JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP
1893-1946
Joachim von Ribbentrop, the son of a German Army officer, was born in Wesel,
Germany, on 30th April, 1893. Educated at a boarding school at Switzerland he
also spent time in France and England as a child.In 1911 he began working as
clerk with a German importing form based in London before moving to Canada where
he worked as a timekeeper on the reconstruction of the Quebec Bridge and the
Canadian Pacific Railroad. This was followed by employment as a journalist in
New York City and Boston.
On the outbreak of the First World War Ribbentrop returned to Germany where he
joined the German Army. While serving with the 125th Hussar Regiment he won the
Iron Cross. After being seriously wounded in 1917 Ribbentrop joined the War
Ministry and was a member of the German delegation that attended the Paris Peace
Conference.
After leaving the German Army Ribbentrop worked as a salesman for the French
firm of Pommerey in the Rhineland. He later became a partner in a Berlin sales
agency.His marriage in 1920 to Anneliese Henkell, the daughter of a sparkling
wine manufacturer, led to his amassing a considerable fortune as a wine merchant.
In May 1932 Ribbentrop joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP).
He quickly moved up the hierarchy and in 1933 became Hitler's foreign affairs
adviser. The following year he established the Ribbentrop Bureau an organization
that eventually had a staff of 300 people.Adolf Hitler appointed Ribbentrop
ambassador at large (1935), he also served as ambassador to Britain (1936-38)
His main objective was to persuade the British government not to get involved in
Germany territorial disputes and to work together against the the communist
government in the Soviet Union.
When Ribbentrop presented his credentials to George VI on 5th February, 1937,
the British were outraged when he gave the Hitler salute. He also upset the
British government by posting Schutz Staffeinel (SS) guards outside the German
Embassy and by flying swastika flags on official cars.On 4th February, 1938,
Ribbentrop replaced Constantin von Neurath as Germany's foreign minister. He
worked closely with Adolf Hitler in his negotiations with the British and French
governments and in August 1939 arranged the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
In 1940 Hitler once again began to consider invading the Soviet Union and he
sent Ribbentrop to negotiate a new treaty with Japan. On 25th September, 1940,
Ribbentrop sent a telegram to Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister,
informing him that Germany, Italy and Japan were about to sign a military
alliance. Ribbentrop pointed out that the alliance was to be directed towards
the United States and not the Soviet Union.
Molotov already knew about the proposed German-Japanese Pact. Richard Sorge, a
German journalist working in Tokyo, was a Soviet spy and had already told
Molotov that Adolf Hitler was involved in negotiations with Japan. In Sorge's
view, the pact was directed against the Soviet Union but it was not until
December, 1940, that he was able to send Molotov full details of Operation
Barbarossa.
Rippentrop became a background figure during the Second World War but was
arrested and charged with war crimes in June, 1945. Joachim von Ribbentrop
denied knowledge of German concentration camps and racial extermination policies,
but was found guilty at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial and was executed on 16th
October, 1946
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RIBBENTROP, Joachim von
(1893 - 1946)
Reichsminister/SS-Obergruppenfuhrer/M.d.R.:
Born: 30. Apr. 1893 in Wesel.
Hanged: 16. Oct. 1946 at Nuremberg Prison.
NSDAP-Nr.: 1 199 927
SS-Nr.: 63 083
Promotions:
SS-OGruf.: ; SS-Gruf.: ; SS-Brigf.: .
Assignments:
Reichsminister des Auwärtigen: 4. Feb. 1937 - Apr. 1945.
Postwar Prosecution:
Tried by International Military Tribunal Nuremberg. Found guilty on all 4 counts
of the indictment and sentenced to death, 1. Oct. 1946.
Decorations & Awards:
1914 EK I
1914 EK II
KVK I ohne Schw.
KVK II ohne Schw.
Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
Goldenes Parteiabzeichen
Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Silber
Ehrendegen des RF SS / Totenkopfring der SS
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