I admit I changed the title of the story. These were German soldiers, NOT Hitler's Nazi troops.


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Hitler's Nazi troops were captured on camera parading through the streets of central London in a grim reminder of how World War Two could have ended.

The astonishing photo shows Nazi supporters saluting a procession through the heart of London, as Hitler's troops carry a coffin draped in the swastika flag.

Taken in 1936, the scene shows the funeral procession of German ambassador Leopold von Hoesch who was carried through Whitehall, in sight of Buckingham Palace, before being transferred to a gun carriage and transported down The Mall.

The black and white picture, seemingly Britain's worst nightmare, was shot three years before the outbreak of World War Two when governments around the world were still trying to avoid confrontation with Germany.

The Ambassador was not a supporter of Hitler's, and regularly disagreed with the Nazi leader. He was well-liked by the British government, and was a trusted friend of Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden.

After von Hoesch's death, the role of German Ambassador went to the notorious Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was later hanged for war crimes.

The building in the picture was the German embassy, which is now home to the Royal Society.

Executive Secretary Stephen Cox said: "It must have been striking to see Grenadier Guards and Nazi soldiers marching together down The Mall.

"They could easily have been facing each other on the battlefield only a few years later."

The image of the parade was uncovered by London cab drive and historian Harry Harris, as part of a Discovery Channel documentary on wartime London, due to be screened on Sunday.