety and caution felt by many European leaders as they watched the Berlin Wall collapse in November 1989.

The real “bombshell” story here pertains to the wily motives of those operating on Downing Street and Fleet Street today. It’s about the British government and media engaging in a subtle PR campaign to bolster Britain’s reputation with Germany by lampooning and hanging out to dry one of its ablest and most successful prime ministers—at a time when Lady Thatcher’s concerns about a reunited Germany are marching toward fulfillment.

Published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Financial Times reported that the documents have been perceived as an “attempt by Britain to set the record straight and show that its diplomats were positive about reunification early on—in spite of Mrs. Thatcher’s personal misgivings.” Remarks by Patrick Salmon, the chief historian at the British Foreign Office, confirm that perception: “What they do is they correct the impression that was around at the time, and later, that Britain was negative toward [German unification],” he said.

It’s a campaign premised on character assassination and abandonment. And it’s working. Germany’s Spiegel Online reported last Friday that the “new documents reveal that [British] Foreign Ministry diplomats were considerably more far-sighted than Thatcher, who was led by her gut reaction against Germany.”

“The long-secret papers show that the British government played a far more constructive role in German reunification than had been previously thought,” Spiegel wrote. “Only one person had serious doubts about the change: Margaret Thatcher” (emphasis mine throughout). It appears this perception of Mrs. Thatcher as a misinformed rogue operating outside of Britain’s political establishment on this issue has taken root throughout much of the German media.

In many ways, the reason for the British government releasing these documents, and the spin put on them by the media, are more revealing than their actual content.

What a disgraceful disservice to the British public, many of whom are upset and disturbed by the German-led European Union’s impingement on British sovereignty. Politicians and journalists ought to be studying these documents and investigating why Thatcher opposed German unification, if her reticence was justified, and whether or not her fears are coming to fruition.

Instead, the government and media are using this as an opportunity to woo Germany, even if it means throwing their former stalwart leader under the bus. “Mrs. Thatcher (as she then was) was wrong,” the Times haughtily blurted. “As Germany reaches two decades as a reunited country, its unshakable place within the Western family of democratic nations is cause for celebration. Apprehensions about a united Germany were misguided and have clearly been refuted.”

They have?

Says who?

Is the Times even familiar with the reasons for Mrs. Thatcher’s apprehensions? On page 791 of The Downing Street Years, Mrs. Thatcher summarizes them in three succinct points. First, a united Germany would rush Europe toward becoming a dominant federalist power. Second, although Europe might at first be led by a Franco-German axis, Germany would in time marginalize French leadership and become the unchecked leader of Europe. Third, a united Germany would facilitate the decline of America’s presence and influence in Europe.

Consider the past 20 years of European history. Has Germany emerged at the vanguard of efforts to forge the European Union as a federalist superpower? Indisputably. Has Germany overpowered and outmaneuvered France to become the predominant, unbridled leader of Europe? Without doubt. And has America’s presence and influence in Europe deteriorated in the shadow of Germany’s mounting and formidable presence? Undeniably.

Historical fact proves Lady Thatcher’s forecasts were spot on!

Another disturbing point regarding the reporting on these recently released documents pertains to the attention given to the concerns of other world leaders about German reunification.

French President Francois Mitterrand told Thatcher that a united Germany could “make even more ground than had Hitler.” He said that if Germany expanded, then Europe would be in the same position that it was in before World War i. He also said that reunification could turn Germans into the “bad” people they used to be.

The documents also disclose that Nikolai Ryzhkov, the premier of the Soviet Union, told Gorbachev that if Germany was allowed to reunify on its own terms, “then in 20 or 30 years Germany will start another world war.”

Jacques Attali, adviser to the French president, was equally concerned. He told a Gorbachev aide that French leaders questioned whether Russia’s lack of interference in the fall of the Berlin Wall meant that “the ussr has made peace with the prospect of a united Germany and will not take any steps to prevent it. This has caused a fear approaching panic,” he said. Attali later told Mitterrand that he was so fearful of a united Germany that, should it come to pass, he would “fly off to live on Mars.”

These documents reveal that Mrs. Thatcher was not motivated by nationalism, or xenophobia, or a detestation for Germany. As is evident in her autobiography, Mrs. Thatcher had a strong understanding of human nature, a firm grasp of German history. She was far from alone in her anxiety and dread concerning German unification. The difference was, when German unification became inevitable, many of these leaders stopped voicing their concerns.

Britain’s Iron Lady courageously did not. “You have not anchored Germany to Europe,” she said in 1993. “You have anchored Europe to a newly dominant, unified Germany. In the end, my friends, you’ll find it will not work.”

As the Trumpetexplained recently, the “end” that Mrs. Thatcher mentioned is very nearly here. Germany is united and strong, and has cemented itself as the most powerful and dominant force, politically, economically and militarily, on the Continent. Very soon, perhaps in a matter of months, Germany will impose its authority and power over Europe beyond what most people can readily imagine.

Don’t be too quick to discount that forecast. It is rooted in historical fact and Bible prophecy. It will—together with Margaret Thatcher’s recently released remarks—be vindicated by the blood, sweat and tears caused by the soon-coming emergence of a German-led European empire.