'Another' Germany; The Secret Foreign Contacts of Ulrich von Hassell during the Second World War.pdf

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GREGOR SCHOLLGEN
'Another5Germany: The Secret Foreign
Contacts of Ulrich von Hassell during the
Second World War
foreign contacts of the Germanopposition Adolf Hitler,
to
particularlyafter the summer of 1938, offer some of the most
interestingprospectsfor researchinto the Resistance.In the first
volume of the Vierteljahrshefte Zeitgeschichte,publishedin 1953,
fur
Hans Rothfels,a pioneerin this field, introducedan articleby J. Lons-
role he played
dale Bryansin which Bryansdescribesthe intermediary
in talksbetween a leading representative the conservative
of
opposition
to Hitler, Ulrich von Hassell,1and the British foreign office at the
beginningof 1940. Criticismof the manner of these negotiations,and
interestin them, have not yet subsided.2
Withoutdoubt, Hassell'sefforts
rankwith the Vatican negotiationsof October 1939 to May 1940 (led
by Josef Miiller, one of the group around Hans Oster and Franz
venture of May 1941,3as among
Haider), and with Carl Goerdeler's
the most importantforeign contacts of the German oppositionin the
firstphase of the Second World War.
They also stand at the centre of this essay,which focusesmainly on
the periodbetween the Germaninvasionof Poland in September1939
1 See the important study by Hans Rothfels, Die deutsche Opposition
gegen Hitler:
Eine Wurdigung ( 1949 ; new ed., Frankfurt, 1986 ) ; J. Lonsdale Bryans, 'Zur
britischen amtlichen Haltung gegeniiber der deutschen Widerstandsbewegung',
in Vierteljahrshefte fur Zeitgeschichte, i (1953), 347 ff. On HasselPs personality,
see Gregor Schollgen, 'Ulrich von Hassell', in 20, Juli, Portraits des Widerstandes,
ed. R. Lill and H. Oberreuther (Diisseldorf /Vienna, 1084), pp. iss ff.
2 For example, Peter W. Ludlow, 'The Unwinding of Appeasement', in Das 'Andere
Deutschland3 im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Emigration und Widerstand in interna-
tionaler Perspektive. ed. L. Kettenacker (Stuttgart, 1077), pp. q ff.
3 On the Vatican discussions, see Peter W. Ludlow, 'Papst Pius XII., die britische
Regierung und die deutsche Opposition im Winter 1939/40', Vierteljahrshefte
fur Zeitgeschichte, xxii (1974), 299 ff. ; on Goerdeler's initiative, see Gerhard
Ritter, Carl Goerdeler und die deutsche Widerstandsbewegung (Munich, 1964),
pp.331 ff.
The International History Review, xi, 4, November 1989, pp. 6 13-8 1G
cn issn 0707-5332 © The International History Review
Ulrich von Hassell
649
and the entranceof the United States into the Second World War in
December 1941. The essaywill not be limited to the reconstruction
of
the Bryansconversations,
however,but will examineall HasselTs
foreign
contactswith the Britishand US governments, contentsof the pro-
the
posalshe sent or tried to send them, and his politicalideas. It will also
in
accountfor the surprising that the Germanauthorities, particular
fact
the Gestapo,were aware of some of these contacts.
*
*
*
The makingof contactsabroadwas an importantgoal of the German
oppositionto Hitler. Their effortswere aimed chiefly at Great Britain,
which was, after all, the most important,if not the only, adversaryof
the Third Reich up to June 1941. Owing to Hassell'slife-longsuspicion
of the United States,clearlydiscernible
even duringhis early life under
the GermanEmpire, peace feelers to Washingtonplayed a secondary
role. He was even more suspiciousof the Soviet Union, but the Soviets
attractedhis attentionduring 1943.
necessarily
Hassell's
numerousattemptsto makecontactsabroadare documented
in his diaries.4
Although
Obviously,thesewere dangerousundertakings.
to a certainextentHassellcoulduse his positionin the Mitteleuropaische
(MWT)5 as a cover for travelsabroad,the correspond-
Wirtschaftstag
ing entriesfor each bordercrossinghad to be stampedin his passport,
so the Germanauthoritiesknew where he intendedto go. Nevertheless,
he seemsto have managed to keep his activities,especiallyhis contacts
with the British,
secret.
At least until the demand for unconditional surrendermade by
FranklinRooseveltand Winston Churchillat Casablancaon 24 Janu-
ary 1943, the main goal of the Germanoppositionwas to ascertainthe
for
prerequisites and conditionsof an armistice,or to negotiate a sepa-
rate peace with the British.6Gerhard Schulz even argues that the
German opposition- at least until the autumn of 1941 and, to some
4 Die Hassell Tagebiicher iq38-iq44: Ulrich von Hassell, Aufzeichnungen vom
Anderen Deutschland, ed. F. Frhr. Hiller von Gaertringen (Berlin, 1988). Here-
after referredto as Tagebiicher.
5 Hassell belonged to the MWT for less than three years, from early summer
1940 until the end of 1942. On this subject see Manfred Asendorf, 'Ulrich von
Hassells Europakonzeption
und der MitteleuropaischeWirtschaftstag',Jahrbuch
fiir deutsche Geschichte,vii (1978), 387 ff.
6 However, Hassell'ssuspicionshad alreadybeen arousedby Point 8 of the Atlantic
Charter. See Tagebiicher, p. 218. The interpretation 'that England- America
were not fighting solely against Hitler, but ... wanted to crush Germany anyway*
was 'in no way conclusive, but still very convincing'.
650
GregorSchollgen
relations.7 opposi-
The
extent,later- was the productof Anglo-German
tion offereda change of regimein Germanyand the terminationof the
war, and, in return,they expectedthe Britishnot to take advantageof
the situationmilitarily
while the changeof government takingplace.
was
They also demandedfrom GreatBritainand the United Statesrecogni-
tion of a 'GreaterGermany'with her frontiersfrom 1938, althoughthe
preciselocationof the frontierschangedaccordingto the circumstances
of each negotiation.This GreaterGermanywas to be a Germanywith-
out Hitler and National Socialism,a Germanyrescuedfrom its aggres-
sive and belligerentleaders;in short, 'another'Germany.8
The conceptof a GreaterGermanylay at the heartof HasselPsplans,
even after 3 September 1939. Born and educated in the time of Bis-
marck, he always remainedan admirerof Bismarck's
diplomacy9and
of his largelysuccessfuleffortsto shape Germanyinto a great, even a
world, power. Neither the drastic turning point of 1918-19, nor the
events of 1938-9, led him to change his mind, as the fifty publications
he wrotebetween 1938-44 clearlyattest.10
Even in one of his last, as yet
unpublished,manuscripts,written about the beginning of 1944, he
repeatedhis cherishedconviction'that a sound Europe has never last-
ingly existed,nor will it ever exist, without Germanyas its healthy and
To
strongheart'.11 Hassellthe 'Countryof the Centre',exposedto many
dangers arising from its central position, especially the continuous
menace of a coalition of its adversaries,must play the leading role
in Europe.
In HasselPsconcept of German leadership,old and new elements
were amalgamated.Traces of earlier hegemonic leanings are clearly
perceptible in the dominant economic role that Hassell repeatedly
7 Gerhard Schulz,
'Nationalpatriotismus im Widerstand : Ein Problem der euro-
paischen Krise und des Zweiten Weltkriegs - nach vier Jahrzehnten Widerstands-
geschichte', Vierteljahrshefte fiir Zeitgeschichte, xxxii (1984), 332 ff., quota-
tion on p. 348.
8 The expression was first used in the title of the first edition of Hassell's diaries
(Vom andern Deutschland -'from the other Germany') and has since been
adopted as a synonym for opposition plans for a coup and domestic reform.
9 See, for
example, Ulrich von Hassell, 'Bismarck als Meister der Diplomatie', in
Im Wandel der Aussenpolitik. Von der franzosischen Revolution bis zum Welt-
krieg: Bildnisskizzen (Munich, iq^q), pp. i6*i ff.
10 On this subject see
Gregor Schollgen, 'Wurzeln konservativer Opposition: Ulrich
von Hassell und der t)bergang vom Kaiserreich zur Weimarer Republik', Geschi-
chte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, xxxviii (1987), 478 ff. My biographical
portrait of Hassell will appear in English in 1990 under the title : 'A Conservative
against Hitler. Ulrich von Hassell: Diplomat in Imperial Germany, the Weimar
Republic, and the Third Reich, 1881-1914'. This will deal with Hassell's political
thinking and also cover his writings.
11 Ulrich von
Hassell, 'Deutschland zwischen West und Ost', unpublished manu-
script.
Ulrich von Hassell
65 1
for
prescribed Germanyin Europe and adjacent regions- such as, for
-
example, the Mediterranean which were to fall under indirect Ger-
and
man politicalcontrol.12
Despitethis,Hassellemphatically repeatedly
advocatedthe titularindependenceof the other Europeanstates, how-
ever economicallysubordinate.
Earlyin 1942, he wrote: 'They have to
feel that their idiosyncrasyis maintained, that their independenceis
honoured,and that theirpoliticalfuturecould not be betterguaranteed
German
but throughthe new Europeanorder.'This conceptof 'strong5
in
leadership Europeof the 'highestethicalquality',conflicted,of course,
with Hitler's plans for a New Order, to a large extent founded on
racistideology.13
Though Hassellcarefullyavoidedspeakingof a 'Germanleadership
role' in Europe while nurturinghis diplomatic contacts of 1940 and
194 1, his proposalsand the demandshe made left no doubt that his
'other'Germanywould claimhegemonyon the Continent.This became
clear in his dealings with the Britishgovernmentat the beginning of
1940, in his doomedsearchfor a separatepeace.
*
*
*
GerhardRitter suggeststhat one cause of Hassell'sfailure in February
and April 1940 was his Englishnegotiatingpartner,J. LonsdaleBryans.
A 'world travellerand amateur diplomat', Bryanshad since October
to
1939 lain 'in wait in Rome hopingfor an opportunity be of use some-
how as mediator between the warring powers'.14In his published
mission'whose
memoir,Blind Victory,Bryanstalksof a 'self-appointed
goal was 'savingby thismeansmillionsof lives'and 'winningthe peace'.15
-
An equallystrong- possiblystronger motive for his back-roompeace
During a stay in Rome in
makingwas a wish for officialrecognition.16
12 Ulrich von Hassell, 'Untergang des Abendlandes?', in Europdische Lebensfragen
im Lichte der Gegenwart (Berlin, [1943]), p. 20.
13 Ulrich von Hassell, 'Europaische Verkehrsprobleme, mitteleuropaisch und do-
naueuropaisch gesehen', Donaueuropa, ii ( 1942), 243. This demand can be found
in all of Hassell's relevant works from the period. Hassell, 'Europaische Verkehrs-
probleme', p. 243.
14 Ritter, Goerdeler, p. 271.
15 J. Lonsdale Bryans, Blind Victory (Secret Communications, Halijax-tiassell),
(London, 1951), p. 22. See also the abridged version in Vierteljahrshefte fur
Zeitgeschichte, i ( 1953) , 547 ff.
16 Bryans, for example, allowed a letter about his book, The Curse of Fate, to his
publisher, Schwarzhaupter, to fall into the hands of the British foreign office. An
English translation of the letter of 8 Oct. 1940 is in [Public Record Office],
F[oreign] O[ffice Records], 371/26542. See also the reference to this 'anthro-
pological treatise' in Bryans, Blind Victory, p. 26. To the British ambassador in
Rome, Sir Percy Loraine, he claimed 'that it would have a great effect on Hitler
to read some or all of a book by himself ... from which Hitler would convince
652
GregorSchollgen
November 1939, he had met by chance Hassell's future son-in-law,
Deltamo Pirzio-Biroli,
and had offeredto act as mediatorbetween the
Germanopposition (broughtto his attentionby Pirzio-Biroli)and the
Britishgovernment.
to
Promising mentionHassell'sname as the leaderof
the movementonly to the foreignsecretary,
LordHalifax,Bryanstookto
Londonan unsignedletterfrom Pirzio-Biroli,
dated 28 December1939,
which contained,among other things,the cpeaceterms'of the German
In
opposition,fairlyreflectingHassell'sown views.17 London,however,
Bryans met with a rebuff; Halifax, who had been 'buttonholed'by
Bryansa few days after the outbreakof the war, now refusedto give
him an audience.18
Only a letter from Lord Brocket,a friend of the
prime minister,Neville Chamberlain,opened the doors of the foreign
office.19 Halifax thought 'that if Hitler and his entourageof Ribben-
As
trop, Himmlerand Co. were got rid of, and if a constitutionand liberty
were restored Germany,a new situationwould clearlybe created',he
to
was not againstthe Allies trying to bring this about, though they could
not be satisfiedwith a cpatched-up
On
peace'.20 8 January, therefore,
Halifax accepted Pirzio-Biroli'sletter, but made it clear from the
beginning that his name would have to be left out of any discussions
whichfollowedfromit.
The contentsof Pirzio-Biroli's
letter met with some scepticismat the
remarked
that the letterdid not specify
foreignoffice.Ivone Kirkpatrick
the 'type of nationalists'with whom the Britishwere dealing: 'it may
be Hassell,his brother-in-law,
young Tirpitz,and their friends,who are
of
etc.
mostlydirectors I.G. Farben,retiredGenerals, These peoplehave,
of course,no influencewhatever.'None the less, as Halifax was willing
to facilitate another trip by Bryansto Rome, the British ambassador
therewas warnedof it, but told at the sametime 'thatBryansis clearlya
himself that the present conjunction of astral bodies provided the right moment
for his retirementfrom affairs of state to the artist's studio' (Loraine to Skrine-
Stevenson, 18 Jan. 1940, Halifax Papers, FO 800/326).
17 Copy of the letter in Halifax Papers,FO
800/326; a short extract also in Bryans,
Blind Victory, p. 168. Significantly,the Italian also saw Goering as a potential
partner in discussionswithin National Socialist leading circles, while Ribbentrop
in particularwas regardedas the exponent of the radical wing. Hitler would not
realizewhat was happening.
18 See the 'minutes'to the record, Teace Moves: Mr. Lonsdale
Bryans'of Jan./Feb.
194 1, in FO 371/26542. See also the letter of 8 Oct. 1940 from Bryans to
Schwarzhaupter
Verlag, in which he refers to this 'importanttalk'. However, he
'did not arrivein time to preventthe courseof events', that is, the outbreakof war!
19 See Brocket to Halifax, 4 Jan. 1940; Halifax to
Brocket, 6 Jan. 1940 (copy),
FO 800/326. On the role of Brocket see Richard Lamb, The Ghosts of Peace
1935-1945 (Wilton, UK, 1987), PP. 130 ff.
20 Memo, 8 Jan. 1940 (copy), FO
800/326.

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