Germany in World War II had a very special figure, and it is reasonable to say that such powerful figures as Goering, Goebbels, and Himmler, who at that time were able to cover the sky with one hand, were uncomfortable enough to provoke one at random, but this person did not hesitate to provoke them at the same time. What is even more surprising is that these people, who had almost monopolized the power of the German state at that time, joined forces to try to bring down this man, who was not only unscathed, but also became more and more secure: Joachim von Ribbentrop, who had served as German foreign minister.
Ribbentrop had a very special position at that time, and even some of the suggestions submitted to Hitler by such a powerful figure as Himmler were sometimes weighed up, but Ribbentrop was almost obedient. He was hailed by Hitler as "the greater foreign minister than Bismarck", and it is said that in the process of coveting Czechoslovakia, the German top brass hesitated because of the power of the Anglo-French bloc, ribbentrop told the Fuehrer that he promised to keep Britain and France out of the way, and the result was exactly as he said. At first glance, this man appears to be a shrewd diplomat, but in fact he is nothing more than a scheming rogue politician. Prior to this, Ribbentrop was a liquor seller.
Born into a military family, he received a good education from an early age, joining the German army in 1914 and earning the rank of lieutenant during the war; after the end of world war, he was responsible for the export of alcohol to countries such as Britain and France in Berlin. It is precisely in this way that Ribbentrop has a deeper understanding of these Western European neighbors. In 1920, Ribbentrop rose to the top of society by virtue of his own liquor tycoon, and in 1925 he acquired the prefix of the noble name by passing on to his aunt who held the title of nobleman. It is not difficult to see that Ribbentrop is a man who is very good at drilling camps, and his ambitions seem to be not small.
On 1 May 1932, Ribbentrop joined the rising Nazi Party, showing great loyalty to Hitler, almost responsively, and even donated his suburban mansions as a venue for the Nazis to hold secret meetings. As a result, in just one year, he became An absolute confidant of Hitler, not only promoted to SS colonel, but also became a member of the German Parliament, and the political dividend was quite rich.
In 1934, Ribbentrop was appointed Ambassador of the German Representative for Disarmament Affairs to the League of Nations, officially entering german diplomatic circles. In hitler's favor, he blatantly formed the "Ribbentrop Office" to confront Constantine von Neuwright, then German Foreign Minister. It is worth mentioning that As a professional diplomat, Newwright is not a fuel-saving lamp, this person is also a more radical nationalist, in order to "Germanize" the Czechs, he once proposed to use special means to destroy the intellectuals and elites of Czechoslovakia, which caused strong protests from the Czech people and opposed movements one after another. Hitler, in a summons of 27 September 1941, stated that Neuwright's methods were "too harsh" and had to send the infamous Reinhard Heydrich to take over the situation and suppress the intensifying resistance movement.
Ribbentrop dared to compete for power with such a man of means when he first entered the diplomatic world, which shows the great ambition of him, and he also shows his cunning side to the fullest. With the help of his authority, he sent people to inquire into the fuehrer's life rules, work and rest itinerary, etc., constantly pondered his personality and hobbies, and touched the fuehrer clearly. It is said that ribbentrop, in order to please his superiors, specially arranged for his subordinates to organize every speech and meeting of Hitler into a document, and then repeatedly studied how to express it in his own words covertly. In order to pat himself on the back, he had reached the point of madness.
In fact, Ribbentrop's origins are not without reason; Hitler at that time did not reach the point of doing as he pleased, and even if he wanted to launch a foreign invasion, he had to look at the faces of many characters. He was dissatisfied with many of the Foreign Office's claims in themselves, and Ribbentrop's rise came at the right time. Hitler wanted to find a "spokesman" who was absolutely loyal to him, and Ribbentrop wanted to act as a pawn, and the two hit it off; with Hitler's connivance, Ribbentrop's office gradually eroded the influence and power of the Foreign Office.
In fact, Ribbentrop is not exactly a mediocre talent, he has also been a businessman, and he is best at how to bargain with opponents at the negotiating table. In June 1935, Ribbentrop went to London to negotiate the development of the German Navy, where the famous Anglo-German Naval Agreement was born. Under the agreement, the total tonnage of the German fleet was allowed to reach 35% of that of Britain, which was already a huge breakthrough for the past. In November of the following year, Ribbentrop signed the "Anti-Comintern Pact" with the Japanese representatives on the plane, when the German foreign ministry and defense ministers were strongly opposed, but Hitler ignored it. Ribbentrop aided and abetted Hitler's aggressive plans, and on February 4, 1938, he finally became German foreign minister.
After that, Ribbentrop saw through his boss, and the two worked together. In January 1939, when Ribbentrop accompanied Hitler back to the Czechoslovak Foreign Minister, the Fuehrer sang a red face and said that he wanted a peaceful solution, but he sang blackface on the side, claiming that if he did not act according to the German arrangement, "there would be unimaginable consequences". In July 1939, in a meeting with the Italian ambassador about the dispute between Germany and Poland over the Danzig region, Ribbentrop made a big fuss, saying that Germany could take Warsaw in 48 hours, and that Germany would be no happier than that if France intervened, because France would be wiped out; Britain would dare to act rashly, which would also be the end of the British Empire; and as for the United States, "a speech by the Fuehrer would be enough to defeat Roosevelt." ”
In addition, Ribbentrop not only used every means to stir up Anglo-French relations, but also desperately sabotaged the Negotiations between the Soviet Union and the Anglo-French Bloc. It is worth mentioning that before the signing of the famous Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, although the Soviet Union and Germany had maintained contacts, the attitude of the Soviet Side was very cold. It was not until the evening of August 17, when negotiations between the Soviet Union and Britain and France had reached an impasse, that the German request for a meeting had been granted. On 22 August, Ribbentrop rushed to Moscow with a credentials signed by Hitler and instructions "at all costs." At the time, it was widely believed at the top of the German leadership that for the invasion plan to succeed, it was necessary to ensure soviet neutrality. From this point of view, Ribbentrop is another "great achievement".
In fact, the sharpness of the German army in the early days of World War II was directly related to the insidiousness of Ribbentrop. On the eve of the invasion of Poland, Ribbentrop invited the British ambassador to meet on the pretext of resolving the disputed issue. He dismissed the latter's proposals and instead repeatedly emphasized the "16 proposals" put forward by Germany; as a result, while the two sides were still entangled in these issues, the British ambassador was suddenly told that the time limit for a "reasonable solution to the Polish question" had arrived, and in the early morning of September 1, 1939, the Germans blitzed Poland, and the latter had no time to prepare. When the Soviet ambassador to Germany tried to hold German planes accountable for the intrusion of Soviet aircraft into Soviet airspace, he bluffed and said: "This is not a problem that should be tangled up now." By this time, the Germans had entered the Soviet Union.
Ribbentrop climbed to high positions with cunning and intrigue, gained the absolute trust of the Fuehrer, and became very inflated. It is recorded that hitler initially did not want to turn Britain into an enemy, but simply because he was snubbed in British high society, Ribbentrop fanned the flames, claiming that "anglo-German antagonism could not be reconciled", which greatly affected Germany's invasion plan. His arbitrariness also caused resentment among many of his colleagues, such as the foreign ministry's deliberate and deliberate disagreement in the struggle for power with the Propaganda Department, which caused Goebbels to hate; even Himmler felt a great threat from Ribbentrop and had to regard him as a terrible opponent.
Forced to be anxious, Goebbels, Himmler and others joined forces to squeeze him out of the inner circle of power, but whenever he said something bad, Hitler was very displeased and would repeat the remark that "Ribbentrop is greater than Bismarck". Interestingly, even so, Ribbentrop was not "bought": at the end of World War II, when he learned that he could not play an important role in the Führer's political will, he immediately became dissenting; in April 1945, Ribbentrop secretly fled Berlin.
It is worth mentioning that diplomats have immunity, but Ribbentrop is not a qualified diplomat at all, more like a sinister power-seeker. He has done so much evil that it is hard to forgive. This "foreign minister greater than Bismarck" was not only sentenced to death without question, but was also sent to the gallows by the first.