Who was Joachim von Ribbentrop and what was his role in Nazi Germany?
Joachim von Ribbentrop was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. He negotiated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, the Pact of Steel with Italy, and played a central role in the diplomatic maneuvers that led to the outbreak of the Second World War. He was convicted as a war criminal at Nuremberg for his role in starting the war in Europe and for enabling the Holocaust.
What was Ribbentrop's background before he became a Nazi diplomat?
Before entering politics, Ribbentrop was a wine salesman who had worked in Canada for institutions including the Molsons Bank in Montreal, the engineering firm M. P. and J. T. Davis on the Quebec Bridge reconstruction, and the National Transcontinental Railway. He served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Prussian 12th Hussar Regiment during the First World War, earning the Iron Cross after being wounded. He joined the Nazi Party on the 1st of May 1932.
What was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and what was Ribbentrop's role in it?
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a German-Soviet non-aggression agreement signed in August 1939. Ribbentrop was its principal German architect, pushing for the deal from early 1939 as a way to neutralize the Soviet Union before Germany attacked Poland. He sent Karl Schnurre to begin economic negotiations with Moscow and personally relayed to Soviet Commissar Molotov on the 25th of May 1939 that Russia's "special interests" would be respected if Germany attacked Poland.
Why was Joachim von Ribbentrop so universally disliked by his Nazi colleagues?
Ribbentrop was widely regarded by colleagues as vain, pompous, and unintelligent. Joseph Goebbels wrote in his diary that Ribbentrop "bought his name, he married his money and he swindled his way into office." British historian Laurence Rees, after interviewing everyone he could find who had known Ribbentrop for his 1997 series The Nazis: A Warning from History, concluded that "No other Nazi was so hated by his colleagues." One diplomat called him "lazy and worthless"; another described him as "vain and ambitious."
What happened to Ribbentrop as ambassador to the United Kingdom?
Ribbentrop served as German ambassador to the United Kingdom from August 1936, presenting his credentials to King Edward VIII on the 30th of October 1936. His tenure was defined by a series of social blunders, including giving the Nazi salute in Durham Cathedral and nearly knocking King George VI off his feet with a stiff-armed greeting in February 1937. He frequently abandoned his post to stay near Hitler, infuriating the British Foreign Office, and he fundamentally misread British society and politics throughout his time there.
When and how was Ribbentrop executed?
Ribbentrop was executed by hanging on the 16th of October 1946. He was the first of the Nuremberg defendants to be executed. He had been convicted at the Nuremberg trials for his role in starting the Second World War in Europe and for enabling the Holocaust. He was arrested in June 1945.