Ambassador to Hitler – An unusual inside perspective on the “Third Reich”

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DW Documentary (Deutsche Welle)

Note: DW (Deutsche Welle) is a media channel controlled by the German state, itself a vassal (non-sovereign state) in the US empire's European group of nations aligned with Washington in all major spheres of action, including political, hybrid, kinetic and economic war. As such, everything produced and disseminated by this channel should be expected to contain pro-American/imperialist biases and the propaganda syntax that colors all mass communications in the West. In this case, we repost this material due to its strong graphic historical value.

Jan 27, 2023 #dwdocumentary #documentary

In July 1933, a few months after Hitler seized power, William E. Dodd arrived in Berlin. His appointment as ambassador of the United States of America by President Roosevelt came as a surprise. As a historian and university professor, William E. Dodd had no experience with diplomacy and was unfamiliar with its linguistic codes. In the French embassy, the experienced diplomat André François-Poncet had already been observing the rise of the Nazi Party for two years. Within months, the National Socialists had brought the entire state apparatus under their control. But they did not yet feel comfortable in diplomatic circles - apart from a few, including Hermann Göring or Gestapo chief Rudolf Diels, who soon became welcome guests at chic embassy dinners. Hitler himself appeared only rarely.

The numerous receptions increasingly became a stomping ground for spies, the scene of intrigue, love affairs, and information. William E. Dodd's daughter Martha even embarked on affairs with both SS men and Soviet attachés. Until the outbreak of war in 1939, the diplomats observed the rise of the Nazi dictatorship with a mixture of fear, anxiety and disgust, but also with fascination and an eye for opportunity, as they report back to their capitals. Authors Pierre-Olivier François and Jean-Marc Dreyfus have analyzed secret embassy reports, diaries, and memoirs. They have also been able to draw from numerous new sources, including the private archives of the François-Poncet family. The film provides an unusual inside view of the "Third Reich" through a multifaceted tableau of people. It poses the crucial questions of those years, from a new perspective: "How could it have come to this? Could Hitler have been stopped? How did it all begin?"

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