The Secret History of the Tripartite Alliance
Ribbentrop（Episode４）
London
Hitler welcomed Ribbentrop, who rose to stardom with the conclusion of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in June 1935, like a triumphant general. After Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and German's stationing of the Rhineland, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War brought to light the structure of the confrontation between the Spanish socialist bloc of the Soviet Union and France and the fascist bloc of Germany and Italy has been of great significance. The great figure of British diplomacy was Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Vansitat, so Ribbentrop and the German Ambassador to Britain von Hoesch visited him often, but he was slow to accept the German proposal. After these negotiations, Ambassador Hoesch who had neglected Ribbentrop as an amateur diplomat died suddenly of a seizure. Speaking of July, Hitler was looking forward to the Bayreuth Music Festival very much. It seems that he was approached for the position of Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Referring to the pro-Germany Edward VIII, even if it would be difficult for Britain to join the treaty, Ribbentrop thought it was important to inform Hitler of the situation in London and appealed to him to appoint him as ambassador to Britain,which was done. His first job was to build a new embassy in London. His wife Annelise was greatly involved in this, and many of the high-end furniture from his home in Dahlem were brought all the way into the embassy. Annelise even had Luther, who would later become Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, help with the construction, Professor Trost with the interior furniture, and Speer, Hitler's favorite,also to help with the construction.
Speaking of the summer of 1936, it was the Berlin Olympics, the support of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. The latter was a great opportunity to show the world the revival of Germany, and not only by Ribbentrop, but also by Göring, Goebbels ,other foreign celebrities were invited to their homes and villas. The guests were enraptured by the transfer in a large Mercedes-Benz and the dinner party with a late-night ball at the proud or bragging mansion, where the tennis courts in Dahlem were also released. The banquets continued until the end of the Olympics, the Spanish Civil War, and the final negotiations for the German-Japanese Anti-Comintern Pact overlapped, causing Ribbentrop's arrival in London to be delayed until October. On October 26, he arrived at London's Victoria Station with his entire family, and was shocked by the sudden speech that he wanted Britain to join in the fight against the Soviet Union. Since the embassy was not yet completed, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel was used as a temporary embassy. Writing and security at the embassy entrance were to be handled by SS personnel. As for the staff, he was able to get Erich and Theodor Colt as secretaries, and Woerman, who also played golf with me, as deputy ambassador. After submitting his credentials to Edward VIII, he headed to Rome to sign the Tripartite Anti-Comintern Pact. Nazi-style salute, guards by SS personnel, new over 7000cc Mercedes-Benz, ambassador's private plane D-AMY, as well as Westminster School, which is second only to Eton School, where my eldest son Rudolf would attend, and boarding school where eldest daughter Bettina would attend. It became a perfect subject of gossip. On February 5, 1937, a letter of credence was given to George VI, who succeeded to the throne in place of Edward VIII, who had abdicated after marrying an American, Mrs. Simpson. It became a big topic again rendering Nazis-style salute to the king when he left just after the submission , and as expected, his subordinates Colts and Woerman also held their heads. After that, he continued to go back and forth between London and Berlin, and was ridiculed as a "part-time ambassador." It was an opportunity to redeem the stigma by holding it at the new embassy, which was called "New Frankfurt Station".
About a month ago, the news of the explosion and fire of the airship Hindenburg in the state of New Jersey in the United States had damaged the image of Germany. It was good news for Germany that the British ambassador to Germany replaced Phipps, who was completely anti-Nazi, with Henderson,with a red carnation in breast pocket,in Savile-Row suit, who was too neutral and friendly and had caused diplomatical problems in Yugoslavia, where he was stationed. According to Ribbentrop's secretary, Spizzi, the attendees wore as many medals as they could and the wives were dressed in formal attire.Among them the gray military uniform and iron helmet of Blomberg ,Minister of War, reminiscent of the Prussian era, caught the eyes of them. Among the 1,200 people in attendance was also Chichibunomiya from Japan, the younger brother of Emperor Showa. The grand ball started at 22:30, and a late dinner was served around midnight, and they enjoyed dishes such as lobster pie wraps. Although the ball itself could be said to have been a great success, Britain's participation in the Anti-Comintern Pact and Germany's discretion in Eastern Europe did not progress. I realized that there was no choice but to force Britain to surrender. In the summer of 1937, there broke out a full-scale war between Japan and China due to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, but he stayed in London for a long time until the Nuerunberg Party Congress. From autumn onwards, he always accompanied Mussolini on his visits to Germany, and participated in the final negotiations for the Tripartite Pact. However, the nature of the agreement clearly changed to a hardline policy toward Britain and the United States. Once again, Ribbentrop led the way to a major agreement. It made Ribbentrop feel more arrogant and daring.He went so far as to say that he would become Foreign Minister of the Reich the next year when Neurath became sixty and retired,which infuriated Hitler to the extent of standstill of his promotion.Heartbroken,he went back to his place of assignment. Encouraged by my wife, Annelise, To the end of the year he returned to his villa in Sonnenburg on the outskirts of Berlin to help out. He submitted ambassador report A5522 to Hitler. In November, Halifax British Foreign Minister visited Germany and enjoyed with Goering hunting, but this was only a time-buy for rearmament, and it was recommended that Britain be regarded as the most dangerous enemy and brought to its knees by force. Just when he was feeling depressed because he was just writing the reports all day long, Japanese Military Attachè Hiroshi Oshima in a timely way visited Ribbentrop‘s for New Year's greetings. The general ate up with pelori or wolfed down even though other guests were usually tired of it. Most people tended to think that Ribbentrop was arrogant and vain, but strangely enough, he seemed to be able to open up to Genaral Oshima up to the end, and this would be a troublesome problem for Japan.
Around the time the Tripartite Pact was signed in Rome, Hitler announced his plans to invade Austria and the Czech Republic before the leaders of the three armies and Foreign Minister Neurath. It came to be called the Hossbach memorandum, taking the name of Hossbach, Hitler's lieutenant who recorded it. Since it was clearly a different invasion plan than the rearmament declaration, the annexation of Saar, and the occupation of the Rhineland, it was given great importance in the Nuerunberg Trials after the war. In order to put this into practice, a drastic personnel change would be necessary, but from the beginning of 1938, drastic measures began. Defense Minister Blomberg. On January 12, his widowed 60-year-old defense minister married his secretary Eva Gruhn. Hitler was also present at the wedding ceremony, but two weeks later it was revealed that she was the model for prostitution and lewd photos, and had her arrest record. Hitler, who did not interfere in his private life, was surprised by this and dismissed him. This time, Chief of Staff Frisch was suspected of homosexuality. In the end, he turned out to be innocent, but during the attack on Poland, he commanded an artillery unit and was killed in action, most likely by suicide. The two Army officers were replaced by Hitler's obedient Brauhitsch as Chief of the General Staff, Hitler as Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, and Keitel as Chief of Staff of general headquarter.
In this way, the army, which was the most powerful force that could oppose Hitler's excesses, turned into Hitler's tools, both field marshals and generals. Even so, there were still many generals and officers who opposed it, as can be seen from the several scores of assassination plots leading up to the attempted assassination of Hitler by Staufenberg and his comrades in July 20 1944. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the remaining conservative stronghold. Until then, the Anti-Comintern Pact had been established at every opportunity, but after Edward VIII abdicated and Italy and Japan became allies, the era of cooperative diplomacy was coming to an end. Now Hitler needed the foreign policy manager he needed to realize his dream since Mein Kampf. He had other candidates such as Goering and Goebbels, but in the end he chose Ribbentrop.
However, the appointment of Ribbentrop as Minister of Foreign Affairs was too sloppy. Although the issue of annexation of Austria was urgent, Ribbentrop had absolutely no knowledge of the Austrian issues. He was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs after the decision was made. Unable to do anything, Ribbentrop, who was forced to witness the first act of the Austrian tragedy of Schuschunigg's visit to Berghof, impatiently in SS uniform gave a speech to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, shaking hands and pledging allegiance to Hitler. He had no choice but to comfort himself with such a substitute.
He reluctantly left for London after being persuaded by Weizsäcker and other officials to play the role of ambassador to the UK. During his stay, Schuscunigg announced that he would hold a referendum, infuriating Hitler and making an invasion only a matter of time. He bid farewell to King George VI at Buckingham Palace, and the next day a luncheon was held at the Prime Minister's Office, attended even by Churchill. Suddenly was there a piece of urgent information about the German invasion of Austria, and at no time was the luncheon canceled. The British wondered why Ribbentrop was here. Few British people thought it was Hitler's sudden idea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was still left to the former Foreign Minister Neurath and was virtually re-appointed. When I hurried back and headed for Vienna, the first group invading Austria had already left and was greeted at the airport by the former Foreign Minister G. Schmidt, who had switched sides to Germany after the annexation of Austria. The timing of his appointment as foreign minister was somewhat mysterious, but he would move step by step toward solving the four problems he faced at the time of his appointment, and Ribbentrop would bear a heavy responsibility that was completely different from that in Hitler's diplomatic advisory days.
Referring to the pro-Germany Edward VIII, even if it would be difficult for Britain to join the treaty, Ribbentrop thought it was important to inform Hitler of the situation in London and appealed to him to appoint him as ambassador to Britain,which was done. His first job was to build a new embassy in London. His wife Annelise was greatly involved in this, and many of the high-end furniture from his home in Dahlem were brought all the way into the embassy. Annelise even had Luther, who would later become Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, help with the construction, Professor Trost with the interior furniture, and Speer, Hitler's favorite,also to help with the construction.
Speaking of the summer of 1936, it was the Berlin Olympics, the support of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. The latter was a great opportunity to show the world the revival of Germany, and not only by Ribbentrop, but also by Göring, Goebbels ,other foreign celebrities were invited to their homes and villas. The guests were enraptured by the transfer in a large Mercedes-Benz and the dinner party with a late-night ball at the proud or bragging mansion, where the tennis courts in Dahlem were also released. The banquets continued until the end of the Olympics, the Spanish Civil War, and the final negotiations for the German-Japanese Anti-Comintern Pact overlapped, causing Ribbentrop's arrival in London to be delayed until October. On October 26, he arrived at London's Victoria Station with his entire family, and was shocked by the sudden speech that he wanted Britain to join in the fight against the Soviet Union. Since the embassy was not yet completed, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel was used as a temporary embassy. Writing and security at the embassy entrance were to be handled by SS personnel. As for the staff, he was able to get Erich and Theodor Colt as secretaries, and Woerman, who also played golf with me, as deputy ambassador. After submitting his credentials to Edward VIII, he headed to Rome to sign the Tripartite Anti-Comintern Pact. Nazi-style salute, guards by SS personnel, new over 7000cc Mercedes-Benz, ambassador's private plane D-AMY, as well as Westminster School, which is second only to Eton School, where my eldest son Rudolf would attend, and boarding school where eldest daughter Bettina would attend. It became a perfect subject of gossip. On February 5, 1937, a letter of credence was given to George VI, who succeeded to the throne in place of Edward VIII, who had abdicated after marrying an American, Mrs. Simpson. It became a big topic again rendering Nazis-style salute to the king when he left just after the submission , and as expected, his subordinates Colts and Woerman also held their heads. After that, he continued to go back and forth between London and Berlin, and was ridiculed as a "part-time ambassador." It was an opportunity to redeem the stigma by holding it at the new embassy, which was called "New Frankfurt Station".
About a month ago, the news of the explosion and fire of the airship Hindenburg in the state of New Jersey in the United States had damaged the image of Germany. It was good news for Germany that the British ambassador to Germany replaced Phipps, who was completely anti-Nazi, with Henderson,with a red carnation in breast pocket,in Savile-Row suit, who was too neutral and friendly and had caused diplomatical problems in Yugoslavia, where he was stationed. According to Ribbentrop's secretary, Spizzi, the attendees wore as many medals as they could and the wives were dressed in formal attire.Among them the gray military uniform and iron helmet of Blomberg ,Minister of War, reminiscent of the Prussian era, caught the eyes of them. Among the 1,200 people in attendance was also Chichibunomiya from Japan, the younger brother of Emperor Showa. The grand ball started at 22:30, and a late dinner was served around midnight, and they enjoyed dishes such as lobster pie wraps. Although the ball itself could be said to have been a great success, Britain's participation in the Anti-Comintern Pact and Germany's discretion in Eastern Europe did not progress. I realized that there was no choice but to force Britain to surrender. In the summer of 1937, there broke out a full-scale war between Japan and China due to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, but he stayed in London for a long time until the Nuerunberg Party Congress. From autumn onwards, he always accompanied Mussolini on his visits to Germany, and participated in the final negotiations for the Tripartite Pact. However, the nature of the agreement clearly changed to a hardline policy toward Britain and the United States. Once again, Ribbentrop led the way to a major agreement. It made Ribbentrop feel more arrogant and daring.He went so far as to say that he would become Foreign Minister of the Reich the next year when Neurath became sixty and retired,which infuriated Hitler to the extent of standstill of his promotion.Heartbroken,he went back to his place of assignment. Encouraged by my wife, Annelise, To the end of the year he returned to his villa in Sonnenburg on the outskirts of Berlin to help out. He submitted ambassador report A5522 to Hitler. In November, Halifax British Foreign Minister visited Germany and enjoyed with Goering hunting, but this was only a time-buy for rearmament, and it was recommended that Britain be regarded as the most dangerous enemy and brought to its knees by force. Just when he was feeling depressed because he was just writing the reports all day long, Japanese Military Attachè Hiroshi Oshima in a timely way visited Ribbentrop‘s for New Year's greetings. The general ate up with pelori or wolfed down even though other guests were usually tired of it. Most people tended to think that Ribbentrop was arrogant and vain, but strangely enough, he seemed to be able to open up to Genaral Oshima up to the end, and this would be a troublesome problem for Japan.
Around the time the Tripartite Pact was signed in Rome, Hitler announced his plans to invade Austria and the Czech Republic before the leaders of the three armies and Foreign Minister Neurath. It came to be called the Hossbach memorandum, taking the name of Hossbach, Hitler's lieutenant who recorded it. Since it was clearly a different invasion plan than the rearmament declaration, the annexation of Saar, and the occupation of the Rhineland, it was given great importance in the Nuerunberg Trials after the war. In order to put this into practice, a drastic personnel change would be necessary, but from the beginning of 1938, drastic measures began. Defense Minister Blomberg. On January 12, his widowed 60-year-old defense minister married his secretary Eva Gruhn. Hitler was also present at the wedding ceremony, but two weeks later it was revealed that she was the model for prostitution and lewd photos, and had her arrest record. Hitler, who did not interfere in his private life, was surprised by this and dismissed him. This time, Chief of Staff Frisch was suspected of homosexuality. In the end, he turned out to be innocent, but during the attack on Poland, he commanded an artillery unit and was killed in action, most likely by suicide. The two Army officers were replaced by Hitler's obedient Brauhitsch as Chief of the General Staff, Hitler as Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, and Keitel as Chief of Staff of general headquarter.
In this way, the army, which was the most powerful force that could oppose Hitler's excesses, turned into Hitler's tools, both field marshals and generals. Even so, there were still many generals and officers who opposed it, as can be seen from the several scores of assassination plots leading up to the attempted assassination of Hitler by Staufenberg and his comrades in July 20 1944. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the remaining conservative stronghold. Until then, the Anti-Comintern Pact had been established at every opportunity, but after Edward VIII abdicated and Italy and Japan became allies, the era of cooperative diplomacy was coming to an end. Now Hitler needed the foreign policy manager he needed to realize his dream since Mein Kampf. He had other candidates such as Goering and Goebbels, but in the end he chose Ribbentrop.
However, the appointment of Ribbentrop as Minister of Foreign Affairs was too sloppy. Although the issue of annexation of Austria was urgent, Ribbentrop had absolutely no knowledge of the Austrian issues. He was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs after the decision was made. Unable to do anything, Ribbentrop, who was forced to witness the first act of the Austrian tragedy of Schuschunigg's visit to Berghof, impatiently in SS uniform gave a speech to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, shaking hands and pledging allegiance to Hitler. He had no choice but to comfort himself with such a substitute.
He reluctantly left for London after being persuaded by Weizsäcker and other officials to play the role of ambassador to the UK. During his stay, Schuscunigg announced that he would hold a referendum, infuriating Hitler and making an invasion only a matter of time. He bid farewell to King George VI at Buckingham Palace, and the next day a luncheon was held at the Prime Minister's Office, attended even by Churchill. Suddenly was there a piece of urgent information about the German invasion of Austria, and at no time was the luncheon canceled. The British wondered why Ribbentrop was here. Few British people thought it was Hitler's sudden idea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was still left to the former Foreign Minister Neurath and was virtually re-appointed. When I hurried back and headed for Vienna, the first group invading Austria had already left and was greeted at the airport by the former Foreign Minister G. Schmidt, who had switched sides to Germany after the annexation of Austria. The timing of his appointment as foreign minister was somewhat mysterious, but he would move step by step toward solving the four problems he faced at the time of his appointment, and Ribbentrop would bear a heavy responsibility that was completely different from that in Hitler's diplomatic advisory days.
