Friedrich Wilhelm von Prittwitz und Gaffron (1 September 1884 – 1 September 1955) was a German Ambassador to the United States under the Weimar Republic, from 1928 until 14 April 1933. He was in office at the time that Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, and resigned from the diplomatic corps in protest the day after Hitler was appointed Chancellor.[1] He had hosted German Jewish playwright Lion Feuchtwanger at a dinner that day. On the day of his resignation, Prittwitz called Feuchtwanger and recommended that he not return to Germany. In 1945 he was a founding member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, and he served as a member of the Parliament of Bavaria from 1946 to 1954.[2]
Friedrich Wilhelm von Prittwitz und Gaffron | |
|---|---|
 Friedrich Wilhelm von Prittwitz und Gaffron | |
| German Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 1928–1933 | |
| Preceded by | Adolf Georg von Maltzan |
| Succeeded by | Hans Luther |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 September 1884 Stuttgart, Württemberg |
| Died | 1 September 1955 (aged 71) Tutzing, Starnberg, Bavaria |
| Spouse |
Marie Luise von Strachwitz und Groß-Zauche
(m. 1920; died 1955) |
| Education | University of Bonn University of Berlin |
| Alma mater | University of Leipzig |
Early life
editPrittwitz was born on 1 September 1884 in Stuttgart, Württemberg into an old Silesian noble family von Prittwitz and was the son of the Royal Prussian Colonel Arwed von Prittwitz und Gaffron and Sarah née Baroness Schott von Schottenstein. His younger brother was Erich von Prittwitz und Gaffron.[3]
He studied law at the University of Bonn and Berlin and became a member of the Corps Borussia Bonn in 1903. In 1907 he received his doctorate from the Law Faculty of the University of Leipzig.[4]
Career
editIn 1908 he entered the Diplomatic Service. At the beginning he was employed as an attaché at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. until 1910. He then was stationed in the political department of the Foreign Office and at the German Embassy in Saint Petersburg. At the beginning of the war in 1914, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the reserve, but returned slightly wounded in November 1914 and remained in the Foreign Office until the end of the war.[5]
After joining the German Democratic Party, von Prittwitz unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the first Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. After his defeat, von Prittwitz applied for a post abroad and, at the end of 1920, he was sent as consul to Trieste, but just four months later he was appointed Deputy Embassy Councilor at the German embassy in Rome and later promoted to Embassy Councilor there. During his time in Rome, he witnessed the fascists taking power in Italy under Mussolini and was able to observe the first years of the development of the fascist state up close.[4]
Envoy to the United States
edit
In 1927,[5] von Prittwitz, who was only 43 years old, was appointed German ambassador to the United States by Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann, in spite of concerns by President Paul von Hindenburg and conservative faction in the Reichstag.[6] An ally of the American Democrats, he rejected the divisions of pre-war period and presented himself as a representative of the German people to the American people, advocating that diplomacy should serve world peace. He promoted economic ties, but he placed particular emphasis on the cultural ties between the two countries. He was often a guest of Adolph Ochs, the owner of the New York Times. He also referred to the Revolution of 1848 as a link between Germany and the United States, as it was not only the birth of democracy in Germany, but also led to many German Democrats emigrating to the United States.[7]
On 15 April 1933, Prittwitz resigned as ambassador to Washington in protest the day after Hitler was appointed Chancellor, handing over duties to the former Reich Chancellor and Finance Minister Hans Luther. Upon his return to Germany (aboard the Europa),[8] he met with Hitler[9] before retiring from the diplomatic service on 18 July 1933.[4]
Later life
editAs his beliefs were in contrast to the new rulers in Germany, the National Socialists, Prittwitz hoped that other ambassadors would join in their resignations, but remained the only one. After his retirement, he made his home at Lake Starnberg, under Gestapo surveillance.[4]
After the Third Reich, he again became politically active, but no longer held a high position. He was one of the founding members of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria. He was a member of the Landtag of Bavaria from 1946 to 1954, and was directly elected in the Würzburg constituency in 1950. Von Prittwitz advocated international understanding and the reunification of Germany. In 1948, together with Waldemar von Knoeringen and Thomas Dehler, he founded the Society for Foreign Studies (German: Gesellschaft für Außenpolitik), of which he served as the first chairman.[4]
Personal life
editOn 21 December 1920 he married Countess Marie Luise von Strachwitz und Groß-Zauche (1892–1986) in Berlin. She was the daughter of the Royal Prussian Landwehr Count Adalbert von Strachwitz und Groß-Zauche and the Baroness Maria von Saurma und der Jeltsch.[10]
Prittwitz died on 1 September 1955 in Tutzing, Starnberg, Bavaria.[4]
Honours
editReferences
edit- ^ Rockaway, Robert (19 April 2016). "The Jewish Plot To Kill Hitler". Tablet. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ René Moehrle, Judenverfolgung in Triest während Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus 1922–1945, Berlin 2014 (ISBN 978-3-86331-195-7), S. 165–174.
- ^ "GERMAN GENERAL KILLED; Possibly Related to Former Envoy to U.S., von Prittwitz". The New York Times. 12 June 1941. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "VON PRITTWlTZ, 71, DIPLOMAT, IS DEAD; German Envoy Here, 1927-33, Resigned Under Hitler--Adenauer Party Founder". The New York Times. 3 September 1955. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b "PRITTWITZ BECOMES ENVOY.; Washington Agreeing, Selection as German Ambassador Is Ratified". The New York Times. 4 November 1927. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Times, the New York Times Company by Wireless To the New York (22 December 1927). "REICH ENVOY LAUDS WORLD COOPERATION; Dr. Prittwitz-Gaffron Predicts Commonwealth of Nations to American Club in Berlin. PRAISES HIS PREDECESSOR New Ambassador Will Sail on Jan. 12 and Will Go Direct to Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ GAFFRON, F. W. VON PRITTWITZ UND; Ambassador, German (21 January 1933). "GERMAN TRADE PROBLEMS.; Ambassador Discusses Country's Exchange and Other Trouble". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "VON PRITTWITZ SAILS.; The Retiring German Ambassador Leaves on the Europa". The New York Times. 26 April 1933. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (6 May 1933). "Hitler Receives Prittwitz". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who", of the Sovereigns, Princes and Nobles of Europe. Harrison & Sons. 1914. p. 1403. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
External links
edit
- Grupp, Peter (2001). "Prittwitz, Friedrich von". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Vol. 20. pp. 732 f. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- Newspaper clippings about Friedrich Wilhelm von Prittwitz und Gaffron in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW