Reich Foreign Office: Difference between revisions
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Under the [[Weimar Republic]] and [[Nazi Party]], the '''Reich Foreign Office''' was the cabinet ministry concerned with the conduct of [[diplomacy (international relations)|diplomacy]]. It was headed by Foreign Ministers [[Constantin von Neurath]] (1932-1938) and [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] (1938-1945). | |||
The Foreign Office is generally accepted to have had a role in German expansion by means other than war, but the conventional wisdom had been that it was much less important after the 1939 outbreak of war, and the diminishing power of Ribbentrop. A recent report released by the current German Foreign Ministry, however, reveals that it was significantly involved in planning and directing [[The Holocaust]]. | |||
==Expansion before war== | |||
==Advice for war== | |||
==Jewish policy== | |||
According to [[Eckart Conze]], professor of modern history at the [[Philipps University of Marburg]] and one of the authors of the report,"The sheer scale of the participation of Germany's Foreign Ministry in the Holocaust is bewildering. It wasn't just one department; it was the whole institution. The ministry collaborated with the Nazis' violent policies and took part in all aspects of the discrimination, deportation, persecution and genocide of the Jews."<ref>{{citation | |||
| url = http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2027699,00.html | |||
| journal = Time | |||
| date = 27 October 2010 | |||
| title = Were German Diplomats Complicit in the Holocaust? | |||
| author = Tristana Moore | |||
}}</ref> | |||
In 1940, [[Franz Rademacher]], head of the Jewish Desk, sent a memorandum to State Secretary [[Martin Luther (diplomat)|Martin Luther]], asking him to define Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]]'s basic policy toward Jews, trying to shift the role of his desk from settling individual cases to establishing policy. <ref>{{citation | |||
| author = Christopher R. Browning | |||
| isbn = 0-8032-1327-1 | |||
| year = 2004 | |||
| publisher = University of Nebraska Press | |||
| title = The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942 | |||
}}, p. 82</ref> | |||
It was the only agency that had an authority and duty to advise that a proposed government action would violate [[international law]]. The [[Ministries Case (NMT)]] ruling on the Foreign Office has been argued to have set precedent for criminal prosecution of lawyers who give illegal advice, an issue that has been raised with respect to [[intelligence interrogation, U.S., George W. Bush Administration]].<ref>{{citation | |||
| title = Want to Prosecute the Lawyers? Cite Ministries — Not the Justice Case | |||
| author = Kevin Jon Heller | |||
| journal = Opinio Juris | |||
| url =http://opiniojuris.org/2009/04/23/want-to-prosecute-the-lawyers-cite-ministries-not-the-justice-case/}}</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist|2}} | |||
Revision as of 05:03, 5 January 2011
Under the Weimar Republic and Nazi Party, the Reich Foreign Office was the cabinet ministry concerned with the conduct of diplomacy. It was headed by Foreign Ministers Constantin von Neurath (1932-1938) and Joachim von Ribbentrop (1938-1945).
The Foreign Office is generally accepted to have had a role in German expansion by means other than war, but the conventional wisdom had been that it was much less important after the 1939 outbreak of war, and the diminishing power of Ribbentrop. A recent report released by the current German Foreign Ministry, however, reveals that it was significantly involved in planning and directing The Holocaust.
Expansion before war
Advice for war
Jewish policy
According to Eckart Conze, professor of modern history at the Philipps University of Marburg and one of the authors of the report,"The sheer scale of the participation of Germany's Foreign Ministry in the Holocaust is bewildering. It wasn't just one department; it was the whole institution. The ministry collaborated with the Nazis' violent policies and took part in all aspects of the discrimination, deportation, persecution and genocide of the Jews."[1]
In 1940, Franz Rademacher, head of the Jewish Desk, sent a memorandum to State Secretary Martin Luther, asking him to define Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop's basic policy toward Jews, trying to shift the role of his desk from settling individual cases to establishing policy. [2]
It was the only agency that had an authority and duty to advise that a proposed government action would violate international law. The Ministries Case (NMT) ruling on the Foreign Office has been argued to have set precedent for criminal prosecution of lawyers who give illegal advice, an issue that has been raised with respect to intelligence interrogation, U.S., George W. Bush Administration.[3]
References
- ↑ Tristana Moore (27 October 2010), "Were German Diplomats Complicit in the Holocaust?", Time
- ↑ Christopher R. Browning (2004), The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0-8032-1327-1, p. 82
- ↑ Kevin Jon Heller, "Want to Prosecute the Lawyers? Cite Ministries — Not the Justice Case", Opinio Juris