Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau
Encyclopedia
Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau (May 29, 1869 Schleswig
– September 8, 1928 Berlin
) was a German
diplomat
, the first Foreign Minister
of the Weimar Republic
and German Ambassador to the USSR for most of the twenties.
in Neuchâtel and Freiburg im Breisgau and became a Dr. jur in 1891. Between 1891 and 1893 he served with the Prussian army
; he was dismissed as a second lieutenant after suffering an injury. He then entered the Foreign Office as a diplomat. From 1897 to 1901 he was secretary to the embassy in St Petersburg. In 1901 he moved on to Vienna
. From 1909 to 1912 he was attached to the Consul-General in Budapest
. Finally, in 1912, he was made ambassador to Denmark
. In this position he was able to ensure the exchange of German coal
for Danish food supplies. He came in close contact with Danish and German trade union
s and got to know the future German president Friedrich Ebert
. He was also instrumental in facilitating the passage of the Bolshevik
s Vladimir Lenin
and Karl Radek
across Germany in a sealed train
in 1917.
's resignation in 1917, but declined because he did not believe he could follow a policy independent from military interference. This stance characterised his subsequent diplomatic career. However in December 1918, he accepted this post in the government of Philipp Scheidemann
dependent on five conditions:
Ebert of the SPD
and Hugo Haase
of the USPD
agreed to the first four conditions and he received the appointment arriving in Berlin January 2, 1919. On February 13 his title was changed to Reichsminister des Auswärtigen (Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs) as part of the founding of the Weimar Republic.
Although he was to develop a policy of a positive relationship with the Soviet Union, this was based on realpolitik
considerations rather than any sympathy for radicalism. Faced with the German Revolution
, he advocated stern measures against the revolutionaries, threatening to resign if this was not done. The threat of resignation became a regular feature of his negotiating strategy. Nevertheless when Matthias Erzberger
advocated the dispatch of Karl Radek
, the captured Bolshevik
diplomat, to the waiting hands of the Entente
, he was furious about the failure to consider the political consequences.
After the defeat of the Spartacist
s in January 1919, the country wide elections for the constituent assembly continued, with the delegates assembling in Weimar
as Berlin was not safe. On February 14 Brockdorff-Rantzau addressed the National Assembly. He stated that Germany was ready to make peace, but did not accept that she alone was responsible for the war or had, alone, committed acts of barbarity. This need to be looked at by an impartial judge, but that in the meantime Germany would adhere to Wilsonian
principle of no indemnities or territorial concessions. Germany would reimburse civilians for damages they had caused, and to rebuild what they had destroyed, but voluntarily and not by slave labour forced on prisoners of war. He proclaimed himself a democrat but remarked: "Democracy did not mean the rule of the masses as such; only the very best men should rule and lead."
Following a Russian broadcast on April 22 declaring that the Soviet Union wanted to re-establish diplomatic relations, Brockdorff-Rantzau told a cabinet session the next day that any discussions should be restricted to private persons developing economic relations until after peace had been concluded with the Allies.
At the Treaty of Versailles
Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau led the German delegation which arrived at Versailles
on April 29, and was kept waiting for several days. When the first session began on May 7, French newspapers suggested that this was because it was the anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
. After Georges Clemenceau
had accused Germany of being responsible for the war, Brockdorff-Rantzau said that the issue was to reach a lasting peace but admitting that the power of German arms was broken, he nevertheless declared that admission of sole German responsibility for the war would be a lie. He stated that the policy of revenge, as well as the policy of expansion, in disregard of the fight of peoples to determine their own affairs contributed to the sickness of Europe
, which reached its crisis in the World War. Russian mobilisation took the possibility of curing the disease out of the hands of statesmen and placed the decision into the hand of military force. Whilst he admitted wrongs carried out by the former leaders of Germany, he argued that these and other wrongs committed by other nations should be considered by an objective commission with access to all the archives. The German delegation was then granted seven days to respond to the 440 articles.
In this capacity, Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau attended the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
(1919). He had set out to negotiate a peace based on President Woodrow Wilson
's Fourteen Points and a request for the union of Austria with Germany. In practice, he found himself trying to defend Germany against the accusation of sole war guilt; he attacked the atrocities of the Allied blockade on Germany following the armistice on November 11th, and even made the prediction (which was later borne out), that such a treaty would be impossible to fulfill, and cause continual discontent amongst the German people.
He was appointed Ambassador
to Moscow
and played a crucial role in German-Soviet relations until his death from throat cancer
in 1928. He developed a close working relationship with Georgy Chicherin
, the Soviet People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs from March 1918 to 1930.
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
– September 8, 1928 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...
) was a 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...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, the first Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister of Germany
The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Guido Westerwelle...
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 German Ambassador to the USSR for most of the twenties.
Early career
Son of Graf Hermann zu Rantzau and Juliane nee von Brockdorff, Brockdorff-Rantzau completed study of jurisprudenceJurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
in Neuchâtel and Freiburg im Breisgau and became a Dr. jur in 1891. Between 1891 and 1893 he served with the Prussian army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
; he was dismissed as a second lieutenant after suffering an injury. He then entered the Foreign Office as a diplomat. From 1897 to 1901 he was secretary to the embassy in St Petersburg. In 1901 he moved on to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. From 1909 to 1912 he was attached to the Consul-General in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Finally, in 1912, he was made ambassador to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. In this position he was able to ensure the exchange of German coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
for Danish food supplies. He came in close contact with Danish and German trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and got to know the future German president Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .When Ebert was elected as the leader of the SPD after the death of August Bebel, the party members of the SPD were deeply divided because of the party's support for World War I. Ebert supported the Burgfrieden and...
. He was also instrumental in facilitating the passage of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and 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....
across Germany in a sealed train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
in 1917.
Appointment
He was offered the post of Außenstaatssekretär (State Secretary for Foreign Affairs) following Arthur ZimmermannArthur Zimmermann
Arthur Zimmermann was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from November 22, 1916, until his resignation on August 6, 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram during World War I...
's resignation in 1917, but declined because he did not believe he could follow a policy independent from military interference. This stance characterised his subsequent diplomatic career. However in December 1918, he accepted this post in the government of Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Scheidemann was a German Social Democratic politician, who proclaimed the Republic on 9 November 1918, and who became the second Chancellor of the Weimar Republic....
dependent on five conditions:
- A national Constituent assembly should be convened before February 16, 1919 to ensure the Council of People's Deputies could have a constitutional basis.
- Germany's credit rating should be restored to facilitate loans from the USA.
- A republicRepublicA republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an Army should be immediately created to hold back the prospect of a communist revolutionRevolutionA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
and to create a stronger negotiating position for Germany at the Peace Conference. - All possible steps should be made remove the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils from involvement in the state.
- He demanded the right to participate in domestic problems and to reject a dictated peace if he felt it threatened Germany's future.
Ebert of the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and Hugo Haase
Hugo Haase
Hugo Haase was a German politician, jurist and pacifist.-Biography:Haase was born in Allenstein , Province of Prussia, the son of Jewish shoemaker and small businessman, Nathan Haase, and Pauline née Anker. He studied law in Königsberg and established himself as a lawyer...
of the USPD
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
agreed to the first four conditions and he received the appointment arriving in Berlin January 2, 1919. On February 13 his title was changed to Reichsminister des Auswärtigen (Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs) as part of the founding of the Weimar Republic.
Although he was to develop a policy of a positive relationship with the Soviet Union, this was based on realpolitik
Realpolitik
Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...
considerations rather than any sympathy for radicalism. Faced with the German Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
, he advocated stern measures against the revolutionaries, threatening to resign if this was not done. The threat of resignation became a regular feature of his negotiating strategy. Nevertheless when Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger was a German politician. Prominent in the Centre Party, he spoke out against the First World War from 1917 and eventually signed the Armistice with Germany for the German Empire...
advocated the dispatch of 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....
, the captured Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
diplomat, to the waiting hands of the Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
, he was furious about the failure to consider the political consequences.
After the defeat of the Spartacist
Spartacist
Spartacist may refer to:*an ancient supporter Spartacus, who led a slave rebellion against the Roman Empire*The Spartacus League, a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement in Germany during and just after World War I...
s in January 1919, the country wide elections for the constituent assembly continued, with the delegates assembling in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
as Berlin was not safe. On February 14 Brockdorff-Rantzau addressed the National Assembly. He stated that Germany was ready to make peace, but did not accept that she alone was responsible for the war or had, alone, committed acts of barbarity. This need to be looked at by an impartial judge, but that in the meantime Germany would adhere to Wilsonian
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
principle of no indemnities or territorial concessions. Germany would reimburse civilians for damages they had caused, and to rebuild what they had destroyed, but voluntarily and not by slave labour forced on prisoners of war. He proclaimed himself a democrat but remarked: "Democracy did not mean the rule of the masses as such; only the very best men should rule and lead."
Following a Russian broadcast on April 22 declaring that the Soviet Union wanted to re-establish diplomatic relations, Brockdorff-Rantzau told a cabinet session the next day that any discussions should be restricted to private persons developing economic relations until after peace had been concluded with the Allies.
At the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau led the German delegation which arrived at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
on April 29, and was kept waiting for several days. When the first session began on May 7, French newspapers suggested that this was because it was the anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
. After Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
had accused Germany of being responsible for the war, Brockdorff-Rantzau said that the issue was to reach a lasting peace but admitting that the power of German arms was broken, he nevertheless declared that admission of sole German responsibility for the war would be a lie. He stated that the policy of revenge, as well as the policy of expansion, in disregard of the fight of peoples to determine their own affairs contributed to the sickness of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, which reached its crisis in the World War. Russian mobilisation took the possibility of curing the disease out of the hands of statesmen and placed the decision into the hand of military force. Whilst he admitted wrongs carried out by the former leaders of Germany, he argued that these and other wrongs committed by other nations should be considered by an objective commission with access to all the archives. The German delegation was then granted seven days to respond to the 440 articles.
In this capacity, Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau attended the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
(1919). He had set out to negotiate a peace based on President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's Fourteen Points and a request for the union of Austria with Germany. In practice, he found himself trying to defend Germany against the accusation of sole war guilt; he attacked the atrocities of the Allied blockade on Germany following the armistice on November 11th, and even made the prediction (which was later borne out), that such a treaty would be impossible to fulfill, and cause continual discontent amongst the German people.
He was appointed Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and played a crucial role in German-Soviet relations until his death from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
in 1928. He developed a close working relationship with Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.-Childhood and early career:...
, the Soviet People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs from March 1918 to 1930.