Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 Apr. 1893 - 16 Oct. 1946)
Ribbentrop was the German foreign minister. He is most remembered for the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet-German agreement of mutual non-aggression, which was the agreement needed by Germany to begin World War II. He would meet Stalin in 1939 to revise these terms, and later in 1940 would meet Mussolini to try bring Italy in the war. Also in 1940, Ribbentrop would present the ambassadors of the Low Countries with notes, informing them why Germany had invaded their country only hours before.
He was also a supporter of the Madagascar Plan, which involved the forced deportation of all European Jews to Madagascar (this plan never came to fruition). When France fell, Ribbentrop believed that Vichy France should be autonomous to an extent. Meanwhile he was also greatly Anglophobic, supporting alliance with the Soviets, in bleak contrast to the views of his Führer.
Later in 1940, Ribbentrop would attempt to bring Spain into the war on behalf of the Axis powers. This failed, however he was successful in the creation of the Tripartite Pact with Japan and Italy in September 1940. In November of that year he held discussions with Molotov to try convince the Soviet Union to sign up to the Tripartite Pact. Stalin would approve, though by that time Hitler was ready to invade the Soviet Union.
He convinced Yugoslavia to begrudgingly sign the Tripartite Pact in March 1941, allowing Germany to invade Eastern Europe. He tried in 1941 to secure an alliance with Iraq, but this failed. He was opposed to the invasion of the Soviet Union as he admired Stalin and the USSR, but did not keep these feelings for long, as he presented the Soviet ambassador with a speech on German “countermeasures” to an apparent Soviet invasion and tried to convince Japan to attack the Soviet Union, thereby bringing Japan into the war.
With regards to the Holocaust, Ribbentrop was responsible for meeting heads of satellite countries of Germany to convince them to deport Jews to the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. His reputation was damaged in October 1941 by the Japanese discovery of a Soviet spy network in Tokyo, passing German secrets to Moscow. His attempts to convince Japan to declare war on America succeeded with the attack on Pearl Harbour, and Ribbentrop delivered Germany’s declaration of war four days later. When South American nations declared war on Germany, he believed it was humiliating accepting declarations of war from small nations and he refused to meet with them.
With most of the world declaring or being at war with Germany by 1944, the foreign ministry became less and less important, making Ribbentrop’s importance wane. Hitler also became personally disapproving of him also. This was made worse by the discovery that foreign office personnel were members of the July 20 plot. He worked closely with the SS to eliminate radical elements from his own ministry. He was captured in May 1945, with a letter addressed to “Vincent Churchill”, Prime Minister of Britain, found on him.
For more information on Joachim von Ribbentrop:
Bloch, Michael. Ribbentrop (New York: Crown Publishing), 1992.
Weitz, John. Hitler’s Diplomat: The Life and Times of Joachim von Ribbentrop (New York: Ticknor & Fields), 1992.
He was also a supporter of the Madagascar Plan, which involved the forced deportation of all European Jews to Madagascar (this plan never came to fruition). When France fell, Ribbentrop believed that Vichy France should be autonomous to an extent. Meanwhile he was also greatly Anglophobic, supporting alliance with the Soviets, in bleak contrast to the views of his Führer.
Later in 1940, Ribbentrop would attempt to bring Spain into the war on behalf of the Axis powers. This failed, however he was successful in the creation of the Tripartite Pact with Japan and Italy in September 1940. In November of that year he held discussions with Molotov to try convince the Soviet Union to sign up to the Tripartite Pact. Stalin would approve, though by that time Hitler was ready to invade the Soviet Union.
He convinced Yugoslavia to begrudgingly sign the Tripartite Pact in March 1941, allowing Germany to invade Eastern Europe. He tried in 1941 to secure an alliance with Iraq, but this failed. He was opposed to the invasion of the Soviet Union as he admired Stalin and the USSR, but did not keep these feelings for long, as he presented the Soviet ambassador with a speech on German “countermeasures” to an apparent Soviet invasion and tried to convince Japan to attack the Soviet Union, thereby bringing Japan into the war.
With regards to the Holocaust, Ribbentrop was responsible for meeting heads of satellite countries of Germany to convince them to deport Jews to the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. His reputation was damaged in October 1941 by the Japanese discovery of a Soviet spy network in Tokyo, passing German secrets to Moscow. His attempts to convince Japan to declare war on America succeeded with the attack on Pearl Harbour, and Ribbentrop delivered Germany’s declaration of war four days later. When South American nations declared war on Germany, he believed it was humiliating accepting declarations of war from small nations and he refused to meet with them.
With most of the world declaring or being at war with Germany by 1944, the foreign ministry became less and less important, making Ribbentrop’s importance wane. Hitler also became personally disapproving of him also. This was made worse by the discovery that foreign office personnel were members of the July 20 plot. He worked closely with the SS to eliminate radical elements from his own ministry. He was captured in May 1945, with a letter addressed to “Vincent Churchill”, Prime Minister of Britain, found on him.
For more information on Joachim von Ribbentrop:
Bloch, Michael. Ribbentrop (New York: Crown Publishing), 1992.
Weitz, John. Hitler’s Diplomat: The Life and Times of Joachim von Ribbentrop (New York: Ticknor & Fields), 1992.