 The dodgy contract became known as the "Mile Swindle", and Adolf Lüderitz was nicknamed "Lügenfritz" ("lie buddy") by his fellow countrymen.In 1887 "even the Colonial Department of the Foreign Office doubted the validity of the treaty".Imperial Germany's Foreign Office was at first hesitant to grant official protection to Lüderitz's acquisitions, fearing immense costs and the military vulnerability of an empire spread across several continents.