Hitler's Diplomat: The Life and Times of Joachim von Ribbentrop

John Weitz

ISBN 10: 0395621526 / ISBN 13: 9780395621523

Published by Ticknor& Fields, 1992

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Description:

Used.Harcover in unclipped dust-jacket.No foxing.Foreword by Tom Wolfe.Signed by the author to the title page.Dust-jacket has a reading crease to spine.Generally very good. Seller Inventory # 002271

About this title:

Synopsis: This first full-length English-language biography of Joachim von Ribbentrop, Adolf Hitler's notorious foreign minister, is also an authoritative account of the social and political workings of Nazi Germany. The result of a lifetime of research and firsthand experience, the book combines narrative history of the highest order and intimate familiarity with the people, events, and social currents that animated Hitler's regime.
A well-to-do social climber who made and married money, von Ribbentrop was among the few in Hitler's circle with a claim to social prominence. As ambassador to England, von Ribbentrop quickly worked his way up to head the Foreign Ministry, along the way negotiating the British Naval Agreement, the Anti-Comintern Pact, and the Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Frustrated during the war, when diplomacy was rendered virtually obsolete, von Ribbentrop never forsook his Fuhrer even at Nurnberg, where he was tried and hanged as a senior war criminal.
With a provocative foreword by Tom Wolfe that draws disturbing comparisons between the Berlin of the 1930s and American society of the 1980s, Hitler's Diplomat is not only the riveting story of one of Hitler's closest collaborators, it also provides a window onto a side of Nazi Germany that is as fascinating as it is troubling: the men and women of culture and means who gave themselves to Hitler and his war machine.

From Kirkus Reviews: What can a celebrated fashion designer tell you about the history of Germany's Third Reich? You'd be surprised. Weitz (Friends in High Places, 1982, etc.) grew up in Berlin's haut monde, fled the Nazis with his family in 1938, and returned as an OSS spy five years later. He hasn't forgotten much, and succeeds in putting a personal spin on his account of Hitler's foreign minister. Ribbentrop (1893-1946) was a go-getter from the start, a bright boy of modest means and boundless ambition who ended up with the Nazis largely because they made him the best offer. The son of an army officer, he started a wine-exporting business as a young man and joined the army in 1914. After the war, he threw himself into the social whirl of Berlin, cultivating the friendship of the high and mighty. One of his biggest catches was Franz von Papen, who became chancellor under the von Hindenburg government. In 1932, von Papen asked Ribbentrop to meet with Hitler to convince him to form a coalition government. Hitler refused--but converted Ribbentrop to National Socialism in the process. Among the Nazis, Ribbentrop was an anomaly--most of the Nazi leadership was of proletarian or lower-middle-class stock--and he was constantly at pains to demonstrate his loyalty. This led to many diplomatic fiascos (such as that when Ribbentrop, after presenting his credentials to the king of England, gave a Nazi salute) and ultimately cost him his life at Nuremberg. Weitz succeeds brilliantly in describing the atmosphere of the period and the social background of the events that defined the age. His portrayal of the Nazi hierarchy is remarkable in that he sees most of its members as spineless toadies without any ideology of their own--and Ribbentrop as an exemplar of the type. The Faustian elements of opportunism have rarely been so well defined. A splendid and horrifying romp through the culverts of modern history. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Hitler's Diplomat: The Life and Times of ...
Publisher: Ticknor& Fields
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition