John Wheeler-Bennett
Encyclopedia
Sir John Wheeler Wheeler-Bennett (1902–1975), GCVO, CMG
, OBE
, FBA
, FRSL
was a conservative
English
historian
of German
and diplomatic history
, and the official biographer of King George VI.
, Kent
, the son of a wealthy importer on 13 October 1902. He was educated at a school in Westgate on Sea and Malvern College
. He did not regard his youth as a happy one. In the 1920s, Wheeler-Bennett worked as an aide to General Sir Neil Malcolm in the Middle East
and Berlin
.
After leaving Malcom's employ, Wheeler-Bennett served in the publicity department of the League of Nations
in 1923-1924 in Geneva
. Afterwards, Wheeler-Bennett worked as the director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs' information department. In particular, Wheeler-Bennett worked as the editor of the Bulletin of International News between 1924-1932.
between 1927–1934 and witnessed first-hand the collapse of the Weimar Republic
and the rise of Nazi Germany
. During his time living in Berlin
, he enjoyed some success as a horse
-breeder. During this period, he became an unofficial agent and advisor to London
on international events.
In 1933, Wheeler-Bennett told the Royal Institute of International Affairs that:
Wheeler-Bennet's biography of Paul von Hindenburg
created his reputation as a historian
. Another great success was The Forgotten Peace, a study of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
. This is still regarded as the standard historical study of the subject.
After the Second World War, Wheeler-Bennett was a critic of Appeasement
and 10 years after the Munich Agreement
wrote a book condemning it.
In the pre-1939 period, Wheeler-Bennett befriended or was at least on speaking terms with a number of well-known people all over Europe. Some of the people he had some contact with included Heinrich Brüning
, Basil Liddell Hart
, Franz von Papen
, John Buchan
, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
, Leon Trotsky
, Hans von Seeckt
, Max Hoffmann
, Lewis Bernstein Namier
, Benito Mussolini
, Robert Bruce Lockhart
, Karl Radek
, Sir Robert Gilbert Vansittart, Kurt von Schleicher
, Sir Isaiah Berlin
, Tomáš Masaryk
, Engelbert Dollfuss
, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adam von Trott zu Solz
, Louis Barthou
, Lord Lothian
, Winston Churchill
, and Dr. Edvard Beneš
.
to serve as a lecturer on international relations at the University of Virginia
. Wheeler-Bennett was strongly pro-American and always considered the American South to be his favourite part of the American republic.
From 1940 onwards, he worked with the British Information Service in New York City
, an agency charged with trying to persuade the United States to enter the war on the Allied side. Whilst here, he was a supporter of the German Resistance
to Hitler and became friendly with Adam von Trott zu Solz
.
Starting in 1942, Wheeler-Bennett worked in the Political Warfare department of the British Foreign Office in London
. After he joined the Foreign Office, he switched to being an opponent of the German Resistance, his change being described by the biographer Anthony Howard, in the New Statesman
, as "one of the most nimble political somersaults the corridors of power can ever have seen". Wheeler-Bennett gained his reward, being promoted to the Assistant Director General of Political Intelligence Department
before going on to serve in the Political Adviser's Department in SHAEF in 1944-1945. In 1945-1946, Wheeler-Bennett assisted the British Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials
.
Wheeler-Bennett's views on Germany and the German Resistance caused unease to some of his wartime colleagues, an internal February 1944 paper of his being condemned by Professor Thomas Marshall - of the Foreign Office Research Department - as a "vitriolic little paper" and "hardly worthy of its distinguished author." (British National Archives file FO 371/39137)
After the Second World War, he was the British editor-in-chief of the German Foreign Ministry's archives and oversaw the early publications of the German Documents on Foreign Affairs from 1946-1948. From 1948-1956, he served as the Historical Adviser to the Foreign Office Project for publishing the German Foreign Ministry Archives. In these roles, he did his best to suppress any material which was embarrassing either for him personally, or for the Foreign Office. He was particularly sensitive to papers mentioning British contacts with the German Resistance, or containing any evidence that German Resistance members saw their actions as required by their sense of ethics or morality.
, near Garsington
, United Kingdom
. Despite his lack of university education and his status as a self-proclaimed amateur historian, Wheeler-Bennett was hired to teach International Relations
at St. Antony's College and at New College at Oxford University after World War II
from 1946-1950.
He was appointed as official biographer of King George VI, after the King's death in 1952, producing a biography which appeared in 1958. Historian David Cannadine
in History In Our Time criticised Wheeler-Bennett's book as "courtly and obsequious," the history "of an icon rather than of an individual," and a "sanitised sarcophagus."
's involvement in politics and reiterated Wheeler-Bennet's hostile views on the German Resistance. Foreign Office files, now in the British National Archives, reveal that Wheeler-Bennett attempted to prevent access, by other historians, to papers which did not support the views he expressed in The Nemesis of Power.
His thesis was that under von Seeckt's leadership during the Weimar period, the Reichswehr
formed a "State within the State" that largely preserved its autonomy from the politicians in Berlin
, but that it did not, however, play an active role in day-to-day politics.
After von Seeckt's downfall in 1926, which had been engineered by Schleicher, the Reichswehr became increasingly engaged in political intrigues. In Wheeler-Bennett's view, Schleicher was the "Gravedigger of the Weimar Republic" who succeeded in undermining democracy, but failed completely to build any sort of stable structure in its place. Thus by a mixture of cunning, intrigue and inept manoeuvres, Schleicher inadvertently paved the way for Adolf Hitler
.
In the revised 1964 edition of The Nemesis of Power, Wheeler-Bennett continued his story right up to the July 20 Plot
of 1944. He contended that under the leadership of Werner von Blomberg
and Werner von Fritsch
, the German Army chose to acquiesce in the Nazi regime as the kind of government best able to achieve what the Army wanted; namely a militarized society that would ensure in the next war that there would be no repeat of the “stab in the back”.
By agreeing to support the Nazi dictatorship, the Army tolerated a regime that quietly and gradually dismantled the “State within the state”. After Blomberg's and Fritsch's fall in 1938, the Army increasingly became just a tool of the Nazi regime rather than the independent actor that it had been before. Despite his hostility to the German generals, Wheeler-Bennett in the book acknowledged the courage of men such as Claus von Stauffenberg. Overall, he concluded that the conservative
opposition within the Wehrmacht
had done too little, too late to overthrow the Nazis.
, the Anglo-American conference group, in 1958. In 1972, he was elected to the British Academy
.
He was a follower of the Great Man school of history
and his writings usually explained historical events in terms of the leading personalities of the period under study. This view of history together with his own right-wing outlook led him to make Churchill the principal hero of his writings.
Sir John Wheeler-Bennett died of cancer
in London
on 9 December 1975, aged 73.
He was very well known in his lifetime and his interpretation of the role of the German Army influenced some British historians. However, he is somewhat forgotten today.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FBA
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, FRSL
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
was a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and diplomatic history
Diplomatic history
Diplomatic history deals with the history of international relations between states. Diplomatic history can be different from international relations in that the former can concern itself with the foreign policy of one state while the latter deals with relations between two or more states...
, and the official biographer of King George VI.
Early career
Wheeler-Bennett was born in KestonKeston
Keston is a part suburban, part rural area of the London Borough of Bromley, England. It lies on the edge of Hayes Common, to the northwest of Greater London's border with Kent.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the son of a wealthy importer on 13 October 1902. He was educated at a school in Westgate on Sea and Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
. He did not regard his youth as a happy one. In the 1920s, Wheeler-Bennett worked as an aide to General Sir Neil Malcolm in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
After leaving Malcom's employ, Wheeler-Bennett served in the publicity department of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in 1923-1924 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Afterwards, Wheeler-Bennett worked as the director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs' information department. In particular, Wheeler-Bennett worked as the editor of the Bulletin of International News between 1924-1932.
Wheeler-Bennett and pre-war Nazi Germany
He lived in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
between 1927–1934 and witnessed first-hand the collapse of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and the rise of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. During his time living in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, he enjoyed some success as a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
-breeder. During this period, he became an unofficial agent and advisor to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on international events.
In 1933, Wheeler-Bennett told the Royal Institute of International Affairs that:
- "Hitler, I am convinced, does not want a war. He is susceptible to reason in matters of foreign policy. He is greatly anxious to make Germany self-respecting and is himself anxious to be respectable. He may be described as the most moderate member of his party." (International Affairs, May 1933, pp 318-9)
Wheeler-Bennet's biography of Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
created his reputation as a historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. Another great success was The Forgotten Peace, a study of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
. This is still regarded as the standard historical study of the subject.
After the Second World War, Wheeler-Bennett was a critic of Appeasement
Appeasement
The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
and 10 years after the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
wrote a book condemning it.
In the pre-1939 period, Wheeler-Bennett befriended or was at least on speaking terms with a number of well-known people all over Europe. Some of the people he had some contact with included Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Brüning was Chancellor of Germany from 1930 to 1932, during the Weimar Republic. He was the longest serving Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, and remains a controversial figure in German politics....
, Basil Liddell Hart
Basil Liddell Hart
Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart , usually known before his knighthood as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, was an English soldier, military historian and leading inter-war theorist.-Life and career:...
, Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
, John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....
, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime...
, Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
, Hans von Seeckt
Hans von Seeckt
Johannes Friedrich "Hans" von Seeckt was a German military officer noted for his organization of the German Army during the Weimar Republic.-Early life:...
, Max Hoffmann
Max Hoffmann
Max Hoffmann was a German officer and military strategist during World War I. He is widely regarded as one of the finest staff officers of the imperial period....
, Lewis Bernstein Namier
Lewis Bernstein Namier
Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier was an English historian. He was born Ludwik Niemirowski in Wola Okrzejska in what was then part of the Russian Empire and is today in Poland.-Life:...
, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, Robert Bruce Lockhart
R. H. Bruce Lockhart
Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart KCMG , was a journalist, author, secret agent, British diplomat in Moscow and Prague, and footballer...
, Karl Radek
Karl Radek
Karl Bernhardovic Radek was a socialist active in the Polish and German movements before World War I and an international Communist leader after the Russian Revolution....
, Sir Robert Gilbert Vansittart, Kurt von Schleicher
Kurt von Schleicher
Kurt von Schleicher was a German general and the last Chancellor of Germany during the era of the Weimar Republic. Seventeen months after his resignation, he was assassinated by order of his successor, Adolf Hitler, in the Night of the Long Knives....
, Sir Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
, Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , sometimes called Thomas Masaryk in English, was an Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovak politician, sociologist and philosopher, who as an eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, also was...
, Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adam von Trott zu Solz
Adam von Trott zu Solz
Adam von Trott zu Solz was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime, and who played a central part in the 20 July Plot...
, Louis Barthou
Louis Barthou
Jean Louis Barthou was a French politician of the Third Republic.-Early years:He was born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and served as Deputy from that constituency. He was an authority on trade union history and law. Barthou was Prime Minister in 1913, and held ministerial office...
, Lord Lothian
Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian
Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian KT CH PC was a British politician and diplomat.Philip Kerr was the son of Lord Ralph Drury Kerr, the third son of John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and Dr. Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
.
Wartime and post-war career as a government official
In 1939, he went to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to serve as a lecturer on international relations at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. Wheeler-Bennett was strongly pro-American and always considered the American South to be his favourite part of the American republic.
From 1940 onwards, he worked with the British Information Service in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, an agency charged with trying to persuade the United States to enter the war on the Allied side. Whilst here, he was a supporter of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to Hitler and became friendly with Adam von Trott zu Solz
Adam von Trott zu Solz
Adam von Trott zu Solz was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime, and who played a central part in the 20 July Plot...
.
Starting in 1942, Wheeler-Bennett worked in the Political Warfare department of the British Foreign Office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After he joined the Foreign Office, he switched to being an opponent of the German Resistance, his change being described by the biographer Anthony Howard, in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, as "one of the most nimble political somersaults the corridors of power can ever have seen". Wheeler-Bennett gained his reward, being promoted to the Assistant Director General of Political Intelligence Department
Political Intelligence Department
The Political Intelligence Department was a department of the British Foreign Office during World War II. Established in 1939, its main function was the production of weekly intelligence summaries...
before going on to serve in the Political Adviser's Department in SHAEF in 1944-1945. In 1945-1946, Wheeler-Bennett assisted the British Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
.
Wheeler-Bennett's views on the German Resistance
As a member of the Foreign Office Political Intelligence Department, he wrote on 25 July 1944 that:- "It may now be said with some definiteness that we are better off with things as they are today than if the plot of July 20th had succeeded and Hitler had been assassinated... By the failure of the plot we have been spared the embarrassments, both at home and in the United States, which might have resulted from such a move, and, moreover, the present purge [by the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
] is presumably removing from the scene numerous individuals which might have caused us difficulty, not only had the plot succeeded, but also after the defeat of Nazi Germany... The GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and the SS have done us an appreciable service in removing a selection of those who would undoubtedly have posed as 'good' Germans after the war... It is to our advantage therefore that the purge should continue, since the killing of Germans by Germans will save us from future embarrassment of many kinds." (British National Archives file FO 371/39062)
Wheeler-Bennett's views on Germany and the German Resistance caused unease to some of his wartime colleagues, an internal February 1944 paper of his being condemned by Professor Thomas Marshall - of the Foreign Office Research Department - as a "vitriolic little paper" and "hardly worthy of its distinguished author." (British National Archives file FO 371/39137)
After the Second World War, he was the British editor-in-chief of the German Foreign Ministry's archives and oversaw the early publications of the German Documents on Foreign Affairs from 1946-1948. From 1948-1956, he served as the Historical Adviser to the Foreign Office Project for publishing the German Foreign Ministry Archives. In these roles, he did his best to suppress any material which was embarrassing either for him personally, or for the Foreign Office. He was particularly sensitive to papers mentioning British contacts with the German Resistance, or containing any evidence that German Resistance members saw their actions as required by their sense of ethics or morality.
Post-1945 career
In 1945, Wheeler-Bennett married an American woman named Ruth Risher and settled after the war at Garsington ManorGarsington Manor
Garsington Manor, in the village of Garsington, near Oxford, England, is a Tudor building, best known as the former home of Lady Ottoline Morrell, the Bloomsbury Group socialite...
, near Garsington
Garsington
Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire.-Notable Garsington buildings:The earliest part of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is the Norman tower, built towards the end of the 12th century. The Gothic Revival architect Joseph Clarke restored...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Despite his lack of university education and his status as a self-proclaimed amateur historian, Wheeler-Bennett was hired to teach International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
at St. Antony's College and at New College at Oxford University after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
from 1946-1950.
He was appointed as official biographer of King George VI, after the King's death in 1952, producing a biography which appeared in 1958. Historian David Cannadine
David Cannadine
Sir David Nicholas Cannadine, FBA is a British historian, known for a number of books, including The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy and Ornamentalism. He is also notable as a commentator and broadcaster on British public life, especially the monarchy. He serves as the generaleditor...
in History In Our Time criticised Wheeler-Bennett's book as "courtly and obsequious," the history "of an icon rather than of an individual," and a "sanitised sarcophagus."
The Nemesis of Power
Wheeler-Bennett was best known for The Nemesis of Power which documented the German ArmyGerman Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
's involvement in politics and reiterated Wheeler-Bennet's hostile views on the German Resistance. Foreign Office files, now in the British National Archives, reveal that Wheeler-Bennett attempted to prevent access, by other historians, to papers which did not support the views he expressed in The Nemesis of Power.
His thesis was that under von Seeckt's leadership during the Weimar period, the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
formed a "State within the State" that largely preserved its autonomy from the politicians in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, but that it did not, however, play an active role in day-to-day politics.
After von Seeckt's downfall in 1926, which had been engineered by Schleicher, the Reichswehr became increasingly engaged in political intrigues. In Wheeler-Bennett's view, Schleicher was the "Gravedigger of the Weimar Republic" who succeeded in undermining democracy, but failed completely to build any sort of stable structure in its place. Thus by a mixture of cunning, intrigue and inept manoeuvres, Schleicher inadvertently paved the way for Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
In the revised 1964 edition of The Nemesis of Power, Wheeler-Bennett continued his story right up to the July 20 Plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
of 1944. He contended that under the leadership of Werner von Blomberg
Werner von Blomberg
Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg was a German Generalfeldmarschall, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces until January 1938.-Early life:...
and Werner von Fritsch
Werner von Fritsch
Werner Thomas Ludwig Freiherr von Fritsch was a prominent Wehrmacht officer, member of the German High Command, and the second German general to be killed during World War II.-Early life:...
, the German Army chose to acquiesce in the Nazi regime as the kind of government best able to achieve what the Army wanted; namely a militarized society that would ensure in the next war that there would be no repeat of the “stab in the back”.
By agreeing to support the Nazi dictatorship, the Army tolerated a regime that quietly and gradually dismantled the “State within the state”. After Blomberg's and Fritsch's fall in 1938, the Army increasingly became just a tool of the Nazi regime rather than the independent actor that it had been before. Despite his hostility to the German generals, Wheeler-Bennett in the book acknowledged the courage of men such as Claus von Stauffenberg. Overall, he concluded that the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
opposition within the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
had done too little, too late to overthrow the Nazis.
Wheeler-Bennett's final decades
An Anglican, he enjoyed his life in the English countryside. From 1959 until his death, he worked as the Historical Adviser for the Royal Archives. He became founding chairman of the Ditchley FoundationDitchley Foundation
The Ditchley Foundation is a British organisation based at Ditchley House near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, which aims to promote international relations, especially Anglo-American relations, through a programme of around fifteen annual conferences on matters of international interest...
, the Anglo-American conference group, in 1958. In 1972, he was elected to the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
He was a follower of the Great Man school of history
Great man theory
The Great Man Theory was a popular 19th century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of "great men", or heroes: highly influential individuals who, due to either their personal charisma, intelligence, wisdom, or Machiavellianism utilized their power in a way that...
and his writings usually explained historical events in terms of the leading personalities of the period under study. This view of history together with his own right-wing outlook led him to make Churchill the principal hero of his writings.
Sir John Wheeler-Bennett died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 9 December 1975, aged 73.
He was very well known in his lifetime and his interpretation of the role of the German Army influenced some British historians. However, he is somewhat forgotten today.
Work
- Information On The Reduction Of Armaments, with an introduction by Major-General Sir Neil L. Malcolm, 1925.
- Information On The Renunciation Of War, 1927-1928 with an introduction by Philip H. Kerr, 1928.
- The Wreck Of Reparations, Being The Political Background Of The Lausanne Agreement, 1932, 1932.
- Disarmament And Security Since Locarno 1925-1931; Being The Political And Technical Background Of The General Disarmament Conference, 1932, 1933.
- Hindenburg: The Wooden Titan, 1936.
- Brest-Litovsk : The Forgotten Peace, March 1918, 1938.
- Munich : Prologue To Tragedy, 1948.
- The Nemesis Of Power : The German Army In Politics, 1918-1945, 1953, revised edition 1964.
- King George VI, His Life And Reign, 1958.
- John Anderson, Viscount Waverley, 1962.
- A Wreath To Clio: Studies In British, American and German Affairs, 1967.
- Action This Day; Working With Churchill. Memoirs by Lord Norman Brook (And Others), edited with an introduction by Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, 1968.
- The Pipe Dream Of Peace; The Story Of The Collapse Of Disarmament, 1971.
- The Semblance Of Peace : The Political Settlement After The Second World War, co-written by J. Wheeler-Bennett and Anthony Nicholls, 1972.
- The History Makers; Leaders And Statesmen Of The 20th century, edited by Lord Longford & Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, Chronologies and editorial assistance by Christine Nicholls, 1973.
- Knaves, Fools And Heroes In Europe Between The Wars, 1974.
- Special Relationships : America In Peace And War, 1975.
- Friends, Enemies, And Sovereigns, 1976